Do-it-yourself additional shelves in the cabinet: how to economically make and fix the shelves using furniture corners, a screw or an eccentric coupler, euroscrews.

Shelves are mandatory elements of the cabinet, as they are designed for the proper organization of the internal space. In addition to their functionality, it is also important how ergonomic they are located, because it depends on whether it will be convenient to use them. Sometimes, in finished cabinets, the internal space seems to be enough, but the internal design is so inconvenient that there is a need to install additional shelves.

Preparation for mounting additional shelves in the cabinet

If there was a need to re-plan the internal arrangement of the cabinet: measure the distance between the shelves, add new ones, create additional partitions, then you must first decide which partitions are installed. The most commonly used material is a chipboard, the so-called chipboard.

Material selection

Chipboard - the optimal material for internal partitions and shelves of the cabinet. Using it, you can easily create the shelf you need in size and shape by making appropriate marks on it or cutting it, after which sawing takes place. But there is also a weak point in chipboard - this is its flexibility. So if you plan a shelf made of chipboard, which will carry a large load, then you will need to then give it additional rigidity. To do this, a plank of wood is attached to the shelf, passing along the trailing and leading edges.

Cropping to the desired size

Before you start making shelves with your own hands, you should measure the dimensions of the cabinet in the place where the element will be installed. Be sure to check the perpendicularity of the rear plane of the cabinet and side walls. To do this, use a square. Then two parameters are measured: depth and width - this will be the size of the shelf. You may also want to make the width of the shelves different. Then this parameter must be set independently. The most important:

The width of the shelf must strictly correspond to the width of the cabinet - otherwise the shelf will not go into it or will fail. For a comfortable installation of the shelf, you can make it less than the width of the cabinet by 1 mm, but no more.
Depth can strictly correspond to the depth of the cabinet with the door closed or less. Care must be taken that this size does not turn out to be large, even by a small amount, otherwise the door simply will not close tightly.

In order to make a shelf, you can contact a specialized store - they will cut it according to the provided sizes. If this procedure will be carried out at home, then you will need:

Measuring tools - rulers and corners.
Drill with drills of different diameters.
Screwdriver and fasteners.
Edge band and iron for gluing.
Shelf material and a simple pencil for marking.

Edge banding

When using a chipboard plate, in the process of cutting the desired size, an edge is formed that has an unsightly appearance. In addition to unaesthetics, uneven edges will contribute to the fact that clothes will cling to them all the time, which will lead to their deterioration. To eliminate this drawback, a special adhesive edge tape is used. Thanks to the wide color choice of such a tape, it will not be difficult to choose its tone in tone to the plate. It is fastened quite simply - you just need to attach the tape to the end of the sawn shelf and walk with an iron. After that, it should be firmly fixed.

Varieties of arrangement and fastening of shelves

Immediately after the shelf is cut, the question arises - how to fix it? The presence of vertical bulkheads gives two possible mounting options:

on various axes - it is important to observe parallelism;
along one axis - the key point will be the creation of reliable fastening between the shelves.

The first method is the simplest compared to the second.

Use of furniture corners

The corner used in furniture production is a very common and convenient hardware. The material for making corners is plastic or wood. Installation is so simple that it does not require special skills. Fixation of each corner is carried out by a self-tapping screw at two points - directly on the shelf structure and on the vertical wall. Today, this type of fastening is not popular with professionals. A significant disadvantage is the protruding parts of the mount.

Screw coupler

As a type of fastening, a screw coupler consists of a screw and a barrel corresponding to it. The screw, screwing into the barrel opening provides reliable fastening between the shelf and the side wall.

The barrel is installed in a pre-drilled hole. Here you need to calculate how much you need to retreat for the hole from the edge, so that later the screw travels for a reliable connection. The difficulty of this fastening lies in combining the barrel opening with the counterpart of the screw, especially for non-professionals.

ATTENTION! The disadvantages of this connection include the visible part of the screw head on the outside of the vertical cabinet wall. But this can be somewhat smoothed out using furniture plugs.

Dowel application

The dowel is a type of mount made of wood. In order to make it, it is necessary to introduce wooden cylindrical billets of small diameter into the opening of the shelf, approximately half deep. The second part of the dowel is included in the holes, drilled in the side wall of the cabinet, corresponding in diameter, depth and location.

Used Euroscrews

Euroscrews are used in budget class furniture. Using this type of connection, you can easily fasten the elements together, but as a result, numerous holes with recessed screw heads are formed on the outer surface of the wall. Stubs are also applied to them, which still affects aesthetics. The use of this type of fastening is advisable only where subsequently there is no need to re-plan the inside of the cabinet.

Conical screed

This type of fastening is suitable for thick elements ranging from 25 mm to 38 mm. For its use, a barrel-shaped body should be screwed into the cut chipboard plate. Next, the screw is installed in the side wall from the inside and conical part is exposed in the corresponding hole of the barrel, where it is then fixed by the rod.

ATTENTION! The disadvantage of this design is that the shelf mounted on such a connection is not able to carry a large load. The conical part of the screw may simply not stand it. But the advantages include the fact that the front side of the side surface remains untouched.

Eccentric screed

Eccentric clamp - the most popular at the moment in furniture production. The popularity is due to the fact that this type of connection is almost imperceptible (both inside and out), provides sufficient strength and is reliable in use. The eccentric mount includes three parts: a stand, an eccentric, and a foot.

Incoming parts may vary slightly, as a rule, in geometric parameters, which allows to provide, if necessary, a certain load on the shelf and the reliability of the service of the whole structure. So the rack can be made both in the form of a self-tapping screw, and in the form of a screw. But the variable length of the eccentric allows you to achieve the necessary strength and withstand load.

The complexity of the installation is due to the need for accurate fitting of parts. A clutch is installed in one panel, into which an eccentric screwed onto another panel is screwed. When an eccentric enters the rod head during its rotation, it creates a tightening connection.