Shelves material

[wijcc]

What is the best material to use for shelves, the shelves will be 79cm in width and 28cm in depth and will be used to hold books mainly?
I was thinking of something like MFC board 18mm thick or Pine/Spruce furniture/timber board also 18mm thick, which would be stronger/better out of these two?
The shelves will be white so I get the MFC board no need to paint otherwise timber board would be painted white

Thanks in advance

 

[big-all]

scaffold boards old or new are brilliant for this job will easilly cope with 800mm unsupported
yes they are only 227mm wide
you can easily put any bigger books on the bottom shelve made wider or just overhang bigger books a bit
you are actually better with shallower shelves near the ceiling so books are easier to see

iff you step your shelves back you can use the offcuts to pad out the base to perhaps 300mm then say 265 then 225 un cut then say 185mm giving 40mm to the lower shelve and so on

 

[wijcc]

Thanks.

If it was a choice between just MFC board and timber board, out of just these two which is better?

 

[big-all]

mfc will sag so need a max 5-600mm span to be sure ' timber board should be ok as long as its at least 18mm

 

[Munroast]

mfc will sag so need a max 5-600mm span to be sure ' timber board should be ok as long as its at least 18mm

is MFC as bad as MDF for bending out of shape ?

 

[RandomGrinch]

is MFC as bad as MDF for bending out of shape ?

No, especially if it's only about 600mm wide.
Hundreds of offices in my workplace are fitted out with a shelf system called Toprail. The shelves are about 600mm X 350mm and are put under a severe strain!
Some do have a slight bend, but I've never seen one fail.

...although I am now really sad! Looking up details of Toprail, I've found they went into liquidation earlier this year.

 

[big-all]

is MFC as bad as MDF for bending out of shape ?

because there is no actual continuos grain, they will be similar .. Although melamine facing will add no strength it may act differently because 'whilst chipboard is not so compressed it has at least short lengths off wood with grain that make a slight difference ??

 

[RandomGrinch]

because there is no actual continuos grain, they will be similar .. Although melamine will add no strength it may act differently because 'whilst chipboard is not so compressed it has at least short lengths off wood with grain that make a slight difference ??

The melamine makes a big difference.
It helps it becomes a composite structure, whereas the foil surface on MDF does nothing.

 

[Munroast]

blockboard was a wonderful board for making shelving with - it worked just like real wood, (and of course it was real wood) is it completely unavailable now ?

 

[big-all]

The melamine makes a big difference.
It helps it becomes a composite structure, whereas the foil surface on MDF does nothing.

i suppose in my clumsy way i was thinking it may add as a "stressed skin" but not at all sure hence my answer ??
i know mdf will sag under its own weight regardless off thickness and melamane tends to be flat but not sure if its because off different storage as not full sheet material ??

 

[big-all]

just noticed underneath in the 5 similar threads i have over the last 13 years contributed to four off them with similar comments ----that assumes others see the same as i do

 

[wijcc]

Thanks all, I will be having support at both ends and at the back of the shelves, upon which the shelves will be sitting on (see crude diagram below) - will that make a difference?
If i decide to use pine timber board, do I need to treat the wood before I paint them white to make the last longer - they will be fitted in the living room?

Thanks for your help and advice

 

[big-all]

pine indoors needs zero treatment and will turn to a mellow antique pine in about 2-4 years but without the yellow
whilst its good practice to have a batten at the back you will be ok without it iff the ends are well fixed the disadvantage are any books within 44mm off the full height will be forced forward by the thickness off the baton
its worth planning the shelves according to the books you have as in many many large books then more shelves for large books

 

[Why Not Indeed]

blockboard was a wonderful board for making shelving with - it worked just like real wood, (and of course it was real wood) is it completely unavailable now ?

Available in the usual dimensions from multiple suppliers.
Good summary of the pros/cons of blockboard and conventional ply:

18mm Blockboard - Peter Benson Plywood Ltd

 

[opps]

Thanks all, I will be having support at both ends and at the back of the shelves, upon which the shelves will be sitting on (see crude diagram below) - will that make a difference?
If i decide to use pine timber board, do I need to treat the wood before I paint them white to make the last longer - they will be fitted in the living room?

View attachment 318976

Thanks for your help and advice

If you are building a frame to support the shelves, you have the opportunity to flip the shelves when they start to sag. 18mm will sag over time, even 25mm will do so over time (albeit more slowly).

I used to work for a cabinet maker who often had customers asking him to make floating (read: invisible fixings) shelves to go into alcoves. The cheapest option was 25mm MDF. He routed out slots for screwheads. There would be 2 screws at either end and one or two along the length. Once the shelf was dropped on to the screws, the slots were back filled with 2 pack filler. For the cost, it worked really well.