Which material and joints for shelving? (2)

[LadyHomeLover]

Hello all you helpful folk on diynot.

I'm planning to build a shelving/tv/hi fi etc unit right across one side of my living room ~ a stretch of about 11ft. It will be 30cm deep and comprise of a low unit for the TV and Sky etc boxes running about 8ft wide, and a set of shelves with sliding doors running in plastic track to hold a small hi fi, CDs, DVDs and other light things (no books).

The whole thing is going to be painted in antique white eggshell to match the other woodwork in the room.

So I've been to Alsford website and there is an array of materials that I could use, including

plywood (hard and soft, marine, and veneered)
laminated pine
MDF
Southern yellow pine

I assume laminated pine cannot be painted so that leaves the other three. Which would be best for a project like this?

I'm a bit wary of MDF as I have never used it before. I know it's cheap, but I don't know if I would need special screws, drill bits or paint. Forty years ago I used to watch my dad making furniture out of ply, has this been superseded by MDF or is it still a viable option?

Is it "done" to mix materials? For example, to make the frame of MDF or pine, and the inner shelves of plywood?

My other question is about jointing it. I put a flatpack together last week and loved the neatness of dowels, which are cheap to buy and easy to use and dip into glue. My question is, would it be possible to drill a hole for a dowel with my ordinary B&D drill, or would I need some kind of attachment or gizmo to make sure it enters the wood absolutely straight?

I don't own a router and don't want to go to too much expense buying new tools that might only be used for this one project.

Many thanks

LHL [/list]

 

[Belboz]

First thing to ask is what is your budget?

That will dictate what you use.

Additionally, with a long stretch like that, you will need to take into account support uprights and, again, the thickness and type of material used.

Do you have a cordless drill or is it the corded mains version?

There are a lot of things to consider before you embark on a project like this but it is do-able providing you plan ahead. I assume you have a sketch plan of your design? Posting it on here would help us advise you.

B

 

[Burnerman]

A bit at a time, which may influence choices (again )
Laminated pine can be painted no problem at all - it will need a primer and undercoat.
MDF takes paint very well, but it is weak and doesn't support itself - sags unless uprights are in place with the design.
11' is a fair old span, and you need to consider how the top horizontal will be joined, with minimum visibility of the joint.
300mm is too wide for one length of pine, even from a pro timber yard.
Plywood is tough but needs a lipped edge.....birch faced (or similar) stuff will give you the best finish for paint - again the conventional length for ply is 8' lengths.
MDF is dreadful stuff to work with as its compressed dust - therefore any screws into the end need careful work to prevent breakthrough.
Any drilling for dowel needs an appropriate drilling guide, or jig.
Just a few early morning pointers....we will help you through this!
John

 

[LadyHomeLover]

Thank you guys for the lovely and encouraging replies. After posting I bought a cordless drill on Amazon to make things easier. (I have a cordless screwdriver as well!)

Sorry I have misled you Burnerman there is no 11ft span.

There can be plenty of uprights and battens, sagging won't be an issue.

You have deterred me from MDF even more!

I don't know what a jig is. I will google!

I don't have a budget but wish to do it reasonably cheaply; I don't live in a palace just a cheap Victorian house and I am not rich.

I will draw and post a plan on here in about half an hour.

 

[Belboz]

LHL - dowel jigs are cheap and effective. Post your plan on here and we will try to help.

Glas to see you bought a cordless as trying to drill with a mains corded is a bit of a barsteward.....

 

[LadyHomeLover]

The plan ain't great! The right hand unit is entirely wall hung as I want it suspended 18 inches above the floor (to leave space for the two red pouffes to be slid under a bit, to give more floor space (it's a very small room!)

The left unit is on castors so I can get access to the row of sockets behind it. It is a copy of the existing unit but wider.

 

[LadyHomeLover]

Here is the murky dark space with the odd mish-mash of mismatched loose melamine units. The lovely piece of "furniture" under the plant is two cardboard boxes with some brown paper wrapped around them! Behind the red wall hanging on the far right is an unused door, which I plan to cover with a sheet of painted plywood. This will completely cover the old door and the piece of wall to the window, and will also do service as the back of the new wall unit.

 

[Belboz]

How do you intend cutting the sections to size?

 

[LadyHomeLover]

How do you intend cutting the sections to size?

Alsford said they will cut everything for me.

Otherwise, I have a jigsaw and some G clamps, so by clamping a straight piece of wood onto the piece as a guide, I can cut a straight line.

If needs be, I have a friend who owns an electric chopsaw.

I see similar designs at Ikea. but I can't buy what I want there as the sizes are all wrong, plus I don't like that super bright-white gloss finish; I hate white gloss paint ~ all the woodwork in my entire house is antique white eggshell.

 

[cajar]

taking some ikea furniture and modifying it to suit your desired dimensions can be satisfying and a good way to start out.

 

[LadyHomeLover]

taking some ikea furniture and modifying it to suit your desired dimensions can be satisfying and a good way to start out.

I reckon that, if I have to cut up the Ikea units, it, re-dowel them, then prepare all the surfaces for repainting and then paint them, and then assemble it all and attach it to the wall with fixings that I have to supply myself, and probably make new holes so I can have all the shelves exactly where I want them, and probably buy and cut and fit and paint additional Contiboard shelves, and buy and fit the castors, I might just as welll make everything from scratch, that way I will have everything exactly as I want it.

That would be the most expensive option, too. To buy the Ikea units will cost almost £1,000.

 

[Belboz]

LHL...

First thing I would suggest is to lay out a plan of the sections against a 1220x2440 standard sheet size.

Calculate the size of each section and then find the best way of getting the maximum number of sections out of each sheet (to avoid waste)

Once this is done, you can then calculate how many sheets of the material you need.

Remember that you will probably need a minimum of 18mm and possibly 25mm for the units.

Come back when you have calculated this so we can advise regarding fixing and construction.

There are a lot of things to consider but working out what you will need material-wise is always a goof first step.

B

 

[foxhole]

I would say MDF would be perfect for the job, no dust problem if someone is cutting it for you. The 18mm is easily jointed and is very strong.

 

[foxhole]

How do you intend cutting the sections to size?

Alsford said they will cut everything for me.

Otherwise, I have a jigsaw and some G clamps, so by clamping a straight piece of wood onto the piece as a guide, I can cut a straight line.

If needs be, I have a friend who owns an electric chopsaw.

I see similar designs at Ikea. but I can't buy what I want there as the sizes are all wrong, plus I don't like that super bright-white gloss finish; I hate white gloss paint ~ all the woodwork in my entire house is antique white eggshell.

Jigsaw is very poor at cutting straight lines even a professional one with a guide.

 

[LadyHomeLover]

Belboz

Thank you for that, a great suggestion and one I had not thought of! Duh! I will do that. I imagine 1220 x 2440 must be what they/we used to call 8 by 4? Are you suggesting MDF?

Foxy

Thanks for the tip. I will get Alsford to cut it all for me, or my friend with the chop saw.

Woo woo I found THIS on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVdXEBkPQO0

They don't use a "jig" just drill straight in. Also, no dowels just screws. They make it look so easy!

Oooh found this, too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asVCzupSRAw