Invisible 'floating' Bookshelf

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Introduction: Invisible 'floating' Bookshelf

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About: Well, they say life begins at 30. I have recently immigrated to Australia where my Father currently runs an olive grove and vineyard in the sunny South East corner of Queensland. And I have followed in his foo…

After seeing some of the cool invisible bookshelves that people had put on here, I finally got round to doing my own. Here are the results!

Step 1:

First of all, in a room where space is already at a premium, the logical step is to build up rather than out and make use of space that is otherwise wasted.

Step 2:

First, I measure the initial pile of books to work out the dimensions and strength of the 2 brackets required. I worked out that the brackets needed to stick out by 6 inches and be around 8 inches tall. I chose a 1 meter length of 5mm thick drawn steel as my brackets as they had excellent strength and wouldn't bent under the weight of the books.

Step 3:

I then had to bend the steel to 90 degree angles at each end for the brackets. I did this by wedging the steel in an unmovable item and bending it. Requires some strength!

Step 4:

I then had to drill the holes to mount the brackets to the wall. I did all this before cutting the brackets as drilling a large piece of steel is easier than fiddly small parts. 
I then cut the brackets and mounted them to the wall. 

Step 5:

Now comes the tricky part. How to mount the first book without damaging the cover. Well I did have to cut 2 small slits in the cover as shown. The brackets then slide through the slits and under the hard cover of the book.

Step 6:

Once your largest book is in place, stack the rest up!

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    11 Comments

    0
    Book Girl
    Book Girl

    7 years ago

    cool! all the other versions I have seen ruin the bottom book

    0
    randomray
    randomray

    9 years ago on Step 6

    Very eye catching , yet simple design . Kudos my man .

    0
    Casavantwilliams
    Casavantwilliams

    9 years ago

    This method is much easier and takes less time.

    0
    Drakekay
    Drakekay

    10 years ago on Introduction

    so whats that interesting looking device in the upper left corner of picture SL370396?

    0
    jessyratfink
    jessyratfink

    11 years ago on Introduction

    I really like the way you did this - cutting a slit in the dust jacket is so much nicer than having to destroy a book. :D

    0
    tobychan
    tobychan

    Reply 11 years ago on Introduction

    Many thanks! I saw somebody else had done an instructable on another method of not ruining the book. Not sure who it was now.
    I see you've done heaps of instructables! Good work!

    0
    tobychan
    tobychan

    Reply 11 years ago on Introduction

    Oh, CaitlynLAG did the 'not ruining the cover method'.

    0
    Loopstyle
    Loopstyle

    11 years ago on Introduction

    Loved your work! I have a webpage that gives a lot of inspiration in how you can transform "garbage" into new things! You are more then welcome to visit us and also post a Loop at www.loopstyle.se!

    Thank you!