From: brianw@writer.yorku.ca (Brian Whittaker)
Subject: Re: Designing bookcases.
Summary: baltic birch plywood back
Keywords: birch plywood bookcase
Organization: Computer Assisted Writing Centre, York University, Toronto, Canada
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 04:33:36 GMT

My own design for attractive but utilitarian bookcases units about 3'
wide and 3' high is as follows:

First, the basic frame: the sides, top and bottom are 3/4" white pine,
12 wide (nominal) x 36" long. I join these with dovetails, which, like
much classical music, go quite fast but take a bit of practice before
you can make them go fast :-)  Other possibilities include various
combinations of rabet and dado joints.

Second, the backing: I use birch plywood (variously known as Baltic
birch and Russian birch), available at *some* lumber yards and plywood shops.
Any plywood shop should at least be familiar with these names. Around
here, it usually comes in panels 4'x4' (If you are thrifty or lack a
circular saw, You may want to buy the plywood first and size the
project around it. The birch plywood is very easy to sand and finish,
and does not exhibit wild grain; it matches the colour and grain of
white pine or solid birch very nicely. I use a backing piece about
1/4" thick (or slightly thicker in metric). The backing should not be
any thinner, as it provides the rigidity to the carcase which is
otherwise a parallelogram which can develop considerable flexibiltiy
with a couple of hundred pounds of books and a few minor bumps. I set
the back into the pine carcase by rabetting the back and dadoing the
inside of the sides, top and bottom like this:

    __________ ______________________________________________ _________
    |     ___| |                                            | |__     |
    |     | ___|                                            |___ |    |
    |     ||____________________________________________________||    |
    |     |___                                                ___|    |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       | 
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |   
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |        |                                                |       |
    |________|                                                |_______|  

I cut the rabet around the edge of the back piece and the dadoes in
the carcase pieces with a router. (I also drill holes for pins to
support the shelves using a jig to space the holes evenly.)
The back thus "floats", although not too loosely, in the groove
running around the inside of the carcase. 

Third, a plinth for the bookcase to stand on: The plinth is made from
1x4 white pine, on edge, set in about a half inch from the edge of the
bottom board on all four sides. This design makes the bookcase look
lighter by making it appear to float, and is also a deterent to
climbing insects in a basement recreation room. Alternately the plinth
might be slightly larger than the bottom piece and rabetted to allow
the bookcase to sit on a ledge inside the top of the plinth; this
design would look heavier and more architectural, but would offer
less defence against climbing insects in a basement setting. 

Brian
who now knows why emacs is not the leading CAD program :-(


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Brian Whittaker
English Dept., Atkinson College, York University
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