82 - The Complete Miter Saw Workstation, страница 11
big deal. The frame will hide the gap. But if you want a smaller gap and a tighter fit, you'll need to find another solution. SHELF PINS The other option for shelves is to use shelf pins like the top three examples shown in the photo at right. They allow a much tighter fit. I turn to the first two for fine cabinets and bookcases. The reason is they're small and won't stand out as much as the L-shaped supports do. And they look a lot better in frameless cabinets. The third example is inexpensive and works great in utility cabinets. The small bearing surface of the round pins makes shelves more prone to sliding. This usually isn't a problem with bookcases where things aren't being moved around often. But to prevent any sliding, I like to rout a notch in the bottom of the shelf, as shown in the box on the bottom of the page. This also makes the pins nearly invisible. Specialized Supports. The next two shelf supports shown have pretty specific applications. Since you'll have to slide the shelf over the pins, neither of these pins will work on cabinets with a face frame. The first one is a concealed support. Rather than sitting under the shelf, the support fits inside a groove cut along each edge of the shelf, as you can see in the detail. The final support shown is designed for holding glass shelves. This one is sized for V^'-thick glass. The support is made of a clear plastic that doesn't stand out once the glass is in place. WORKING WITH SUPPORTS No matter what type of shelf support or pin you choose to use, there are a couple of other things you'll need to consider. Several Sizes. The first thing is that supports and pins come in two main stem sizes — VV' and 5mm. (You may also run across 3/i6"-dia. supports as well.) Of the two sizes, I'll usually use W'-dia. supports. They're more common and it's easier to find a matching bit to drill the holes. The smaller 5mm pins and supports are designed for use in European cabinet systems. In these systems, the shelf support holes are also used to mount the hinges. Hole Sleeves. In some projects, like a fine display case, a row of holes can stand out like a sore thumb. While there's no way to hide them, you can make the holes look a little more finished. To do this, you can slip in a sleeve, as you can see at the bottom of the photo below. The sleeves are designed for the pins to slide into them, so you'll need to drill a slightly larger hole (%2"-dia. for W pins). For more on drilling the holes for shelf pins, turn to the article on page 12. A. A To keep shelves from sliding off of the narrow, round shelf pins, I like to rout notches in the shelves for the pins to rest in. To do this, I turn to my router table. A straight bit makes a clean, flat notch. And a pair of stop blocks clamped to the fence guide the shelf. Slip-Proof Shelves USE STOP BLOCKS TO GUIDE SHELF Shelf Pins CONCEALED SHELF PIN FITS IN GROOVE CUT IN SHELF EDGE SHELF SUPPORT SLEEVES PROVIDE A FINISHED LOOK TO SHELF PIN HOLES I Support designed to I hold V/-thick glass II shelves 0 11 |
