New answers tagged technique
2
There are a lot of issues to consider in this project.
It is not clear how much experience you have nor what tools you have to work with so it is difficult to give specific advice on how to proceed.
The shelf layout limits the height of books you can store. You may want to consider varying the height of the shelves such that one shelf handles taller books ...
4
Your main issue is the large span for the shelves. Plugging in your dimensions into The Sagulator gives a sag of over 1/4" with pine, a tad under 1/4" with oak and around an inch for particle board or MDF.
The easiest way to reduce the sag is to have more support for the shelves. Even a single support in the middle (which reduces the span from 85&...
1
What you're describing is a medium sized solid wood panel that is likely to be "cupping".
This is a phenomenon that happens with solid wood boards/panels so the most practical solution for a beginner would probably be to use a different material - such as plywood or MDF. These engineered materials will be perfectly flat from the factory, and are ...
0
If drilling holes in the wall is a permanent or insurmountable objection, here is what I would do after thinking about this for a bit:
You need masking tape, superglue (cyanoacrylate or CA glue), and some small strips of thin wood. You'll be using the superglue-and-tape trick.
Apply tape to the wall at the height of the tabletop where the strips of wood ...
1
Alternative recommendation for smoothing without the need for planing stop: a cabinet scraper (card scraper)
The other answers look to the work holding issue very well, and can definitely be used with a smoother plane. However, if you are only looking to smoothen, then I recommend an alternative to the plane: a trusty cabinet scraper. Since it is easier to ...
2
A table saw would be the easiest way.
Since you don't have one, a track saw should manage fine. It's accurate and easy to setup (as opposed to a regular circular saw). My main concern would be if it can handle the cut in a single pass (both in terms of power and of avaialbe depth of cut). If it has enough depth of cut, doing in a shallow cut and then a ...
1
In general, using a strong joint such as a half lap, or a mortise and tenon will be about as strong as if it were a single piece of wood. Think gate construction. Gates are different in that they have all the weight on one side, thus they need a diagonal brace to transfer some of the load. If your frame is supported on both sides, and is made with quality,...
1
The option of using cabling or cording of some sort is best presented with an image, curiously enough, to scale:
The blue lines are cord, passed through holes drilled at the intersections of the frame. One could get away with a single continuous piece, but unless it's secured to the frame, you'll still have undesirable flexibility in the frame. Additional ...
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