Invisible 'floating' Bookshelf

by tobychan

54K32210

Intro: Invisible 'floating' Bookshelf

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!

11 Comments

Book Girl 8 years ago

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

randomray 10 years ago

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

Drakekay 11 years ago

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

jessyratfink 12 years ago

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

tobychan 12 years ago

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!

tobychan 12 years ago

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

Loopstyle 12 years ago

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!