A better shelf?

I am trying to start over and build a shelf layout. But the plywood top on 1x4 bracing is not staying very level. The bows in the plywood are just not straitening out.

Tomorrow I plan to head out in search of hollow core doors, but I thought I wuld ask here first if there is any suggestions to making a very level, and light-weight shelf in an apartment with no table saw?

Perhaps "ripped" plywood 1x4's would be more rigid and straighter than the lumber I bough. But I just don't know benchwork very well.

Any suggestions, tips, and especially sample photos will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mopac fan

 

I think you are already on to the problem. I don't think your plywood is the problem, it is the 1x4's you have. Your solution of ripping them out of plywood would be better. It is a little trickier without a table saw, but a pair of saw horses, a straight edge and a skill saw you should be fine. I think plywood is the best way to go if you are concerned about weight. Particle board and Melamine are nice but weigh more and you cannot brive track nails into it very easily. If you can afford the extra cost bass core plywood is very nice. It seems to be flatter and alot lighter than fir ply. We use it at work all the time. We get it for about $35 a sheet. Not sure how much you will spend at your local lumber yard.

That is my cents worth. Haven't done much bench work myself.

 

My HO shelf layout is made from 2" blue foam. I used two layers to get 4" for "depth" in various areas.

The foam rests on "L" brackets that are mounted on the wall about 2' apart.

I used 1/8" laun plywood for "subroadbed". You could do without this, if you don't have the tools.

My layout been up for about 5 years now with no problems. Foam is stable, with no expansion/contraction issues. Make sure that any "exposed" areas are at least painted to protect from UV rays.

Foam is inert, but UV exposure can cause a little shrinkage over time, that's why I put a coat of latex paint over some areas.

 

Bi-fold hollow core doors for closets are available in 12" and 18" (probably other widths too), that's what I am using in N scale. With just two closet shelf brackets per door I have penty of suport with no sag whatsoever. I am using lightweight styrofoam for scenery. The two I have up are joined end to end with a wooden cleat on the underside. This modular type construction will allow me to expand or re arange sections as it grows or if I move to another house, without major modifications to the rental property I'm in.

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You can try gluing 1x2 stiffeners to the bottom of the plywood to straighten them out and add strength.

 

John, good pic of the wall "bracket". Mine are very similar, but a little bigger. They were on sale at Lowe's when I needed them.

I put a 1" x 6" over the top of the bracket, and cut it longer than the bracket for a little more "suppoert.

Just my opinion, but I think that letting the modules "float" on the brackets is better than attaching them firmly. When the house/wall shift during the seasonal changes, there's no problems with the layout track etc.

Modules don't need to be supported by benchwork that's built like "brick s**t houses"....................they're light and stable. They just need a "bracket" system to hold them up against a wall.

 

Thanks guys! I like the door idea, but what about gaps in distance? At 6'8" the doors will be about a foot short of the wall length I want to span. Suggestions for that?

I also like the stiffeners idea, as I already have some benchwrok built that I would like to use still. But it has warped a bit over the years. I'll see how that goes.

I'm off to the hardware store, I may have more questions than answers when I get back.

TTFN
Mopac Fan

 

Yeah you just cut them and then use a piece of the cut off end as a cap on the inside of it.