How to Reinforce Shelves on a Bookcase
- 1). Remove all items from the shelf to be secured as well as the shelf beneath it.
- 2). Hold a bracket under the center of each side of the shelf. Mark the underside of the shelf and the side of the bookcase with a pencil in the location of the bracket holes. Repeat the procedure for two brackets evenly spaced along the back edge of the shelf.
- 3). Install a 1/8-inch drill bit into an electric drill by loosening the chuck at the end of the drill and then tightening it once the bit has been securely inserted. Some drill chucks operate with a key and some by hand; it depends on the specific drill.
- 4). Remove the shelf from the bookcase if it is the style that rests on pegs. Flip the shelf over onto a hard, flat surface.
- 5). Drill pilot holes in the location of the pencil marks you made on the shelf and the sides and back of the bookcase. Hold the drill at a 90-degree angle to the surface you are drilling to ensure that the hole is straight. Drill the hole to a depth of 1/8 inch. Be careful not to drill through to the other side.
- 6). Install the brackets onto the bottom of the shelf using a 1/2-inch wood screw for each hole and an electric drill with a driver bit installed. Do not overdrive the screw. Replace the shelf if it was the style that could be removed.
- 7). Secure the brackets to the sides and back of the bookcase with 1/2-inch wood screws and the electric drill with a driver bit. Replace items back onto the bookcase.
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