Problems with sagging shelves?
It’s a problem woodworkers have had for years - made worse by the introduction of composite board - what length can you make a shelf so it doesn’t sag in the middle?
The rather unhelpful answer would be that it depends on the material, the thickness of your shelf, its width and length. But how do you work it out? Personally, I’ve always guessed - base on the size of the project I need to build - and by trial and error, sometimes having had to buy the shelf material in the first place. At best it’s a dreadfully inaccurate way of doing things, at worst it’s an expensive waste of board!
Well over at Woodbin.com there’s now an excellent online tool that can to a great extent solve these problems. It’s rather amusingly titled “The Sagulator” and you can choose from a wide variety of materials (hardwoods, softwoods, composites, even glass) and then input thickness and predicted shelf load.
It’s an excellent idea and a very good guide. It’s not foolproof of course because if you’re using sheet material the quality and structure can vary - but even then it should provide a very good place to start from. It’s definitely going on my favorites list.