Shelving and biscuit joints

[basill]

Hi there,

Have a few projects in store for my flat. One will be making a floor to ceiling book shelf to fit an alcove in the lounge. Another is a fitted wardrobe for my bedroom to fit into another alcove.

Am I right in thinking that biscuit joints will provide a much more solid joint than say using metal cams or even dowels?

Also do biscuit jointers cut into the "face" of timber or just the ends/sides? An example would be say I had a piece of timber standing vertically and wanted to add a horizontal shelf. The shelf bit can easily be cut with the biscuit jointer as this plunges into the end of the timber no problem. But what about making cuts into the face of the vertical timber? Would you use a router with the appropriate cutting blade in those cases?

Realise I should have paid more attention to my woodworking teacher at school! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[big-all]

a few points here

if its going to fit in an alcove and stay there you
could just screw it together
i personaly use 8x40mm wooden dowels which are
definatly strong enough
strait lines when using a biuscut joiner use a batton
to run against
i wouldent choose a bicky joiner for this job

you just router out a groove 9mm wide 9mm deep
in the sides stopping 5mm short of the front edge
router the shelve leaving a 8.5x8.5 tounge
so you make the shelves 17mm longer than required

or use dowels

big all

 

[fitter]

The joints done with a biscuit joiner are stronger than dowel or cam joints.

There is a greater glueing area than dowels and when used with a water based glue the biscuits swell up to form a tight permenant joint.

I use a clamp & guide to cut the grooves away from the ends but you can also use a battern & couple of clamps.

 

[basill]

Thanks for the advice so far. I have been reading that there are some biscuit joiners that have pop up or detachable fences (I think they are called) which enable flush cuts to be made.

Screws aren't really an option for some of the shelves as they would show for those that start from the middle vertical board. Difficult to explain without a drawing but imagine 3 or 4 vertical boards (2 screwed into the alcove walls). Shelves would be at varying heights to take books, dvds etc and to make it look more interesting with maybe cupboards as well.

 

[big-all]

the sole plate on your biccy joiner should pivot out the way

another points to keep in mind
mark you sides so you know whats what face edge face side
[in this case the front and outside edges]
lay them back to back draw the lines where you want the shelves
stop the line 4mm from the front so whichever method you use
you can remember to stop the groove short

also if your going to router a rebate for a back
your shelves will have to be that much smaller
[8mm rebate shelve 8mm less]

i also make my tall shelve with a slight slope
with 4mm less at the back this helps them to remain stable
especialy important with carpet grips cos they dont compress

big all

 

[big-all]

ive just read your reply properly are you saying it like a built in
book shelves with a single upright support in the middle

 

[basill]

Probably something more like this but possibly with two uprights in the middle. The outside uprights I would fasten to the walls and cover the screws with shelves. Was thinking to make it less boring that the shelves don't all have to be at the same sort of heights but could be offset, hence why screws would show from the sides.

http://furniture123.co.uk/layouts/item.asp?itmid=1305

Not sure if I explained that easily??

 

[big-all]

so i know have a vision of that unit with ajustable shelves either side

how are you planning to fix the shelves to the walls at the side
how deep is it going to be timber over 10 inch planed[248mm approx]
is both very expensive and unstable better laminatng 2or 3 boards
of 6 or 7 inches wide