Rolling Bookcases for the Dummy Carpenter

Rolling bookcase

When it came to harvesting internet queries and turning those searches into "how-to" articles, the king of websites was always eHow.com. The idea was sound, of course, but the execution was sadly lacking. That's probably because the site's owners (Demand Media Studios, now named Leaf Group) had pretty low standards for the people who actually wrote those how-tos. Their model assumed that just about anyone could reword instructions they'd found somewhere else. Nope, that's not true: here, for example, is eHow royalty Billie Jo Jannen with her SFGate.com version of "How to Build a Rolling Bookcase."

The AN woodworking working group looked at the question and wondered why anyone wants a rolling bookcase. They came up with two possibilities: a shelving cart for a library or a bookcase concealing a hidden door. Jannen went (we think) with the rolling cart idea... but screwed it up royally.

Jannen, who claims an "engineering" education opened with a little rubbish about stability:

"Stability is job one in a design for a rolling book case. The case shouldn't be more than three shelves tall and should be a tad deeper and wider than you would ordinarily construct for shelving."

We can buy that, clumsy wording or not. Billie Jo went on to lay out plans for a bookcase made of 1x8s... we think - she called them "pieces of 1-inch-thick shelving," and didn't differentiate between actual and nominal. Shame on Billie Jo... Anyhow, Jannen's bookcase is nothing but a normal bookshelf 3 feet tall and 4 feet long, without a back, and with the shelves cleated in place instead of adjustable. We'd be more impressed with Billie's design if she called them cleats, however, instead of "support sticks." Likewise, if she had allowed for the thickness of the lumber in providing measurements... but what the heck.

Jannen's final step is to use ball transfers instead of casters or wheels. We aren't sure why, except perhaps she had just come across some in her local hardware store (she has zero references for her "plans"). Frankly, that's stupid unless the bookshelf would be restricted to a hard surface, perhaps concrete. Those steel ball-bearings would mark the hell out of wood floors, and get hung up on carpet.

Jannen's plans, such as they are, have a wealth of problems. Someone who actually has an engineering background would most likely improve stability with a wider base; use large, rubber-surfaced casters to improve maneuverability; and put a back on the shelf to stiffen it. As it is, the center of gravity would be dangerously high when the cart is loaded.

We figure the only way our Dumbass of the Day got away with such crappy plans is that she was her own Content Editor at DMS.

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