"Pawel" wrote in message
...
So i got my first router and after few plays with making garage shelfs i
want to make a real bookcase.
I was thinking of starting with pine, but am afraid that it may be to soft
to last as a nice bookcase.
Is douglas fir a reasonable compromise? or maybe i can make it with pine
and make surface harder by
finishing. Or shall i take it all in stride and make it from oak: oak
plywood with oak boards for walls and shelf edges. Any advice is welcome.

Pawel

My first router project was pine bookshelves, too. They've been in use for
sixteen years now, with books stacked two layers deep, and they were
patterned after the ones my wife's grandfather made mabe thirty plus years
ago. Both sets are still fine, if not better than when they were first
made. The only time you need to worry about them lasting is when you move
them. Take care at those few times it happens and they'll effectively last
forever.

I agree with marks542004 about stained pine. I stained mine and I wouldn't
do it again. Oak is heavy. When you move you've got all those books to
move, and they're heavy enough. Moving a pine bookshelf is a one person
job. Oak? I dunno, but after moving a lot of books you might want help
with the shelves. Personally I don't like the look of plywood because of
the way the grain looks, but that's just me.

- Owen -