Mariner's Library Bookcase

 21 Jan 22:

We had built in some bookcases at our previous station for our Mariner's Library, they were very nice, but they stayed in Florida. This time we decided to make them freestanding, so they can move with the Armada should another move ever happen. FWIW we are in our third "Forever Home."

Remember the clear white pine 1x12x8 boards we picked up a day before? After Skipper seized one for her bookcase, we cut out bits for the new bookcases. We cut the sides to 80 inches, which fits through most doorways vertically, and the sides are 12 inches "dimensional," which means the rough board started out 12 inches wide at the sawmill, but once all the faces were finished it measures about 11 1/2 inches. Thickness measures out at 3/4 inches. We set the shelf height at 16 inches, which is good for most of our flotsam and jetsam. Then screwed directly into the shelves from the sides with #10 silicone bronze wood screws, 1 1/2 inch length, piloted and counterbored with a combination Fuller bit. 

In some construction we add cleats below the shelves, in that application we can attach the cleat to the side and the shelf from inside, and that means no fasteners are visible on the outside of the case. That also means that more cutting is required of small pieces and a little space is lost internally. 

The new JIG/DOLLY/workbench worked out great as a construction table, imagine my delight and surprise when I realized that the workbench was also at just the right height to also act as a feed table! Today I set the saw perpendicular to the bench, 8 foot boards were manageable in th 12 foot wide shop. In the future I can make a tray for the workbench that the saw sits in and run boards parallel to the saw.

A few other considerations, 1) we added a back piece at the top and bottom to keep the bookcase square, I inset those pieces which claims 3/4 of an inch. A full back would add a lot of weight and use more material. Another option would be to set the backs on the outside, but that would set the bookcase out from the wall a bit. Since some of the shelves are open at the back, I wanted to use the closet wall as a back, lest some small book disappear into the void. 2) I also cut a small relief in the aft bottom of the sides to account for baseboards. 3) 3/4 inch pine spanned over 30 inches should hold the weight of books without the shelf sagging amidships, but if it does I can add small supports under the front and back edges of each shelf. 

We are going to leave the finish natural, but the white pine is easy to paint or stain or varnish. The new bookcase is now upstairs in the Library, with lots of books and photo albums on it, none of which seem to be marine related :) Guess we'll be making a few more...