And to clarify, when I say "not...that much" I mean you have to look at the shelves from the side to notice the curvature.
Shelving
And to clarify, when I say "not...that much" I mean you have to look at the shelves from the side to notice the curvature.
Mark CMG
Creative Mountain Games
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
Really I'd say you need to look for bookcases that do not have wide shelves but narrow ones. Sort of simple physics, less weight over a shorter span puts less pressure on the wood to bend. The tricky part is that so many bookshelves I've found simply don't have the HEIGHT between shelves to accomodate gaming materials - they're designed for 9.5" tall hardcover novels not 11" tall gaming rpg books, magazines and materials.
I have a set of shelves from Ikea I keep my Dragon magazine collection and a set of old encyclopedias on. They're 3.5 feet wide and have done remarkably well but still DO bow visibly when you LOOK for that. I'd say you really need shelves with no more than 3' between vertical supports to prevent heavy amounts of gaming books from bowing them. And, of course, having HARDWOOD shelves would help which you're just not going to find without spending a lot of money for antiques or custom cabinetry.
Having some custom made is probably the way to go anyway though given the height requirements. And in the long run it'll be cheaper than throwing out another set of pressboard or soft wood shelves every few years.
I have a set of shelves from Ikea I keep my Dragon magazine collection and a set of old encyclopedias on. They're 3.5 feet wide and have done remarkably well but still DO bow visibly when you LOOK for that. I'd say you really need shelves with no more than 3' between vertical supports to prevent heavy amounts of gaming books from bowing them. And, of course, having HARDWOOD shelves would help which you're just not going to find without spending a lot of money for antiques or custom cabinetry.
Having some custom made is probably the way to go anyway though given the height requirements. And in the long run it'll be cheaper than throwing out another set of pressboard or soft wood shelves every few years.
Good point on shelf height!
The Metro/InterMetro shelves can be assembled with spacing every inch, as I recall, and the bookcases I got from Haverty's have adjustable shelves. This means both can be set up for holding all kinds of stuff.
The Metro/InterMetro shelves can be assembled with spacing every inch, as I recall, and the bookcases I got from Haverty's have adjustable shelves. This means both can be set up for holding all kinds of stuff.
AeroDm
First Post
Not height but width. Like Turjan pointed out, even cheap Ikea shelves can do the trick. I have an Ikea bookshelf that is 5' by 5' with 4 x 4 shelves at 13" each. The entire unit was about $160 and has withstood a decade of use and shifting without any scrapes. This thing would hold about 300 books and hasn't sagged a bit. As long as you take care of it, it looks great and will take care of you.
I wasn't referring to the shelf-sagging thing- I've covered that before- but he was entirely correct about the shorter shelves & physics.
What I was referring to was this:
IronWolf
blank
This looks very similar to the IKEA shelf I use for most of my books. The model I have is the Expedit series. Very reasonably priced and the non-wide shelves help with shelf's strength under load.
Crazy Jerome
First Post
I make my own. I'm finishing up about 150 feet of shelves right now. 
For the nicer ones that will have a heavy load, I used 3/4" plywood with a 1" strip of poplar running down the back edgewise for support. Then some are 3/4" MDF with 1/2" wooden dowels into studs as extra back support.
For cheap "assemble yourself" wood book cases, I've had a lot of luck with Sauder units. These are always premade precisely, so that they assemble easily. And if you stick with the 30" or less widths, the adjustable shelves are perfectly capable of holding a row of game books with no noticable bending over a decade. (Any bend is so slight that the flip the shelf over trick will easily counter any bend you do get.)
For metal, back in my poorer days I've been known to convert metal grated shelves (that I already had) to books by buying 1/4" plywood which was cut and sanded to fit. It's ugly, but for a basement it works.
For the nicer ones that will have a heavy load, I used 3/4" plywood with a 1" strip of poplar running down the back edgewise for support. Then some are 3/4" MDF with 1/2" wooden dowels into studs as extra back support. For cheap "assemble yourself" wood book cases, I've had a lot of luck with Sauder units. These are always premade precisely, so that they assemble easily. And if you stick with the 30" or less widths, the adjustable shelves are perfectly capable of holding a row of game books with no noticable bending over a decade. (Any bend is so slight that the flip the shelf over trick will easily counter any bend you do get.)
For metal, back in my poorer days I've been known to convert metal grated shelves (that I already had) to books by buying 1/4" plywood which was cut and sanded to fit. It's ugly, but for a basement it works.
TheYeti1775
Adventurer
Having short length shelves are the key for you. Even your hardwoods will warp/bow over time if they don't have center support.
O and the shelves at Lowes/Home Depot that are steel framed and particle board will hold just fine as well.
I use them in my garage and can vouch for their durability. I even have vise mounted on one of them. I use one set as a dual workbench setup. 100's of lbs of tools sitting on them the last four years and they are still going strong.
O and the shelves at Lowes/Home Depot that are steel framed and particle board will hold just fine as well.
I use them in my garage and can vouch for their durability. I even have vise mounted on one of them. I use one set as a dual workbench setup. 100's of lbs of tools sitting on them the last four years and they are still going strong.
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