Book Collection: Pixie Dark

[pixiedark76]

Here are some of my Stephen King books:













Here are some signatures:


Justin Brooks and Rocky Wood


Phil Hale


Christopher Golden, Stanley Wiater, Hank Wagner


Michael Whelan


Peter Straub and Rick Berry

[alinda]

Very cool, there are covers here I havent seen elsewhere before.

[jhanic]

Very nice, Pixie. I'd suggest, though, you start looking at better bookcases. I notice some of your shelves are bending in the middle. That happened to me and the shelf collapsed and took those below it down too!

John

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Nice collection PixieDark.

[gsvec]

Nice stuff!

[Patrick]

Cool collection, pixie.

[biomieg]

Some nice stuff in there and I agree with John, get yourself some sturdy bookcases!!

[Sir_Boomme]

Very nice, Pixie. I'd suggest, though, you start looking at better bookcases. I notice some of your shelves are bending in the middle. That happened to me and the shelf collapsed and took those below it down too!

John

nice collection....
i to agree with john... but for a different reason.
when a book sits on an uneven surface (like you bowed bookcase is), overtime... it will cause the books to have spine lean - this totally ruins a books value.

you made the investment in some vey nice books, i'm sure you'd hate to find they were screwed up later because they sat on shelf that was to thin to support them.

here's a picture of books that have spine lean.





here's a web page that talks about it.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/coll-terms/spn_.shtml

[pixiedark76]

Thanks for the feedback and advice everyone.

The bookshelf that you see I got from either Wal-Mart or Big Lots. I think it cost $30.00. I want to get better bookshelves, but I don't have a lot of money to spend. I see good quality bookshelves that are in the triple digits. ($100.00 to $300.00 range sometime higher.)

Does anyone know of a place that sells good quality bookshelves that are not extremely expensive? How can you tell that a book shelf is of good quality?

[Patrick]

Pixie, I recommend reading through the Bookcases thread in the Calvin's Corner forum. There is a lot of discussion and feedback in there regarding various bookcases and suppliers. Good luck!

[Sir_Boomme]

hey pixie,

the bookcase you have (i'm guessing) is probably made out of particle board covered in a laminate. particle board is basicallysawdust mixed with glue and formed into sheets. solid wood shelves have a lot more structural strength and longer lives than the particle board ones... with the hardwoods being the best and most expensive. so whenever you decide to upgrade, you might want to look for these.
talking about upgrades... consider the cost of replacing several damaged expensive books verses a couple of hundred for a shelf that won't sag... might make the upgrade a little easier to swallow.

in the meantime, while it's definitely not going to be as longterm as replacing the bookcase, you might want to go to home depot and buy a couple of 8 foot 1 x 2 pine boards... usually around 2 bucks a piece... then measure, cut, and nail or screw under the shelves (stain them first if you want them to match).
this would add a lttle extra support. if the back of your bookcase is just really thin board... you'd probably want to add 1 x 2 braces(screwed to the back of the frame or use contact cement or "Liquid Nails" to attach them) across the backside - and then screw your shelf supports into those.

an under the shelf brace in the front would add even more stabilty... though that could be a little trickier...you'd need to be handy with doing projects like this.... but could probably be done for under 10-15 bucks in supplies.

here's a pic i made for you that might give you an idea of what i'm talking about.

just a suggestion...

[Sir_Boomme]

to add an underside brace to the front of our bookcase...

easier if you can remove the back of the bookcase first...(so of course these would need to be done before any underside braces were added to the back)

use angle brackets (under a couple bucks a piece) and cut to fit 1x2's pine boards.

ex. as if viewed from the back of your bookcase...>

[Sam]

I've looked at the shelves that you have Pixie and they do need replacing. (I have the same kind and they're reaching the replacing point already after five years.)

Here is my suggestion (for qualifications I can only say this: my father is a cabinet maker and has made everything from cabinets to tables to bookshelves). The shelves you have just sit on brackets with the exception of the middle shelf which helps hold the bookcase together. brace the permanent shelf in the manner Sir Boomme advised on the back and BOTH sides. Don't worry about looks, just concern yourself with making sure the boards don't move so use wood screws. You can cut off the ends that stick out with a hacksaw or reciprocating saw. The hacksaw is cheaper if you have neither. Replace the other shelves completely. For the new shelves AND the bracing use plywood. I recommend "A grade" on one side at the least so you don't have to worry about splinters or anything on the side that holds the books up. A half sheet (4x4 feet) should be more than plenty for the shelves AND the bracing. I believe your shelves are 1/2 inch like mine so use 1/2 inch plywood. I would recommend using the best plywood you can afford. A/B grade will work just fine (This means "A" grade on one side and "B" grade on the other), and I recommend Poplar Plywood as this wood accepts stain really well.

If you do not have the tools and don't have a friend who can do the cutting for you, most Home Depots and Lowes will cut the wood for you to your measurements for a fee. Remember also to double check your measurements before you cut anything. The motto of every good carpenter says it all, "Measure twice, cut once".

If I can help you any with this should you decide to do it, pm me. Either way those shelves need replacing and soon.

[Sam]

After I think about it, you could probably get away with using a 1/4 inch plywood if you really wanted too. I would still use 1/2 inch myself, but that's me.

[Patrick]

After I think about it, you could probably get away with using a 1/4 inch plywood if you really wanted too. I would still use 1/2 inch myself, but that's me.

You were right the first time. Go with 1/2".


By the way, pixie, there is a simpler solution if your bookcase and shelves will allow it (they may not). Try this easy experiment: Take each shelf and flip it over. Now the bend in the middle of each shelf goes up. The weight of the books should push them flat. If you want to be extra careful, try it with heavy non-collectible books first.

If that doesn't work, go with any of the solutions as advised above by Terry and Sam, or buy a new bookcase.

[Sir_Boomme]

After I think about it, you could probably get away with using a 1/4 inch plywood if you really wanted too. I would still use 1/2 inch myself, but that's me.

You were right the first time. Go with 1/2".


By the way, pixie, there is a simpler solution if your bookcase and shelves will allow it (they may not). Try this easy experiment: Take each shelf and flip it over. Now the bend in the middle of each shelf goes up. The weight of the books should push them flat. If you want to be extra careful, try it with heavy non-collectible books first.

If that doesn't work, go with any of the solutions as advised above by Terry and Sam, or buy a new bookcase.

except, if it doesn't go flat, a bow upward is as bad as a bow downward.
another possibly really easy/cheap way to add support to the shelves (on shelves not yet bowed) - though it may not look as good as my first suggestion -
drill a hole (centered halfway from the front to back) through both sides, exactly under the shelf and then.... measure,cut and run a nice size diametered wooden(or metal) dowl from one side to the other to add support underneath.
perhaps do this... and then turn over the shelf like patrick suggested.
the bowed shelf might eventually flatten back out to the sturdy dowl and then stay that way.

or you could just ship all those nice books to me and i'll store them for you on my wood shelves... you can come visit them any time...

[pixiedark76]

After I think about it, you could probably get away with using a 1/4 inch plywood if you really wanted too. I would still use 1/2 inch myself, but that's me.

You were right the first time. Go with 1/2".


By the way, pixie, there is a simpler solution if your bookcase and shelves will allow it (they may not). Try this easy experiment: Take each shelf and flip it over. Now the bend in the middle of each shelf goes up. The weight of the books should push them flat. If you want to be extra careful, try it with heavy non-collectible books first.

If that doesn't work, go with any of the solutions as advised above by Terry and Sam, or buy a new bookcase.

except, if it doesn't go flat, a bow upward is as bad as a bow downward.
another possibly really easy/cheap way to add support to the shelves (on shelves not yet bowed) - though it may not look as good as my first suggestion -
drill a hole (centered halfway from the front to back) through both sides, exactly under the shelf and then.... measure,cut and run a nice size diametered wooden(or metal) dowl from one side to the other to add support underneath.
perhaps do this... and then turn over the shelf like patrick suggested.
the bowed shelf might eventually flatten back out to the sturdy dowl and then stay that way.

or you could just ship all those nice books to me and i'll store them for you on my wood shelves... you can come visit them any time...

Sure I'd love to ship you all my nice books!

Here is when I will ship you all my nice books.

Spoiler:

WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER

[Sam]

Hey, don't I recognize that Secretary of Dreams??

[pixiedark76]

Hey, don't I recognize that Secretary of Dreams??

I think you sent it to me and I just want to give you a big hug!

[Sam]

Yeah, that'd be the one.

[Brice]

I'm stuck with the cheap particle board bookcases for now too. It's a little late for yours, but regularly flipping the shelves delays them bowing if you do this before they have a chance to bow. Once they have the previous advice probably works best. I may go ahead and do it myself before it becomes a concern.

[Cloysterpete]

I'd kill for a cheap particle bookcase lol. There's only one room in the house i'm allowed to put books in and of course it's the room that only has one straight wall (and the pc + desk goes there) so i've got like 50 hardbacks on shelves (as much as they can take without bending) and 600 other books (mostly pb) just on the floor. What a nightmare.

Must be great to be able to see your collection all in one place!.

[pixiedark76]

Here are my latest pride and joy's

[jhanic]

Very nice, Pixie!

John

[Tito_Villa]

Yup very cool, i would love to own one of Bev's The Road to the Dark Tower!