Threaded Rod Bookcase

I really like the combination of wood and metal, it's rigid, industrial and looks nice. We spend a long time looking for a nice bookcase which was not to expensive. As we weren't able to find one, we decided to build it ourselves. All in all, it took us 60 euros and half a day's work, so we are very happy with it.

One thing I find very helpful, is creating a 3D model before actually constructing it. It does take some time, especially if you're new to a 3D modelling program (as I was), but in the end, I think its worth it.

On the design:

• We wanted a bookcase which does fit into a corner.
• It should have non-equal spaced shelves.
• No welding, as I've never done that.
• Enough space to store some books, but not a complete wall, it should remain "light".

As you can see from the top view, I decided 25cm between the supports. I wanted to use threaded rod (M10) as vertical supports, and the shelves are attached by using nuts and washers. My local hardware store has M10 threaded rods of 2m, which was the right length. For the shelves you can user whatever wood you like, I used pine.

(Disclaimer: sadly I forgot to take a lot of photos while constructing )

To reduce the number of cuts I have to make myself, I looked for pine boards of 30cm. This means 2.5cm border, which should be more then enough. The dimension of my three types of shelves are: small: 30cm x 30cmintermediate: 55cm x 30cmlarge: 80cm x 80cmThe holes for the vertical support are 12mm, so I don't have problems fitting the threaded rod.

If you want to varnish the shelves, now is a good time.

I want each shelf to be supported by two nuts and a washer. On the top of the shelf I used a washer and a single nut. This means that I had almost 150 nuts I needed to move along the 2m of threaded rod. I did not do this manually, so instead of screwing each nut manually, I decided to keep the nuts in place and screw the threaded rod.

I constructed the bookcase, lying on it's back on the floor

• Start by laying the shelves on approximatly the right distance.
• Make sure that you have enough hands: I used one person for every shelf, and one extra.
• Take a threaded rod, add two bolts on the end and attach them together. Then with a simple drill bit, you can screw the threaded rod with a cordless drill.
• Each shelf person holds a nut and a washer on the top part of the shelf, and a washer and two nuts on the bottom part of the shelf. If you hold them lightly, the threaded rod can just be screwed easily in place.

After all this is done, put the bookcase in place, and tightly fix all the nuts. Voila! I also installed small angular brackets to attach the bookcase to the wall.