I was planning to build 2 floating shelves for our kitchen using solid red oak. The shelves will be 2 x 6 and about 4 feet long. My original plan was to bore a total of 4 1/2″ holes in the shelves to slide over 1/2″ pipe welded to a 1 1/2″ steel plate that will be screwed directly to the wall studs (drywall removed). This would be similar to the picture attached. I have everything cut and ready to go but now I’m wondering if the steel support system with cause issue with the wood expanding and contracting. Am I asking for trouble here? I thought about the torsion box design but I would rather use the solid wood if possible to match the rustic look of the flooring.
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If the shelves are going in your kitchen, I can't imagine the wood contracting/expanding too much? I wouldn't worry about this problem too much in an application like this.
If you are concerned, I would just drill the hole slightly larger than 1/2". That way the wood and the steel bracket have some room if the wood contracts/expands.
Also, make sure you use a pilot hole and work your way up in drill bit size. Might be obvious, but it sounds like you bought really nice shelves and I'd hate to hear they split!
I'd use lag bolt then cut the heads off. They'll hold your shelf just fine.
You could do that, but I think good quality structural screws or decking screws would work just fine. Either will work! I can't imagine you'll put an absolute ton of weight on these shelves that will cause the hardware to fail.