It's a little late to be asking this now, but...

[Harold Burrell]

I am building a cupboard/bookcase for my wife for the kitchen. It will have to hold her unbelievably vast (and heavy) collection of cookbooks. The span of it is 48"...and she wants no supports.

Attached are some pics of my design and I wanted to see if you think this will hold the weight without "too much" sag. The assembly will be sitting on a counter top, much like a hutch. However, it will be screwed to the wall. The whole thing is out of pine.

Pic #1 shows the thing without the doors. Notice the bracing under the shelves. The back is plywood and the braces along that are nailed & glued. The braces along the front are mortised into the sides.

The face frame is 3/4" and half-lapped. My thought on some added support in the middle was to screw the 2 middle stiles to the top support (which will be screwed to the ceiling) and then screwed to each of the 2 upper shelves.

Anyway...I hope this makes sense. Do you think this will work?

I'm almost done with it, BTW...

[Lee Schierer]

The ribs under the bottom shelf will certainly help support the load. You can use the sagulator to determine how much sag to expect.

I know your wife didn't want a center support, but you could add one to the back that wouldn't be seen and add lots of strength to your shelf. If you add a vertical support at the back, be sure to leave the horizontal rib intact all the way across the piece. Place the vertical support under the rib like a post.

[Harold Burrell]

I know your wife didn't want a center support, but you could add one to the back that wouldn't be seen and add lots of strength to your shelf. If you add a vertical support at the back, be sure to leave the horizontal rib intact all the way across the piece. Place the vertical support under the rib like a post.

Thanks. Hey, that "sagulator" is cool.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the "vertical support at the back". Could you describe it to me (keep in mind, I am "challenged" ).

Also, I didn't mention this before, but...the bottom shelf won't be holding much weight. The books and such will go on the top 2.

Thanks again.