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Switchback bookcase

July 8th, 2009 in The Gallery     
blueberry1 blueberry1, member
thumbs up 86 users recommend
cherry and walnut version
cherry and walnut, knock-down version with unglued dovetails and tusked thru tenons.  Interesting experiment. 
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Contemporary design with traditional (albeit routed) dovetail joinery.  I've never been a fan of adjustable shelving, which was the genesis for a fixed shelf case that could efficiently house books of varying size.  No bookends required.


Design or Plan used: My Own Design - Pete Jones, Denver Colorado
posted in: The Gallery, modern, dovetails, maple, tenons, shelf
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Comments (14)

blueberry1 writes: Sorry for the slow reply, ohwoodeye. The end caps are dovetailed and the longer angled support panels are through mortise and tenon. I used loose tenons (as opposed to integral tenons) to simplify the build process. Posted: 12:45 pm on August 31st
ohwoodeye writes: I sensed this was a winner back on July 8th & again on July 14th. I'm glad other people noticed as well. Congratulations.

Now that I revisited your creation I have another question. The tall "book end" pieces (mainly shelves 2-6) don't come to a corner. Did you just angle butt-joint that piece with the upper and lower shelves or did you grove in an angled dado joint to accept it. Posted: 1:47 pm on August 18th
germde writes: Great idea, solid design and excellent execution! Posted: 9:36 am on August 3rd
blueberry1 writes: Thanks Pinebark, I appreciate your kind words. I'm glad you like the form, but this piece was designed almost 100% from a function first perspective. I started out to make rectangular bookcase. I began to measure all my books to figure out the optimal shelf spacing to house them and I lost patience with the process. I figured there had to be a lazier way to design this, so I measured only the smallest book and the largest book.

I knew if I sloped the shelves along the angle of largest to smallest over an arms length board, tossed in a 90 degree angle for the corner where the books go, the rest of the design would fall out of that. I found the stacking to be most intriguing with a little bit of cantilever, which was my only artistic flair. Posted: 10:23 pm on August 2nd
pinebark writes: This has to be the most intriguing design I've ever seen. I first saw it a couple of weeks ago and I still can't get over it. I love both the form and the function (i.e., the tilting over of the books to stand by themselves). You hit it right on the mark, for me at any rate. Thanks for sharing your design. Posted: 12:37 pm on August 2nd
blueberry1 writes: I haven't done this with finger joints, but I think that would greatly simplify the production process for a one man shop like mine (and still look really good). A CNC solution would really make this piece more affordable! Posted: 11:50 am on July 22nd
Red_F writes: Great design! I think with a little adjustment you could easily make this a great production item. Thanks for posting the alternate photos. Posted: 8:00 am on July 22nd
pe5235nitram writes: orginally en creative;well done.
my eyes feels fine. good luck Posted: 6:19 am on July 22nd
tdc66 writes: Beautiful!

When I first bagan looking at your bookshelf, I was reminded of a verical stack of books.

Keep up the good work! Posted: 10:18 pm on July 20th
blueberry1 writes: Thank you for your kind words. I've done this design with a couple different versions of joinery and as a slatwork knockdown. All of them difficult to make at a low price point! But I keep trying to find new angles to make it more affordable. We are currently working on a version at the Red Rocks School of Fine Woodworking that will be 100% made from thin scraps headed for the trash.

As for the doors, that might make an interesting add on! Keep in mind that they'd be a little funky because you'd want to hinge them on the short side (or the bottom door would open into the floor). Thanks again! Posted: 11:27 pm on July 15th
ohwoodeye writes: Thanks for the answer to the dovetail question.
So far you have my vote for the bookcase winner. The greatest thing about this design is that I could see this bookcase in the simplest dorm room all the way to the most famous CEO's personal office. A fancier home den/office seems most appropriate. Wonder what it would look like with doors on the bottom few levels?
Keep producing sawdust. Posted: 2:25 pm on July 14th
Jurgen01 writes: This is a great bookcase. Well done! Posted: 3:11 pm on July 8th
blueberry1 writes: You can cut them by hand, but given the number of joints on this piece I chose to modify a router jig to allow me to clamp stock in at a 7 degree angle off the normal 90 degree position. It was a Leigh jig and the instruction manual covers how to do this. Posted: 2:14 pm on July 8th
ohwoodeye writes: How do you cut dovetails into and end that is not 90 degrees.....all by hand? Posted: 2:06 pm on July 8th
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