Heavy Duty Shelf Bracket (Parametric Design Files Included!)

Turn any board into a shelf!

This bracket with its parametric design file lets you turn any board you own into a reasonably sturdy floating shelf!

Included Files:

• A bracket for 21mm boards.

• A bracket for 15mm boards.

• A .f3d project file with parameters to change the board width and bracket width.

  • Note: The design bakes in +0.1mm of tolerance.

Hardware Required:

• A wooden board of your choice.

• 3x small self-tapping countersunk wood screws (with a head no wider than 5.6mm, a shaft no wider than 3mm and with a length no longer than the thickness of your board.)

  • I used #4 x 3/4" zinc wood screws for this.

• 2x large self-tapping countersunk wood screws (with a head no wider than 8.5mm, a shaft no wider than 4.2mm and with a length no longer than the depth of your studs.)

  • I used some 1.5" wood screws I had laying around for this.

Print Settings:

• Use PETG or other super strong filaments are preferred here. While I think PLA could work for lighter loads, I didn't quite trust it for boards as heavy as the ones I was using for my shelving needs.

• When printed on its side, it will be strong and need no supports.

• Use a 20% honeycomb infill pattern with no top or bottom for a pretty bracket with a great strength-weight ratio.

  • I have not tested other infill patterns or ratios, but they may work.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Mark out the studs on your wall using a stud finder or a strong magnet. (Studs should be ~16" apart).

2. Line your board up square with the wall.

3. Place a bracket on the board on a position that would correspond with the wall stud.

4. Use the small countersunk wood screws to affix the bracket to the board in the following places:

   1. The hole in the back of the bracket.

   2. The two holes on the underside of the bracket.

5. Repeat until all desired brackets are affixed to the board firmly. You should not be able to pass a piece of paper between the board and the bracket where it is screwed in.

6. With the help of another person or blocks placed underneath the shelf to hold it up, position the shelf against the wall, with the brackets lined up with the wall studs.

7. Use two large wood screws to screw the bracket into the wall and through the stud.

8. Repeat until all brackets are screwed in.

9. Congratulations! You have a shelf!

Conclusion:

Enjoy your new shelves! But just a few considerations...

I did all my weight testing in a very unscientific way. I took a board I was going to use and bracketed it up, screwed it into some exposed wood in my basement, put some huge bricks on it and left it overnight. It held up just fine, so I decided it would hold up to carrying DVDs and other home media.

In that weight testing I only used two brackets, where on my final shelves I used 3 brackets per 7' run of board. I probably wouldn't use this for an application like holding a lot of heavy books or heavy and delicate electronics. Use common sense and understand the risks.

I'm not a material scientist, but I do understand that some plastics have a tendency to deform with load over time. So far mine have not, and I believe the risk will be decreased the more brackets you use. Of course, your mileage may vary.

I release all my models under Creative Commons Attribution, but if you find my models helpful, feel free to tip me here: https://ko-fi.com/derpynate