Strong Floating Shelf Made With Dowels
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- Опубликовано: 25 дек 2017
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Another approach to mounting floating shelves uses dowels to secure the shelf frame to studs in the wall. The results are pretty surprising. 50 pound bags of concrete are added to the shelf to test how long it can hold up. The conclusion that is reached with all the strength tests that are done just show how surprisingly strong floating shelves can be. Depending on the purposes needed, different installation techniques can result in shelves that fill many purposes including being strong enough to hold heavier items. 
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Makes me miss my dad. We used to do “fun” stuff like this together.
I'm with you on that George. My Dad has been gone 28 years now and rarely a day goes by that he does not come to mind. I've been fortunate to have done and continue to do lots of things with my son. He and my daughter both live close by. Thanks for the comment and reminder!
I've been looking for a cheap and practical way to build floating shelves for my 98 year old kitchen. Found it! Amazing work sir!
I find that genius is displayed better in the practical and not the abstract. You fulfill my definition.
Wow, Jacob! You are probably going back to the days of the authentic plaster walls before drywall in your kitchen. Very cool! If those walls could speak, I bet they would have stories to tell! Thanks for your comments. I certainly appreciate them. Good luck on the floating shelves! Those should make a nice upgrade to the kitchen.
Rusty Dobbs yeah horse hair plaster. Fun stuff to tear out. If I completely fill my 40 gallon trash can with it, I can't move it. But yes, the house is old and needs a remodel. Fun times for sure
That was amazing! That’s one strong shelf! Thanks for making these kinds of videos.
Thanks, George! I appreciate you watching!
Rusty , sir you just earned yourself a subscriber . very informative video.
Thanks, Fomi1970! Wouldn't want you to subscribe for any other reason. Thanks for the encouragement! Once I got the basics of creating videos figured out, I have since been trying to make sure I can watch my own work and stay interested. If so, I upload it! I don't always hit the mark but I try. With every video, I learn a little more. Thanks again for your comment and subscription!
More than strong enough for anything you would put on a little shelf ,good job sir.
Yes, in fact, way more than is necessary! I never expected the results I got but it is good information to tuck away. Thanks for the comment!
You just built a shelf just to break it you men have crazy minds
Our minds want us to figure out how strong something is that looks like it shouldn't be strong! 😀
Great video, thanks.
Thanks, Kind! I appreciate you watching!
Wow, I would have NEVER guessed it would hold almost 200 pounds. I have plans for free-floating shelves in my bedroom, but I think the weight they'll need will be 20lbs, TOPS. (They're mostly going to hold my wife's model dolls and horses, and maybe a few keepsakes). I won't be removing the drywall, but I might drive a longer dowel through the shelf bracket and stud for additional support.
I also caught your video about floting shelves in the corners, which gives me some ideas how to tackle that problem.
Very true, Ryan. I honestly thought the first 50 pound bag would test the capacity of the shelf. I think it would have held the full 200 pounds ultimately but I really wasn't prepared to deal safely with that much weight that high off the ground. Yeah, for your situation, even lag bolts into studs through the shelf bracket and sheetrock should give you way more capacity than you need. I did that for my shop floating shelf video and was perfectly satisfied with the results. Good luck! Thanks for checking out my channel.
Rusty, that's pretty amazing, a great test. I bet if you used something like 1 1/2" x 10" x 3/16 or so, steel with holes and screws or small lag bolts, you would get even more strength. You could also try something that Simpson makes with holes. But, the steel has to be thick enough because there is a twisting moment along with the sheer force.
Yeah, Tom, I was pretty surprised! No doubt, steel would change the dynamics quite a bit. Though floating shelves are popular primarily because they look good, it's also nice to know they can be made to hold pretty good loads. Personally, my main interest is in designing something I can use in the shop because of the ease of building these things and yet have them strong enough to not worry about. Thanks for the comment. Always enjoy your ideas!
Great Job !👍👍
Thanks, Ed! I appreciate you watching!
This is a cool video .... Very informative rusty.
Thanks so much for watching, Jay! I appreciate your comment!
Awesome video. I was planning on building some floating shelves for my audio gear and was worried about too much wight. Thanks for this!
Thanks, NW! I appreciate the comment and glad it was helpful! Good luck with your project!
Do whatever you want don’t pay attention to my comments I still watch your videos.
very good testing....
Thanks, Dor! I was pretty surprised with the results.
Respect for man like you , teach us how to do staff many thanks
Great Jabar! Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for your comment!
Ryan cautioning you as you added weight reminds me of my daughter telling me to be careful. When do kids go from poor self-preservation to telling their folks, “Be careful with that cement?” Great video.
Nice observation, Lea, and thanks for the comment! Yes, there is an interesting transition that often takes place, depending on how old we grow, where our children become the ones that are watching out for us. I have a lot more experience observing that in families than you can imagine that's not reflected in the types of videos I produce. For me, there is a difference from 10 years ago in strength, gait, steadiness, etc. that Ryan and his sister are aware of. 10 years from now there will be more change if I am still moving around! Sounds like you are well aware of these things, too. Thanks for the comment!
Really cool idea with dowells I always use long screws with the largest washer I can find to keep the smallest hole in the wood and distribute the load across a larger surface. Wood working is not my forte so I like learning new techniques.
Thanks pickle street! Not sure you can go wrong with your long screws and big washers technique! Good luck with your woodworking projects. Thanks for the comment!
You are so smart Coach!
3:10 when you put your head by that shelf I was praying for u man... U got guts
Probably not guts, Kal! Maybe not too smart! I was really trying to stay out of the way if something went wrong. Hey, but I can always use all the prayers I can get! Thanks for the comment.
Great test! I agree, it's useful to push a proof of concept to failure like this, to understand the stresses and strengths involved, lessons learned that will be useful in future projects. Since the backer board here failed by cracking along its length, one approach to strengthening that part of the shelf support might be to use 2 layers of 1 1/2" wide strips of 3/4" plywood, replacing the pine backer with engineered material that has no grain (or more precisely, multidirectional grain). Also, assuming that is stronger, the next place failure may occur is the joint between the backer and the right angle blocks. Your domino joints should be sufficient, but you could make that joint even stronger by attaching the blocks to the first 3/4" layer of plywood backer, then filling in between the blocks with pieces of the second layer of plywood (which are then glued and nailed in place), creating a dado effect and allowing a bit of side gluing on each block. It means the domino is going through 3/4" of plywood instead of double that, but on the other hand you also have side grain glued in 2 different directions, between the backer and the end of the block, and between the side of the block and the 'dado'. I've not been a huge fan of floating shelves due to the strength issue, but you've got me thinking! Which is a characteristic of a good and informative video!
Ok, JusBidniss, I read your comment this morning and you lost me. Read it again just now...crystal clear! You know I'm going to have to try this now, don't you? We were on the same wavelength all along but I was contemplating cutting 3 - 1/2" strips of oak, laminating them together vertically then running oak dowels into them rather than the domino joints. That notion was making it hard for me to connect with your idea. But your dado construction is really interesting. I'm not going to make a RUclips career out of this but I do want to wander down this path a little further. I'm planning to move the future test brackets down closer to the floor so I can more safely load them with weight. I'm with you on not being much interested in floating shelves but now see they can have some real practical applications for me. If strength is no longer an issue, biggest advantage from my perspective is no shelf support brackets to deal with anymore. Anyway, thanks for your comments and thought you put into them.Glad I've dragged you and a few others down this 'strength of floating shelves' rabbit hole with me. (maybe I should have said rabbet)
Thanks Rusty for the reply, and again for your thought-provoking video. After watching it and a couple other of your videos and seeing the quality of your work, I had to subscribe. I can't take credit for the constructed/laminated dado idea, though, at least full credit. I first came across the concept after watching the pocket83 guy, who once created a box joint by cutting the side of his box up into strips as wide as the thickness of the material, staggered them by the same thickness to form fingers, then re-assembled the strips back into box sides, with the fingers forming the box joints. Kind of a poor man's box joint without having to purchase a dado stack to cut the fingers. The idea of assembling a dado out of pieces like that stuck with me, and it occurs to me here and there when thinking through designs, like in this case with your backer. Since I was already thinking of 2 layers of plywood to replace the backer and solve the lengthwise cracking along the grain, laminating it around the ends of the blocks to form dados and strengthen that joint just seemed natural. Anyway, hope you can make something of it, and best of luck.
Hey JusBidniss! I got around to experimenting with your dado idea and the laminating oak pieces for the back support on the floating shelves. Worked out great! Check out the video when you get a chance. ruclips.net/video/qj5n4lEdBTA/видео.html
Awesome videos on this topic sir!
Thanks, Dru! I really appreciate your comment! Glad you enjoyed the videos.
Rusty Dobbs
You very welcome! I'm glad I found your channel.
I like it man. You took it to max. Its nice to see
I too have done this,BUT, what I did differently is to split the dowel on the bandsaw halfway down its length. I then glued and tapped in hammer wedges after the shelf is slipped over the dowels. Just be sure to position the dowels at the 12 and 6 clock position so there's no undue stress cross grain on the dowels. It WILL tighten the shelf up beyond belief and limit the horizontal flex that you're experiencing. Otherwise,,,that's a cool project to demonstrate different lateral stability of different woods....obviously OAK working better than pine,,,,,but hey,,put a chair under the shelf and tell your mother in law to have a seat. I did,,but I didn't achieve my goal,,,,,,the damn shelf held up too well,,,LOL. NICE JOB
Thanks for the comment, Frank! You have come up with an interesting idea here and I sort of get it but not really. I have come back and read it several times and can't get the process and order in which you are working. Conceptually, I see that the wedges would make a difference. Did you do the same thing I did in sinking the dowels into the studs then use your split dowels in the shelf holes? You may need to make sure your mother in law doesn't subscribe to my channel! Other than that, I'll keep my nose out of your family matters! Got a good chuckle from your post. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Nice vid 👍 i made some similar shelves but i used aluminum rods held in with construction adhesive similar to your dowels. But, i ran the rods the full length of the shelf into the studs.
Thanks for the comment, Clint Eastwood! Sounds like your idea worked out pretty well. Yeah, the dynamics change a lot when you start using metal in place of the dowels. Had a couple of comments about how to do floating shelves with live edge slabs and also granite pieces. Think your method is probably the way to do with those type of installations.
Thanks for such an informative test and application of the floating shelf idea. I’ve always used French cleats, but always with narrower depth shelving. This would allow for a deeper shelf that could withstand a greater amount of weight, with the added benefit of equal weight distribution. Plus you made it with the DIY guy in mind. Although I have no idea what domino connectors are, I’ll be sure to look them up! Thanks!
Thanks, Jennifer! Yes, I got more interested in floating shelves after doing some for a customer a few months ago. This test was a shock to me. I fully expected that 100 pounds would bring the shelf crashing down but it was barely phased. I'm heading in the same thought direction as you and plan to test a similar design with a wider shelf. That will change the dynamics quite a bit. Don't worry about the dominoes. Dowels work equally well. Festool makes a domino cutter and dominoes in various sizes for more production type applications. It's hard to justify the purchase price without the need to make mortise and tenon type joints a lot and in a hurry. Thanks again for your comment!
Waiting for the shelf to break was exilerating! I love construction but demolition is much more fun. 😂 Definitely subscribing to your channel because I have some walls that need to be patched as we speak.
Glad you enjoyed it, BlueprintDIY, and thanks for the subscription! I am with you on the demo. Looking forward to following your journey as you grow your channel and will help as I can. The one thing I can do is make sure you have a resource for patching those walls or anything else that comes up around the house. I've got you covered so let me know if you have questions or need an opinion. Sorry I live 15 hours away!
Rusty Dobbs Aww, Thanks so much! I will certainly be asking questions in the comment section. 😄
Excellent video! Really good information! Thanks mr!!!
Great Cabra! Thanks for watching and your comment!
I made free floating shelves with 2 x 4 supports... that is amazing what that 2 x 2(?) support has done.
Yeah, Gregory, I have commented before that I always thought of floating shelves as a bit of a gimmick. When I had to build some for a customer, I was surprised that they could be made to be pretty strong. The more I explored them, the configuration I used in the strength videos turned out to be incredibly strong. Now, I love and use them a lot! Sitting under one right now at my computer that has a LED light in it. (ruclips.net/video/_E1g4VefVPI/видео.html) The structural pieces I most commonly use are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" pieces of 2x4s connected with 5/8" oak dowels. Thanks for your comment!
Mr Dobbs yours is the best channel yet on these shelves. Can I apprentice for you ? Seriously a great channel
Thanks so much for your kind comments, RParmable! I appreciate you watching and for taking the time to comment. Yeah, I have done a little experimenting with floating shelves, haven't I!
dang, that was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. pretty cool test.....though I was really hoping you would add bags until it snapped, lol !!
I was tempted, grateful! I had not anticipated that it would hold that much weight or I would have mounted the shelf closer to the floor. When I thought about 200 pounds on that shelf and it snapping, one thing was for sure. I was not going to be anywhere close to it when it fell. Then there would be one big concrete mess to clean up, so I bailed! But I really would have liked to see when it snapped, too!
Excellent demonstration! You can add some small credit to the glue bond, which is stronger than the wood itself. That's partially why it split that way. Great work and very entertaining. Thanks for sharing ;-)
Thanks Richie! Very true about your glue bond observation. Much stronger than the wood grain and showed up that way in my test. Will be doing a video soon about using 5/8" all thread for shelf support rods that get threaded into the studs. May be the easiest method yet for building strong floating shelves, but we'll see. Thanks for watching!
Good test! you are really getting to the bottom of these shelves. That setup is really permeant though. I think a good test would be with out removing the drywall and using a 3 inch screw or a lag bolt into the studs. Obviously it will be a bit weaker, but I think it is more inline with what most people will likely do.
Yeah, Cam! Learning all I ever wanted to know about floating shelves but was too afraid to ask! No doubt this option is a permanent one. Yes, as a practical reality I think lags though the sheetrock into studs give enough strength for most uses. That is what I did in the video a couple of weeks ago on shop storage floating shelves and it worked out fine. For the fun of it, I am doing one more strength test video to try out a couple of novel suggestions from a few viewers. For my own purposes, my future shop floating shelving will be attached with lags or TimberLOK screws which I am trying out. I will cut the sheetrock out and secure against the studs. I was surprise how big a difference it made in the flex of the shelves in this video.
I think the strongest connection between the stud and shelf would be a Timberloc brand screw. Either a ledgerloc which is used for attaching the bond board of a deck to a house or Headloc which is used to attach the 4x4 railing posts to the bond. I'd love to see you do a test on these screws. Although I don't predrill when using them on a deck (the pressure treated wood is often wet) I would suggest doing so with stud grade material especially if you get it from Home Depot or Lowes where their lumber is dried out from inside storage as opposed to an outdoor lumber yard.
Thanks for the idea, Xtreme! I will do one more video with a couple of other options that have been suggested by viewers to test strength in these installations and I may add yours to it. No doubt getting the sheetrock out of the way and connecting directly to the studs is a major factor. I have become a big fan of floating shelves, surprisingly! I do want to focus on one method soon for my own purposes but have enjoyed experimenting with different installation methods. Thanks for the info!
Hey Xtreme! I finally got around to try your TimberLOK screw idea on floating shelves. Check it out when you get a chance. ruclips.net/video/qj5n4lEdBTA/видео.html They are certainly easy to install and will probably be my go to installation method for typical floating shelves in the future. They flex somewhat under really heavy loads which is a part of their design, but can't beat them for ease of use.
Impressive I wouldn't have thought it would hold the 2 bags let alone 3
True, Norm. I went into this a little in the dark myself and was really surprised with how it held up.
I like your stud finder up above the shelf. Love the video and am now a sub.
Thanks for watching Jeremy! Yeah, you're the second person to comment on the 'stud finder' technique in the past day! Initially, I wasn't quite sure what you were referring to. In my defense, let me just say I had a specific reason! Thanks again and I appreciate your comment!
I used dowels and glue in my DIY projects in the past. They are indeed strong. I figure if the glue is stonger than wood and the joints are decent the weak point will be the material - not the joint.
Yep, that's been my experience, also. It's amazing how great the glues are these days. I was surprised with the results of the testing overall, but not surprised that the glue held up fine.
That’s impressive! I may build a few in my shop
Yes, Matt, I was surprised by the results as well. I think floating shelves can be a great option for shops depending on the loads.
Plus 1... very cool experiment. Cheers!
Thanks, Rick! Yeah, I've been surprised with what I have learned from this.
Because you made this video
I will do it exactly this way
Hope that works out well for you. The dowels make the installation surprisingly strong!
Rusty un gran trabajo y demostracion del alcance de soprte de esta repisa. Wow 50 kilos no son cualquier cosa! disculpa los soportes de madera de pino en que medidas los hiciste? Felicitaciones y saludos desde Mexico!!!
Thank you for watching and for your comment, Antonio! I have been surprised at how strong these shelves can be! I am finishing one more video on floating shelves that you may also be interested in. It should be out within the next week. I will talk a little about the measurements for the shelves in it.
Muchas gracias Rusty,estare al pendiente de tu proximo video para saber de las medidas.saludos mi amigo!!
You should put all 8 bags!🤔
I have an idea to make it stronger. Brace the studs horizontally with a 2x 4 in the wall then attach 2 more mounts to the the wall. It should be much stronger that way.
No doubt, dlroto, that would work, too. Probably very well!
Wow cant believe that holds so much weight. Just wood dowels no screws
Surprised me too, Tony!
Must be a smart fellow , he owns the channel lock screw drivers 👍
Thanks alot
Thanks gracia luindi! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I wonder if it would be stronger if the back piece of wood was place with the grain being short / verticle.
Haven't thought about that one, J. David! Good idea and I think you might be right! Thanks for your comment and for watching!
Nice demo. I was thinking why cut the dowls short? Why not run them right to the front of the shelf, into the front 1x1? That should make it several times stronger again!
Good suggestion, blackdatto! Thanks for watching and the comment.
I was thinking floating shelf are useless and too soft for households items but you change my mind.
That's what I thought too, Sohail. It was when I needed to build one for a customer that I realized you really could make them to be strong as well. I wouldn't hesitate to use them for most household stuff. I would probably limit weight to 50 pounds max though. Thanks for watching and the comments!
What if you added a support 2x4 in between the studs and added 2 more dowels would it make a difference?
Yes, Waseem, that would increase the strength but the ultimate question to answer is, practically speaking, how much weight do you really want to put on a floating shelf and how best do you create a support structure for that. I did a later video called "Strong Floating Shelves - The Strongest Option" that answered that question for me. Thanks for your question!
What would you recommend to beef it up to hold about 350lbs? Mounting a cafe racer above my fireplace.
I'm not familiar with what a cafe racer is, Scott, but 350 lbs seems like a lot to put on a floating shelf even if it can support the weight. Wouldn't want that to slide off and come crashing down! I would probably go to welded up "L" brackets that I could mount to studs or the face of the fireplace for higher amounts of weight like you are talking about rather than the all threads.
Hey rusty i was just explaining how a ledger/bracket directly screwed into stud would be stronger than a piece of drywall in the middle. I think it would be an interesting test to see. Cutting out drywall patch to connect direct to a stud vs drilling through drywall into stud. I know there are diff drywall thickness but i wonder what the strength diff would be. May be an interesting comparison video. Just a thought. If u already did this let me know and share a link. Awesome vids though on these floating shelves. 👍👍
They are a hell of a lot stronger than i thought and as you said seemed gimmicky and weak in their structure when i first found out about em.
Hey, Mixwell! You know I never tested the bracket to studs with sheetrock still in place. I just assumed the shelf would have a little more flex under a heavier load than it would if it were bolted to the studs directly but figured the strength would be about the same. In the video I did of using the floating shelf concept for my shop, I lagged through the brackets through the sheetrock and into the studs and they are solid. ruclips.net/video/i3POFEYtHfw/видео.html. I appreciate your comments as always and yeah, I love floating shelves now. Great option for a lot of situations.
Notice how you can see the grain of the wood? I wonder if you ran the domino's in perpendicular to the grain, 90 degrees from where you put them, if it would have held better. Just a thought.
Pretty good call there, William! Seems reasonable that flipping the dominos 90 degrees would have made a difference. Thanks for the comment!
Rusty, I was thinking of doing something similar, but instead of using dowels, I was considering, 14" long pieces of rebar which would run from 2" into the stud and all the way into the front of the shelf frame cap. What do you think of that concept?
Might work ok, Clear Designs, if you use thick enough rebar. 5/8" minimum would be my guess. The 1/2" rebar has a lot of flex to it and can be bent very easily. Maybe another idea in your direction of thinking would be using 1/2" x 16" black or galvanized pipe?
I built floating shelves like this except I used 3/4" all thread instead of rebar. I drilled 11/16" holes in the studs and drove the all thread into the studs with a hammer as far as they would go then cut them to length in place. I think the interference fit made for a stiffer assembly than would glue and pipe or rebar. The threads really bite into and compress the wood fibers and make it very stiff.
I wonder if using pocket screws for the 3 lumber pieces would have helped even more by not allowing that piece against the studs to not break in the middle as it did.
Maybe so, Neyko. I'm not sure if the holes for the pocket hole screws would have weakened the wood or not. It's an interesting idea and I sure had not thought of it. Thanks for the comment.!
You should repeat that but sleeve the dowels in a piece of conduit or something? Impressive
Thanks for the suggestion, accordv6er! Unfortunately, I'm needing to move to some new projects, but your idea could be workable, too. I'm just finishing one more video on this topic and using a couple of ideas from viewers that are a little more, well, let's say "unusual". Should be interesting!
What if you notched the stud and recessed the floating shelf into the wall. The shelf would share the load more on the stud vs the load on the dowel.
No doubt, Eric, that would make this approach even stronger. The only thought I would add though is that if I were needing to put heavy loads (150 lbs +) on shelves for legit purposes, I would go with some other type of shelving system. I was trying to test the load limits of floating shelves with standard components in this video and I think many of us have been really surprised at how strong these things can be. Certainly strong enough for most home uses!
Very nice and simple. What if you dowel into the stud, through the back support and into the framing of the support structure? Say 5” dowels. May be able to park a Model T on it!!!!!
Good point, Frank! You may be right! Thanks for the comment!
I wonder if you added that last bag but paralell to the wall if it would have held it?
Also curious if you used hardwood for the frame vs a soft wood how it would have held up.
Check this video where I used two oak strips glued together for the back support. It made a difference. ruclips.net/video/qj5n4lEdBTA/видео.html
Just curious does the 1x board in front add to and structure support. I made a floating shelf and left the 3 supports from ledger without and they feel pretty strong. I attached with 2 3" deck screws on either side snd feels solid. I am using 2x3 instead of 2x4 so my shelf doesnt look too boxy and i dont plan on showing off my cement bag collection, just a few plants and a picture but by feeling the support bracket i bet it would hold 50lbs with maybe some flex but I aint gonna hang on it but i trust it.
I think it probably does at least a little bit, but probably not enough to worry about. It's at the connection at the ledger and the supports that ultimately the joint will fail if enough weight is put on it. A board on front just makes the supports more one unit so weakness in any one of them gets compensated for by the others if they are connected together. Yeah, the cement bag collections probably show better on a pallet! Thanks for the comments. Good to hear from you, Mixwell!
What a great video. Now you need to fix your wall
Thanks Sadaqat! I appreciate your comment. You are correct about fixing the wall. I may have to start my next video with that repair! I do have a couple more tests to do on that section of wall before I repair and retire it. Thanks again for your comment!
Should've put a level on the shelf for a better visual when the shelf started to give. I enjoyed this video. Thanks.
Yeah, I thought of something like that on the next video I did on shelf strength. Laid in a level line in editing at the shelf line so it gave the effect you are talking about. Thanks for the comment and for watching!
Prototype almost ready to be a floating bench. Just needs tweaking with the live load.
Very true, Robert! I made another video using 5/8" all thread rods screwed into studs that should pretty much support a sitting bench with rods in studs on 16" centers.
Watching this was more intense, stressful and enjoyable than a thrilling action movie. Thank you for doing this test, so I didn't have to.
All I can say Jonathan is that you must have a pretty low threshold for thrilling action movies! However, I must add that I was expressing true anxiety about the time I was putting that third 50 lb bag of concrete in the shelf. I was saying to myself, "Why did you mount this darn shelf so high off the floor?" I really wanted to add weight until it broke, but knew it would make a big mess and potentially get me hurt in the process! But, hey, when Hollywood comes calling, I'll remember you were the first to see my acting potential!
Great idea. I think you can hold a lot of weight
No doubt. It was surprising how strong these things can be. Certainly makes me feel more comfortable about installing these shelves for typical home uses.
Wow pretty amazing...
Yes, bevirly, I was surprised too!
Cool video...did you ever figure out what made that popping would after the 2nd bag?
Thanks, Robert! Not sure if it was one of the glue joints sounding off or if it was the start of a crack that ultimately showed up when I snapped the shelf. I have one more video coming out in the next few days on strength tests for 15" shelves rather than the 12" in this video. Pretty interesting!
What glue did You use?
Just regular old basic wood glue, Alog.
Interesting!
Thanks for watching, Scott!
What if my wall is brick
How did you attach the back piece to the out pieces?
I have tried a number of different ways and the one that is probably best and simplest is using dowels glued in place holding them together. Here is an earlier video on floating shelves ruclips.net/video/nAOAkoIFkAo/видео.html and at about 1:50 into the video, I show how I did it.
Did he let it dry before he put the bags on
Yes, everything dried overnight.
Wow.. I didn't expect that :o)
That was my reaction too, Brian! Otherwise, I would have mounted the shelf closer to the floor. I got to the point that my biggest concern was what I was going to do if the shelf four feet off the ground snapped with 200+ pounds of concrete on it. Would have been a big mess. Thanks for watching!
Just go for it. Spaghetti & glue bridges hold a crazy amount.
Why am I not surprised that someone named, MoJo, would be saying, "Just go for it!" My next video is testing three suggested approaches for these shelves that come from viewers. I have 8 - 50 lb. bags in the next room to test them with. Should be interesting! Only change is that the shelves are closer to the floor which is the reason I didn't "go for it" in this video. I was surprised the shelf held the 150 lbs! Thanks for the comment and for watching, MoJo!
I enjoyed the first video of yours that I watched.. I subbed and rang the bell.... Ok, my thoughts... I wish you would have put a rope or something on the outside edge of the shelf and measured the weight it took to split the wood against the wall. In reality, that is all the weight the shelf will hold. It didn't look to me like it took much effort for you to split the board next to the wall when you pushed down on it. I realize your end game was to see how much total weight the shelf would hold but a large percentage of the weight was not pushing down on the outside of the shelf, some of the weight was pushing straight down on the dowels. And then there is the force of the fulcrum of the distance from the center of the dowels to the bottom edge of the board glued to the wall. This was clearly a greater strength than the split board, thus the weak link was the board splitting. Not the dowels or the board pulling out from the wall. Conclusion.... Eliminate the possibility of the splitting board by making it thicker or wider and see if you can find a weak link elsewhere.
Thanks, Danny! You went down the same path in your thought process as I did doing the test... which led to the second set of tests in the next video!
Good video, what brand apron are you using
Thanks, John. It is BucketBoss brand and I got it from Woodworker's Supply.
Should have sent it!
Just run the boards all the way into the wall and anchor them into the side of the joists. Done correctly the shelf would hold a couple hundred pounds easily.
Yep, that would work. Thanks for the comment!
Nice video, would have never guessed it. Where'd you see the 1x? 😉
Thanks wasim486! I appreciate the comments!
Imagine if you used a 2x6 with a longer shelf and two 3/4 wooden dowels on every 2x4 you can get them in I might be able to make a bunk bed
Probably could, Tyler! It might surprise you how strong that would be! You might check out one of my recent videos on using an all thread steel rod in place of dowels for a little different perspective. Thanks for watching!
Unless this was a strength only test i wouldnt advise cutting out drywall because if you decide to relocate or get rid of the shelves you have to patch the drywall instead of just patching a few screw holes.
I assume also most people doing floating shelves arent going to have a lot of weight on them and make floating shelves for the asthetics. If u wanted sheer strenth a metal bracket would be better so I am assuming this is just a strength test video. Good video and info tho.
Hell I dont think anyone would mount 150lb on a floating shelf unless they wanted to show off their brick collection.
Yeah, mixwell1983, I built a floating shelf for a customer and got curious about how strong they potentially were. Previously, I thought they were a bit gimmicky and not really useful otherwise. So, I was really surprised with the results. In a real life situation, I would stop at a max of about 50lbs for a shelf like the one in the video. Any more weight than that and the shelf should really have supports under it. But the test videos I did were interesting and I got a lot of suggestions from people regarding how tweaks might affect the shelf strength. That said, I could build a shelf similar to the approach in the video that could hold 200lbs... and it would have no practical use whatsoever! Thanks for your comment!
Shannon Boswell i dont know what you mean by receiver collection unless you are referring to stereo receivers? What i was saying is if you cut out the drywall to attach the ledger that would give u more strength as opposed to having drywall between the ledger and the stud but in thay case you could perhaps use 4-5" timberlock screws to really screw into the stud since you'd be going through a 2x4 ledger, drywall and drilling into the side of the stud itself which is 3 1/2" so even a 5" timberlock wouldnt over penetrate but the screw would be screwed deep into the stud.
If you take a 2x4 ledger which os 1 1/2 + cheap drywall at 1/2 thats 2" of material leaving you with 1" only into the stud. Take a timberlock and you are 2-3" into a stud depending on length which would be stronger.
IF i were going to put a shelf and never move it i would cut out the drywall and attach the ledger directly to the studs for some extra strength but if you move it you know have to patch an area 16" x whatever thickness assuming you mount your ledger into studs 16" on center. Hope this isnt too confusing.
How about metal studs?
Metal studs are more of a problem, Victor. While you can install floating shelves on metal studs, you need to install blocks in the space in the metal studs where your lag bolts or rods are going to screw in. That means you have to open up your walls to install the blocks, then patch, re-texture and paint your sheet rock. I would also limit the weight on the floating shelves even after that because metal studs are really not designed to have lateral pressure on them. So, yes, you can do it but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.
@@RustyDobbs I see, so it'd be better to go with some heavy duty drywall anchors and still keep it light?
I have enjoyed your videos on the strength of floating shelves...I was wondering on how strong would an eight foot long shelf be, stronger or weaker?
I would answer your question this way, Paul. I would think that if you had studs on 16" centers through the eight foot span you are talking about and you connected your bracket supports to each of those studs using the same method, you could probably count on the shelf performing as it did in the video. Since each additional stud would be sharing a little bit of load with the studs on either side, the overall strength of the eight foot shelf might even be a little greater than the two foot shelf in the video. Interesting question!
Thank you for the answering my question. I will be using your system to make an 8 ft floating shelf in my shop.
Good luck, Paul! I hope it works out for you.
What if you notched the stud instead and then used lag screws into the stud? Would be a lot harder for the pine to split that way...
Yes, Travis, that would add support to the shelf back support. My only thought is that if I were needing to store 200+ pounds on shelves for legit purposes, I would probably go with another system. But many of us have been really surprised that floating shelves like this can be made to handle much more weight than we would have ever guessed.
Rusty Dobbs Indeed... thanks for making the video!
Thanks for watching, Travis!
Wow, notice when the dad lifts the second bag to chest height it is about a foot out from his chest. The son struggles to lift the bag off thr floor. Dad is strong.
You are a good man for noticing that, Roman!!! Actually, my son and wife are regularly telling me I am not lifting correctly and they are probably right. I may figure that out one of these days when I pull something!
What are you planing to put on that shelf? A safe, a rhino, a truck perhaps?
Hello
Like I say in the video, Mr. Saur... just testing the strength of floating shelf installations. Many of us have been surprised with the results. Makes me confident that these types of installations can be used in many settings I would have never expected before. I previously viewed them as a little bit gimmicky. Almost forgot, hello to you, too.
I would be willing to bet that if you used plain sawed lumber for your mounting board it would hold upwards of 250.
Interesting idea. Thanks for the comment!
Hi, like your work! I was wondering if you would say dowels are better for this than lag bolts. I am about to start a garage project to utilize the space better. so i like the floating shelves and want strength.
jacob magana
I have been wondering how simpson structural lag screws would work, they are made to flex more like nails flex and still easy to just screw in with a driver and not have to worry about hand tightening with a ratchet...
Thanks, Jacob! Honestly, I think you will be fine strength-wise going either way. I have the same question for myself because I have other wall space in the shop that I plan to add shelves to for the same reason as you. If you haven't seen my video from last week on floating shelves for the shop, you may want to check it out. I used lag bolts with brackets mounted on sheetrock to the studs and it worked out fine. Plenty strong. Plus, with lags, the whole assembly is easy to take apart and move if needed. Using dowels, as in this video, is more of a permanent installation, but I have to tell you I was amazed by its strength. It would have held the 200 lbs, maybe more (I stopped adding bags mainly because I didn't want to clean up the mess if/when it fell!). Would be curious to know what you decide! I will do another video in a few weeks on my next section of shelves. Wouldn't be surprised if I opt to use the dowels!
So a hardwood like oak would be better
Yes, I'm just finishing a video where I used oak instead of pine for the back supports. It made a difference.
Why would you risk making a huge, unnecessary mess by letting 3 good bags of quickcrete bags fall? Surely something else would be more practical to use as a weight.
Yep, that's why the hesitation when it held the three bags. Never expected it to hold more than 100 pounds which I could have handled it if it started to go. At 150 pounds and the height, it suddenly became a safety issue too. The reason for the Quickcrete? Eight bags stacked in the next room for a landscape curbing project. What would you suggest as alternatives?
I am dissapointed. RUclips wants to see stuff break!
Sorry about that, Michael! I was more worried about breaking me!
I wanted to see if it could hold 4 bags.
Yep, what's funny is that I was expecting it would hold maybe 2 but certainly not 3! But when it held 3 bags easily, I was kind of in a bind. I had stuck the shelf up so high on the wall that I was going to make a huge mess when it broke, plus I could be nowhere close by when 200+ pounds of cement came crashing down! So, I bailed!
change the grain direction
Yep, you and several others reached that same conclusion.
Dominós ha? 💪
I wanted to see how many it would take to fail.
Don't know it you saw the follow up video where I lowered the shelves and maxed them out. ruclips.net/video/qj5n4lEdBTA/видео.html
Use a laminated 2X2??
Yes... Just to you know, I will have a new video out tomorrow where I use laminated oak pieces for the back support pieces in three tests of different joint ideas from viewers. You may want to check it out. Thanks for the comments and for watching!
That has cool.
Thanks, German! I appreciate the comment!
You like explosions that's why you keep piling on
Now, I didn't break a single bag of concrete, treasure man!
Wow!
if the grain went perpendicular to the wall, as opposed to parallel, it may have held 1000 lbs. You'd need a slice of a fat tree to do it.
that many holes in the wall to find the stud. ....
No, I find them by knocking. Completely different purpose for those, though I was looking for the exact edges of two studs, 16" oc to cut the slot for the 24" floating shelf and have it be centered.
I want to make a floating shelf for my office, but the studs are metal. Would you recommend that I use toggle bolts into the sheetrock or try to screw into the metal studs. (I hate metal studs.)
Yeah, Rik, toggle bolts are your only easy option. Depending on how much weight you are intending to put on them, I would try to hit the available metal studs dead center then make sure to insert the toggles so they pop and tighten flat on the back side of the front of the metal studs. There's a brand called Togglers that you will find at Lowes, etc. that work well and are easier to work with than regular toggle bolts. Just make sure to not drill the hole to insert them too big in the sheetrock. I would probably then supplement Togglers where needed in the sheetrock. Good luck!