thread holder

[lum747]

i am making a thread holder, and i am making it out of 1" 2 and 1/2" walnut,it will have 10 shelfs with 10 2" circuls cut 1'4 deep to hold the spools that have a 2" base now my question is i only have 2 and 1/2 " shelf mounted on a 2 and 1/2" sides and i am wondering if anyone has any ideas as th how i could make the shelfs so they could slide out about a inch, or maby be able to tilt them down when needed to have better access to the spools.
thanks

[cabinetman]

Could you post a simple drawing?

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[LCHIEN]

I take it like you are trying to make a mini bookcase-like storage for 100 spools of thread for a sewing person. Ten shelves with ten spools each. Each shelf has a 2" circular depresion to hold th spools and you are trying to make the sppols more accessible.

My first one used a rougly 2'x2' piece of plywood with about 100 1-1/2" finishing nails on 1.5" centers in rows and columns, with the nail at about 70 degrees from the vertical face of the plywood to keep the spools on the nail. And a bottom row or two with 2" center to center spacing for larger spools. I really don't remember the exact dimensions and the sewer has retired from sewing. But I measured the main array of nails to handle the bulk of the pretty much standard spools.

If I were to do it again, I'd consider a hardwood panel of the same dimensions with a border frame. and use a drilling jig to drill 3/16" holes at a 15-20 degree off perpendicular angle to hold pieces of 3/16" dowels to hold the spools. That would be a lot more finished than my original project some 42 years ago. And a lot less complex than yours. WIth easier visibility of the spools. OK, maybe not as finished looking as yours.

Here's a few images of what other people have done, for your inspiration. The internet is such a great place...
https://www.google.com/search?q=thre...w=1420&bih=780

[mpc]

If you want a bookcase-like setup, the first thing that comes to my mind is to basically make a small bookcase. Then on each shelf you'd lay a flat piece on the shelf, this flat piece would have small dowels or pegs of some sort for the thread spools. You'd just grab & remove the whole row of spools on this shelf-on-a-shelf to access them.

You could also make stopped dados in the cabinet sides, going from the back edge to about half an inch from the front edge. The shelves would have a tenon along the ends; the tenon would go from the back edge of the shelf to maybe half-way to the front - it'd be smaller than the dado slot. That way it could pull forwards a bit in the dado like a stubby drawer yet it won't come all the way out.

A narrow dado - narrower than the shelf thickness - would require a narrow tenon but then the dado slot would be covered by the shelf when the shelf is in the normal "closed" position. You could also use 2 stubby dowels as tenons on each shelf end. Doing that would allow the dado to be something other than a straight line - the back part would be straight (so the shelf sat flat when it's in the closed position) but the front part of the travel could arc down (got a router to make the slot?) so the shelf would tip down as it's pulled forward. Think of a tambour (roll-top) style desk. One dowel would have to be close to the back of the shelf and the other would be roughly half-way between the front and back of the shelf for this to work - just like the tenon above. The distance between the dowels should be just a little smaller than the straight part of the slot; only the more forward dowel should travel into the arc portion of the slot. I'd probably use brass pegs or cover the exposed ends of the dowels with brass tubing to extend their life.

mpc

[cabinetman]

You could also make stopped dados in the cabinet sides, going from the back edge to about half an inch from the front edge. The shelves would have a tenon along the ends; the tenon would go from the back edge of the shelf to maybe half-way to the front - it'd be smaller than the dado slot. That way it could pull forwards a bit in the dado like a stubby drawer yet it won't come all the way out.

This would work for a straight pull out.

A narrow dado - narrower than the shelf thickness - would require a narrow tenon but then the dado slot would be covered by the shelf when the shelf is in the normal "closed" position. You could also use 2 stubby dowels as tenons on each shelf end. Doing that would allow the dado to be something other than a straight line - the back part would be straight (so the shelf sat flat when it's in the closed position) but the front part of the travel could arc down (got a router to make the slot?) so the shelf would tip down as it's pulled forward. Think of a tambour (roll-top) style desk. One dowel would have to be close to the back of the shelf and the other would be roughly half-way between the front and back of the shelf for this to work - just like the tenon above. The distance between the dowels should be just a little smaller than the straight part of the slot; only the more forward dowel should travel into the arc portion of the slot. I'd probably use brass pegs or cover the exposed ends of the dowels with brass tubing to extend their life.

mpc

This method would offer better/easier access than just dowels on a fixed shelf. In any case, I would make the frame to be able to be disassembled in case of damage, or a need to replace a shelf.

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[lum747]

spool holder

thanks for all the help on this project, i think i will go with the slot and dowell, soundes like that would be the simpelast.