Bamboo Mini Shelves/ Paint Rack

thingiverse

This is a compact, modular shelving system that prints quickly and uses minimal plastic. It's made using bamboo barbecue skewers (~3 - 3.5 mm diameter), which are affordable, environmentally friendly (at least compared to plastic), and remarkably strong. It's assembled using CA glue. The design includes spacers of two different heights depending on the desired shelf spacing, and the number of shelves needed. You can use these free standing, in which case the top shelf becomes usable, or use them with the included hangers, which allow the shelves to be hung from a 3/4" (19mm) wooden dowel. You can line up a number of free standing units on a larger shelf, making this system useful for archiving a collection of small things. You can choose between two shelf surfaces, one a flat, general purpose shelf, the other designed to hold paint bottles of the Tamiya/ Mr. Hobby/ Model Master types. The flat shelves can be lined with a piece of thin cardboard 8.6 x 23.3 mm. <u>Assembly:</u> <b>Step 1)</b> Cut many skewers to 24cm lengths. Mark the skewers against a standard length traced on a piece of paper, then cut them using a side cutter. Work around the outside to slice the fibers. If you try to saw the skewers, you'll separate the fibers. <b>Step 2)</b> Find four bamboo pieces that are very close in length. Plug these into 2 x HS_Corner_A to join them horizontally, then fit a shelf on top. Once everything is straight, glue it together with a liberal application of CA glue. <b>Step 3)</b> Assemble a side by placing three bamboo pieces into the vertical holes of HS_Corner_A. Place the side spacer of your choice such that it cradles these bamboo pieces and abuts the top of the corner piece. Glue the side spacer to the bamboo pieces. It's easiest to do this with the side piece on the work surface. Don't glue this side piece to the base just yet. <b>Step 4)</b> Assemble the second shelf. Use HS_Corner_B to assemble the middle shelves. Put these in place above the side spacers. Once things are properly fitted, and the assembly is more or less square, glue the vertical and horizontal elements together. <b>Step 5)</b> Rinse and repeat. Remember that the top corners (HS_Corner_A) go in upside down relative to the bottom, so the top shelf, if you use one, is glued to the opposite side, relative to the bottom. <u>Some Tips:</u> - You'll use a lot of CA glue while putting these together. The more you use in a particular spot, the slower it will dry. Use baking soda as an accelerant and filler to move things along. It doesn't work quite as well as a commercial CA kicker, but is much cheaper, doesn't smell terrible, and fills gaps. - Bamboo skewers usually aren't particularly straight or dimensionally consistent. If a skewer is slightly too small for a socket, just flood the gap with CA glue and fill with baking soda. If it's too wide, trim the end with a hobby blade. Don't worry if the skewers aren't straight; the printed bits will pull them into alignment. The key is to avoid too much skew by making sure that the sides and shelves are at right angles before gluing the bottom corners and sides. - When using a lot of CA glue, it helps to work on a glass surface. If you happen to glue anything to the surface, you can just separate it with a razor edge.