Adding weight to bookends?

[Doug Shepard]

My sis was asking me if I could make her some nice bookends out of wood. OK - not a big deal, but what should I use to weight them? I have in mind some 1/4 sections of a cylinder for the shape, with a hollow area inside. Roughly 9" tall with a 6-7" radius. But what works good to weight them so the books wont push them apart?
Sand? or Lead shot encased in heavy plastic? A smidgen of matter from the center of a black hole? Skip the hollow idea and just have the inside be solid MDF?
Any thoughts?

[Shiraz Balolia]

My sis was asking me if I could make her some nice bookends out of wood. OK - not a big deal, but what should I use to weight them? I have in mind some 1/4 sections of a cylinder for the shape, with a hollow area inside. Roughly 9" tall with a 6-7" radius. But what works good to weight them so the books wont push them apart?
Sand? or Lead shot encased in heavy plastic? A smidgen of matter from the center of a black hole? Skip the hollow idea and just have the inside be solid MDF?
Any thoughts?

Just drill a 1" or 1 1/2" hole at the bottom of the base and insert a steel rod. You could also rout out a rectangular cavity at the bottom and again, use a steel plate insert to weight it down. Also, line the bottoms of the bookends with black non-slip rubber (like router pad material) and those things will not move. The felt lined ones always slip.

[Rick Thom]

Doug, I think I would be going the lead route which provides high weight to volume/mass. Maybe melt the lead into a shape that fits your bookend base, and something slip-resistant and non-maring for the bottom of the bookends. An 'L' made of thin plate metal on the bottom of the base pointing back toward the books adds to the downward pressure when books are placed on it, further reducing the tendancy to slide apart.

[Saul Harris]

Doug-

If you rout out a recess in the bottom of the bookend and attach a steel plate - thin is fine - that will extend under the books, there is no way they will tip over. The end book(s) will be resting on top of the steel plate. Something thin - maybe not more than a 1/16" of an inch - will suffice. Simply paint it black with a good quality paint and attach either a non-slip pad or a non-mar felt pad and you're done.

[Anthony Anderson]

I have used the method that Shiraz suggested, recessing a steel plate into the bottom. Use a quality no slip pad. Works great. HTH, Bill

[Steve Hayes]

I've drilled a proper size hole then fill with buckshot and pour epoxy over the shot and let it set over night.

[Lee Schierer]

All the previous suggestions are good ideas and I have nothing that I can add regarding aditional weight. Bookends also depand on surface friction to keep the books in place. Even heavy ones can slide on smooth surfaces. Here's a trick I found that increases the surface friction.

Once you get your bookends completely made and finished, run a couple of beads of silicone caulking along the length of the bottom. These beads should be about 1/8" in diameter. Then place a piece of plastic wrap over the silicone and place the book end on a flat surface, pressing down firmly. You can either leave it on the flat surface or pick it up, but let it set for 2-3 days until the silicone sets up (do not remove the plastic wrap for several days). Carefully peal off the plastic wrap and you will have non-skid feet on the bottom of your bookends. If the silicone still is not completely set, give it another day or two with the plastic wrap off and it will finish curing.

[Doug Shepard]

Thanks for all the input everyone. Lots of good ideas here - some of which I'm kicking myself for not have thought of myself. I'm liking the idea of adding the metal plates quite a bit as well as the rubber non-skid stuff.