What's the best distance to have between the two brackets of a shelf?
It's going to hold books, and I don't want it to bow in the middle (or
anywhere else).

Is it better to have the brackets at 1/3 and 2/3 distance along the
shelf, or 1/4 and 3/4 distance? Or is the optimum figure somewhere in
between?

Daniele
--
Apple Juice Ltd
Chapter Arts Centre
Market Road www.apple-juice.co.uk
Cardiff CF5 1QE 029 2019 0140

D.M. Procida wrote:
What's the best distance to have between the two brackets of a shelf?
It's going to hold books, and I don't want it to bow in the middle (or
anywhere else).

Is it better to have the brackets at 1/3 and 2/3 distance along the
shelf, or 1/4 and 3/4 distance? Or is the optimum figure somewhere in
between?

How long is the shelf?
--

Steve R

---
One piece, one button suit, timeless fashion. All made by the same
manufacturer, no designer label, everybody has one.

On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 09:43:47 UTC, (D.M.
Procida) wrote:

Essjay001 wrote:

D.M. Procida wrote:
What's the best distance to have between the two brackets of a shelf?
It's going to hold books, and I don't want it to bow in the middle (or
anywhere else).

Is it better to have the brackets at 1/3 and 2/3 distance along the
shelf, or 1/4 and 3/4 distance? Or is the optimum figure somewhere in
between?

How long is the shelf?

About 1.2m.

If it's evenly loaded, surely the brackets (if only 2) should be at 0.25
and 0.75 of the length...

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70, PC/AT..

In article ,
D.M. Procida wrote:
Is it better to have the brackets at 1/3 and 2/3 distance along the
shelf, or 1/4 and 3/4 distance? Or is the optimum figure somewhere in
between?

How long is the shelf?

About 1.2m.

I'd go for three, the outer ones about 150mm in from the ends. Books can
weigh rather a lot.

--
*I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Depends on what the shelf's made of.
MDF is very bendy unless its really thick. Needs a bracket at least every 3
feet. I usually just guess the number of backets depending on the
material/weight/length. You want each bracket to support an equal amount of
shelf so for 2 brackets space them at 1/4 and 3/4. For 4, at 1/8, 3/8, 5/8,
7/8.

cheers
Bax

In article ,
Steve Firth wrote:
An engineer I used to know insisted that it was best to place the
brackets at 1/3 and 2/3.

Not much of an engineer. The spaces are then 'equal' 3rds, with two of
them unsupported at one end...

--
*'Progress' and 'Change' are not synonyms.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

In article ,
Steve Firth wrote:
It's also worth considering a construction for the shelf that is
stronger than just a plank rested between brackets. You can "beef up" a
shelf considerably by screwing and glueing a batten along the under side
of the shelf. For many bookcases it's standard to support the back edge
of the shelf using a batten screwed to the back of the bookcase. If that
isn't possible in this case then simply screwing a batten along the
length of the shelf at half the width can dramatically increase the
load-bearing ability of the shelf.

Yes. You used to get a one piece 'bracket' that ran the length of the
shelf which was fixed to the wall by screws concealed behind the shelf,
and the shelf was simply tapped into it. I've got these here in this room
- loaded with books and no sagging - and looks very good too. But I've not
seen them recently, although I can't say I've looked.

--
*The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn