Where to learn about creating supports for shelves etc?

[Mark Garc NYC]

Im working on my workshop and need to make some heavy duty shelves. Where can I learn how to make strong supports for wood shelving? I plan to attach the shelves to existing masonry.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Mark,

What do you need the shelves to support and how long do you plan on making them?

[ken gibbs]

Use 45 degree L braces. Make them out of 2"X2" stock. Secure the 45 degree components using counter drilled 2 1/2" deck screws. Make the horizontal arm at least 3/4th of the shelf width. Use 2 1/2" counter drilled deck screws to mount the verticle arm to studs in your wall.

I made a 45 degree jig to assemble the three parts for each brace. You can crank out a lot of great shelf braces using your miter saw with stops installed.

You can put a lot of weight on shelves built like these and will not have to worry about max loads.

[Prashun Patel]

Masonry presents an issue. IMHO, for heavy duty loads, the best thing is to build shelf 'units' with 2x4 or 2x3 legs support the load. Then you should use tapcons, lead anchors, or Heavy duty liquid nails to secure the unit to the masonry wall and prevent tipping.

IMHO, a masonry wall is too brittle to support shelves by itself. Nails and even tapcons will work themselves loose over time. If you must to this, then use expanding lead anchors to hold proper lag bolts. To install these, you'll need a good sized hammer drill or rotary hammer.

[Mike Parzych]

I just got done building 4 shelves for someone with an interior brick wall, and she wanted a "clean" look.

I built them in two pieces. First was a piece of 1.75" square oak stock. I then put it on the table saw and cut a .875" x .875" dado off one corner, forming an "L." On the upright side of the L I countersunk holes to allow the use of expanding masonry anchors. Once these are installed I'll mount the shelves to the bottom of the L by countersinking/screwing them from the bottom. So you end up with a .875" shelf with a .75" sguare running the length underneath, and no visible means of support for the shelves.

[sean m. titmas]

Im working on my workshop and need to make some heavy duty shelves. Where can I learn how to make strong supports for wood shelving? I plan to attach the shelves to existing masonry.

mark,

i dont know of any source for heavy duty shelving ideas that is in print or on the web however just about any carpenter with a few years experience in a shop will have a few really good ideas that will actually work for you but first you need to be more specific about your storage requirements.

what are you going to store on the shelving?

how big, how long, how wide and how tall will will it be?

adjustable or fixed?

acess from which side/end?

answer those first and than you will get some useful responses.

if you want adjustable lumber storage that is accessible from the side without any obstructions than something like the following might work,

-bolt 8' 4x4 24"oc vertical along the masonry wall.
-drill 7/8" holes into the face with a 3 deg decline towards the back of the 4x4. drill them every 6" and start/stop 12" from top and bottom.
-cut lengths of 3/4" black pipe @ 24" and insert into holes at whatever spacing your lumber requires. thread a flange cap onto the end of the pipe to prevent lumber sliding off and accidental impalement.

this system works well but is very specific. i'll need some details about what you want to store before i can offer any solutions that are helpful.