FIG. 2 - Small cleats make supports for 
non-adjustable shelves.

FIG. 3 - The way the nails are driven 
affects the strength of a shelf bracket.

ADJUSTABLE AND NON-ADJUSTABLE
WOOD SHELVING

• Additional shelving is useful in almost every home and can be added quickly and easily. And it need not be expensive.
  
  
• Consider adding shelves in your basement, attic, kitchen and other areas to help keep stored materials much neater and to save time when looking for stored items.
  
  
• You can make basic, non-adjustable shelving from solid boards of almost any size or width (Fig. 1). Such shelving is easy to make and provides adequate support for normal storage and shelving needs.
  
  
• The disadvantage of non-adjustable shelving is that some stored objects may be too tall or short, thus wasting space on the shelving you construct.
  
  
• You can overcome this problem by making shelves for tall objects and other shelves for short objects. Give a little thought to the materials you plan to store so you can design the shelves to minimize wasted space.
  
  
• Non-adjustable shelving is normally used in closets, attics, basements, work areas, etc., where appearance and adjustability are not very important. These shelves can be nailed together with support pieces to provide the structural strength required.
  
  
• Small cleats can provide the needed support for other types of non-adjustable shelves (Fig. 2). These shelves can be made as wide or as long as necessary.
  
  
• Wood shelving of this type should have supports every 3'. If the shelving will hold extremely heavy loads, use supports as frequently as every 2-1/2'.
  
  
• Use extreme care when nailing the cleats onto the side boards. Use a T-square or a level to make sure the shelves are in the proper position and are evenly spaced at all points.
  
  
• The way in which you drive the nails will increase or decrease the ability of the shelves to carry heavy loads (Fig. 3).
  
  
• For example, nails driven at an upward angle are likely to pull out when a heavy load is placed on them.
  
  
• If the nails are driven straight into the supporting wall, the cleat has a fair supporting strength. However, nails driven at a downward angle greatly increase the ability of the cleat to carry a heavy load. Keep this in mind when nailing cleats for supporting shelves.
  
  
• Wider cleats, as shown in Fig. 4, provide a great deal of structural strength. They also make it possible for the shelves to be moved in and out as necessary.
  
  
• If you are designing shelves to carry extremely heavy loads, use wide cleats and nail them firmly into position.

FIG. 5 - Dado cuts can be inserted 
at any desired spacing.

FIG. 6 - A concealed dado cut makes 
a neater joint.

FIG. 7 - A pinned joint adds strength 
to a shelf support.

FIG. 8 - Cuts made at 90-degree and 
45-degree angles provide a nice 
arrangement for simple adjustable shelves.

FIG. 9 - You can cut notches continuously to provide a shelf adjustment about every 1".

FIG. 10 - A 1x4 board can be bored 
and split to form a bracket for adjustable shelving.

FIG. 11 - A split 1x4 forms brackets 
that can be attached to the wall for 
shelf support.

DESIGNING ADJUSTABLE
WOOD SHELVES

FIG. 13 - Special brackets that fit into 
drilled holes make good supports for 
light shelves.

FIG. 14 - Dowels can also be used as 
light shelf supports.

FIG. 15 - A special flush-type shelf 
bracket fits into grooves to provide neatness and flexibility.

METAL AND WOOD BRACKETS FOR
ADJUSTABLE SHELVES

• Most adjustable shelves are supported by metal brackets. These brackets are inexpensive and much easier to use than most wooden supports.
  
  
• Special brackets that fit into drilled holes make good supports for light shelving (Fig. 13).
  
  
• Drill holes into the supporting walls of the shelf at the desired spacing intervals. Then, slip the bracket into the hole and lay the shelf on the two supporting brackets.
  
  
• These brackets can be adjusted upward or downward to make room for large or small items. Although easy to handle, use these brackets only for supporting light storage loads.
  
  
• You can use simple dowel pins instead of metal brackets to make adjustable shelves (Fig. 14).
• Insert the dowel pins in the drilled holes. They can be inserted or removed to adjust the shelving up or down quickly and easily.
  
  
• Dowel pins are easy to use, but they do not support heavy loads and they tend to wear or give way under extended use. Metal shelf brackets are preferable.
  
  
• A special flush-type shelf bracket is fitted into grooves for extreme neatness and flexibility (Fig. 15).
  
  
• This shelving bracket provides more than sufficient structural strength for normal storage purposes. It is inexpensive, very effective and easy to use.
  
  
• For mounting grooved shelving brackets of this type, use a dado cut for each bracket in the supporting end of the shelf.
  
  
• The regular shelf bracket and standard is perhaps the most widely used shelf support (Fig. 16). Readily available from many sources, it is easy to install and neat in appearance.
  
  
• The shelf standard and bracket makes it easy to build shelves quickly and to remove them when they are no longer needed.