I just put up a pdf file (and a SketchUp file), if you would care to see it,
at my new website:

http://web.newsguy.com/MySite/

I was not trained as an engineer as many of your were, and I
don't have much experience in woodworking, so I have a few questions.

My pdf file illustrates my design idea from various angles. The shelves
on the right side will become drawers, and I may put a door across the
3 shelves on the left, but that's not an issue now.

All of the wood is 2" (nominal 1.5") SYP.
The top, 84" by 30" by 3" should be about 88 pounds assuming 60 lbs/ft^3
for SYP (I've come a long way, when I first saw "SYP" here, I didn't know
what it was).


1.The model looks better with 3/4" shelves rather than 1 1/2" thick ones in
this model,
and that's how I started out. But after considering an interesting
bookshelf
thread the other day, I started thinking that my shelves could provide
structural support--rather than being "passively held in dados" like I
originally
planned. That includes the boards behind the shelves; I had
originally intended to just slide them into dados. I could glue and screw
everything
down and make it rock-solid, but then the instability of the wood could give
me all sorts of problems I suppose. Please help me consider that...an 88
pound
top is pretty heavy, no? I'd prefer to use 3/4" shelves.

2. I left 2" between the back and the rails and another 2" between the
rail and
the 2 boards behind the shelves. So 5 1/2" of "wasted space" in the back
altogether (plus
actually, 2" more for the overhang on the top I left for clamping things to
the top).
I was trying to be prudent (for strength). Could I safely get by leaving
less than 2" on each side of the 2 rails?

3. What's a good way to attach the top? Screw in wood with triangular
cross-section like
I see on manufactured tables and chairs? Something else?

4. I was thinking about cutting arches in 2 or 4 of the verticals, leaving
the impression of "feet".
That makes up to 8 feet, and I don't have a particularly level floor...? I
could leave it and
shim it to fit the floor.

5. Glue the tenons of the rail into the mortise or not? If I can think of a
way to avoid glue, the unit might be easily
disassembled if desired.

Is it overbuilt or have any weak aspects? What would an engineer say (not
about the poor drawing!)?
Sorry if there are too many questions, i'm just thinking now...

Any comments you would like to make would be appreciated especially by me,
and I like to think
for some of the other beginners out there. I'll save my quesitons about
drawers until after I have
done more research on drawers!

Thank you,
Bill