Anyone know where I can find jumbo sized MDF shelves

[Carrerahill]

22 minutes ago, Andy brown said:

I used oak worktops for my pantry shelves, they come in almost whatever size you want. You could always use laminate worktops if you don't want real wood. Topped them off with cornices to match the kitchen. Pantry needs a tidy up but hopefully you get the idea.                            

That looks like a good space! 

[oldkettle]

May be too late but I watched Robin Clevett's video yesterday, he recommends a company which does all the cutting. They have plenty of choice although may not have what you need.

It's one of the latest videos on his YouTube channel. 

[Adsibob]

On 17/03/2023 at 08:47, oldkettle said:

May be too late but I watched Robin Clevett's video yesterday, he recommends a company which does all the cutting. They have plenty of choice although may not have what you need.

It's one of the latest videos on his YouTube channel. 

It’s not too late. Would you mind posting a link @oldkettle? I’ve youtube searched “Robin Clevett shelves” but not found anything that looks right. I’m familiar with him; would be good to see the video. Unless this is the company:

https://www.cutwrights.com/new/ ?

Edited March 18, 2023 by Adsibob

[oldkettle]

26 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

It’s not too late. Would you mind posting a link @oldkettle? I’ve youtube searched “Robin Clevett shelves” but not found anything that looks right. I’m familiar with him; would be good to see the video. Unless this is the company:

https://www.cutwrights.com/new/ ?

 

Yes, this is the company. I guess you already tried them. 

 

https://youtu.be/j20YBAaQ6uk

And

https://youtu.be/S6qwrMU0dAI

 

[Adsibob]

On 02/03/2023 at 15:49, SteamyTea said:

@Adsibob could be persuaded to procrastinate for months.

 

Two months later I still haven’t ordered anything. But I have rethought the plan… should hopefully be easier…

[Adsibob]

So the new plan is to use a different alcove in the room altogether, with the result that most of the shelves will be much shorter, at 1405mm long, rather than the silly 2.57m length I was working with before. I’m also not that bothered about making them “floating”, particularly if I can get away with installing three battens along the three sides that come into contact with the wall as supports, though I would make the two end battens slightly shorter than the width of the shelf so they aren’t so visible.

 

So with this in mind:

 

1) is 25mm thick pre-primed MDF thick enough, or do I need to go thicker at 30mm?

 

2) should I abandone MDF altogether, like I think some on this thread favoured?

 

3) what thickness should the battens be?

 

 Thanks all!

[joe90]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

I’m also not that bothered about making them “floating”

That’s a shame 

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

with installing three battens along the three sides that come into contact with the wall as supports, 

Yes

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

is 25mm thick pre-primed MDF thick enough,

I don’t like MDF fir structural.

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

I would make the two end battens slightly shorter than the width of the shelf so they aren’t so visible.

They will be.
 

I would use 25mm battens on the three walls,  make the shelf out of two sheets of 10mm ply held apart by 25mm battening, flush on the front but inside the other sides by the depth of the wall battens. Plant a solid front on it. Glue and screw to make solid and the shelf will slide on the battens for support and be totally hidden, the shelf will be chunky and  solid, (and floating 🤷‍♂️) just saying!!! I will draw you a diagram if you wish!.

Edited May 5, 2023 by joe90

[SteamyTea]

6 hours ago, Adsibob said:

1) is 25mm thick pre-primed MDF thick enough, or do I need to go thicker at 30mm?

 

2) should I abandone MDF altogether, like I think some on this thread favoured?

Some MDF tends to sag more than others.

It is why I split my shelves up into two blocks.  Originally they were twice as long.

 

[Dave Jones]

Floating shelves are made like a box and then slid onto the supporting battens. You down want 40mm or whatever thick you want 2x 18mm and make a box

 

 

 

[SteamyTea]

13 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

Floating shelves are made like a box and then slid onto the supporting battens.

How I did mine.

[Adsibob]

Yeah, I guess it’s not too difficult to do this - certainly within my capability.  But I will be sawing by hand as I don’t have a circular saw. I’m also not that keen on the chunkiness of these floating shelves. Ultimately the nook these are going in is in the corner of my room, and the shelves will be painted same colour as wall (a darkish green). So I don’t think the battens would be that visible once books are in.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Adsibob

[SteamyTea]

9 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

But I will be sawing by hand as I don’t have a circular saw.

Just go out and buy one.

And a multitool.

Save yourself anguish, pain and grief.

Get a small angle grinder while you are at it.

Some large G Clamps and a little long straight edge.

[Adsibob]

9 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Some large G Clamps and a little long straight edge.

I have these already.

 

9 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

And a multitool.

What would this be useful for?

[SimonD]

21 hours ago, Adsibob said:

So the new plan is to use a different alcove in the room altogether, with the result that most of the shelves will be much shorter, at 1405mm long, rather than the silly 2.57m length I was working with before. I’m also not that bothered about making them “floating”, particularly if I can get away with installing three battens along the three sides that come into contact with the wall as supports, though I would make the two end battens slightly shorter than the width of the shelf so they aren’t so visible.

 

So with this in mind:

 

1) is 25mm thick pre-primed MDF thick enough, or do I need to go thicker at 30mm?

 

2) should I abandone MDF altogether, like I think some on this thread favoured?

 

3) what thickness should the battens be?

 

 Thanks all!

 

Have you considered blockboard? With longitudinal central blocks, it's a good strong material for shelving and can be bought in lots of different thicknesses. It's also usually faced with a good veneer. A local sheet material supplier, like the one I have near me -  https://sydenhamsplywood.co.uk  - would be able to cut everything down to size for you. Even the battens. I wouldn't even think about cutting by hand, nor would I go and buy a circular saw to try and do it myself without good practise and a proper straight edge to cut along. With unsupported lengths of 1405mm you'd have to accept a pretty low load, definitely not bookshelves as max recommended span for ply and blockboard is usually about 700mm.

 

 

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, Adsibob said:

What would this be useful for?

Cutting out notches, sanding, general shaping.

I use mine instead of the jigsaw now.

[joe90]

1 hour ago, SimonD said:

would be able to cut everything down to size for you.

+1 for that, and blockboard (just need an edging strip)

Edited May 5, 2023 by joe90

[Adsibob]

23 hours ago, joe90 said:

 

I would use 25mm battens on the three walls,  make the shelf out of two sheets of 10mm ply held apart by 25mm battening, flush on the front but inside the other sides by the depth of the wall battens. Plant a solid front on it. Glue and screw to make solid and the shelf will slide on the battens for support and be totally hidden, the shelf will be chunky and  solid, (and floating 🤷‍♂️) just saying!!! I will draw you a diagram if you wish!.

So this works out at 45mm thick shelves. What if I wanted to u use this technique, but make it thinner? Would the same principle work with 12mm ply either side of 15mm battens?

[joe90]

45 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

So this works out at 45mm thick shelves. What if I wanted to u use this technique, but make it thinner? Would the same principle work with 12mm ply either side of 15mm battens?

Yes I guess it would, I do tend to overengineer things, you would end up 9mm thinner (shame I no longer have my workshop, I could knock those up for you 🤷‍♂️)

[SteamyTea]

5 hours ago, joe90 said:

shame I no longer have my workshop, I could knock those up for you

You have plenty of time to build a new one, this thread could go on for years.

[Adsibob]

Just wondering

On 05/05/2023 at 07:48, SteamyTea said:

Some MDF tends to sag more than others.

It is why I split my shelves up into two blocks.  Originally they were twice as long.

 

So I’m exploring the idea of splitting them up into sections. For a 140cm width, will two x 70cm be okay, or am I best to split into three.

 I’d like the left hand side to have the ability to store records, so I could have two times 35cm wide sections, plus one 70cm section for books. Although storage areas will actually be less than this, as need to allow for the width of the uprights.

[SteamyTea]

@Adsibob

 

I made a shelf a while back.

It is 0.88 m wide, 0.47 m deep.

It is made from two sheets of cheap 10 mm MDF, with a bit of 40 mm by 30 mm (I think) rough sawn pine separating them.

The same sized timber strips are screwed into the wall in 3 sides and the shelf slid over them. I think there are 4 timbers inside the shelf, one each side close to the wall supports, and two more evenly spaced.

So to see how much it moved when loaded I measured from the ceiling to the bottom of the shelf at the mid point. 518mm.

Then I stacked it with 10.85 kg of books in the middle, at the front. 519 mm. So 1 mm drop.

I then spread the books out like a proper library, 518.5 mm.

 

So basically with an 11 kg load, no movement.

I may have the pictures in the wrong order, but as there is so little movement, it don't matter.

No load 

 

 

Stacked books.

 

 

Spread out books.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by SteamyTea