Drilling a Long (12") Hole

[iclark]

While it certainly “weakens” the shelf it’s not enough to get concerned about.    The alu LED profile adds some stiffness back to the equation.  

We started doing this 10-15 years ago and have had zero callbacks for “shelf issues” because of lighting grooved into shelving.

I don't know about the "alu LED profile."

If I had a shelf that was only 1/4" thick for 90% of the depth of the shelf from front to back and support that shelf by the ends, I would be really worried about putting a lot of weight on that shelf.

[AHill]

I don't know about the "alu LED profile."

If I had a shelf that was only 1/4" thick for 90% of the depth of the shelf from front to back and support that shelf by the ends, I would be really worried about putting a lot of weight on that shelf.

The filler strip restores some of the strength back to the shelf.

[Cabinet Monkey]

I don't know about the "alu LED profile."

If I had a shelf that was only 1/4" thick for 90% of the depth of the shelf from front to back and support that shelf by the ends, I would be really worried about putting a lot of weight on that shelf.

Clark these are what everyone is cutting a grove into shelf and cabinet bottoms for:

https://www.alu-ledprofile.com



You’re certainly entitled to worry about anything you want, but this shouldn’t be one of them.  My answer is not theoretical, it’s backed up by over a decades worth of that detail in customer’s homes.  

And not the kinda of customers that watch home improvement tv and think “gee that’s neat”.  The kind that aren’t shy about ringing up at all hours and telling someone what their issue is , no matter how small.

[iclark]

Clark these are what everyone is cutting a grove into shelf and cabinet bottoms for:

https://www.alu-ledprofile.com



You’re certainly entitled to worry about anything you want, but this shouldn’t be one of them.  My answer is not theoretical, it’s backed up by over a decades worth of that detail in customer’s homes.  

And not the kinda of customers that watch home improvement tv and think “gee that’s neat”.  The kind that aren’t shy about ringing up at all hours and telling someone what their issue is , no matter how small.

Thanks for the link. I see that there is one that is only ~1/3" thick, but I am not seeing how that pair of extrusions gets epoxied into a dado to restore the shelf strength. I have not had good luck with gluing to anodized aluminum. Other than that one extrusion, the others all seem to be labeled surface-mount (other than the one for embedding in plaster and the baseboard one).

When you do the installation, do you wind up with exposed aluminum on the bottom of the shelf or do you recess them enough to cover them with wood to match the shelf?

I appreciate that you have experience with using them very successfully. This is new to me and I am trying to understand the mechanics of how this works. Naively, it seems that it wouldn't be much stronger that a shelf made out of 2 boards glued end-to-end on end grain. Unless the extrusion is running lengthwise on the shelf instead of depthwise like the OP was asking about, I am missing something and would like to understand.

Admittedly, I am being influenced by all the discussions here a few years back about shelf sag and pointers to the sagulator site. I also have shelves in cabinets that are sagging over time from the weight of cookbooks and pottery. Those shelves are all supported by pins under the ends. I am way overdue to unload those shelves long enough to flip them over. So, perhaps I am over-sensitive about the weight-bearing problem.

[joe1086]

How far from the sides do you envision the holes for the lights? Another option is to rout dados in the back and side edges. Then drill the holes from the shelf sides. You'll still need to deal with bit drift issues but strength integrity shouldn't be an issue. If your shelves are too wide this may not be viable...

[Cabinet Monkey]

clark -  you're getting into the weeds now.

That link was the very first hit on a google search of "alu LED profile"    - try it sometime.    We don't don't use that co. or any of those profiles, it was me doing a solid for you instead of telling you to GTS. 

You DO NOT glue the profiles


Whether you see exposed aluminum really depends on which profile you select and whether you use a lens or not.  This forum and frankly my patience don't really allow for bringing you up to speed on the design and implementation.  The profiles DO NOT get covered with wood.

If you appreciate my (an other's here) experience, do you really need to fully "understand what's going on ?   We're not here to screw up your shelving project.   Do you fully understand  all the maths, compression/shearing forces, modulus of elasticity, ect.... of wall studs ?   Or do you just accept that a wall made of 2x4s spaced 16" on center is whats called for ?  There's a lot more riding on that then whether a groove cut in your shelf will cause you grief.

Re: your gunshyness for sagging shelves......................you're off track.   Shelves sag because their length and weight placed upon them exceeds their materiel and design mandate.  You do realize (perhaps not ) that cutting a groove down the length weakens the shelf most on the short axis , not along the length which is where your shelf "sag" occurs.   Bottom line is , if your shelf is stiff enough to resist sag - adding a grooved in light isn't going to affect things much.

[arthropod98]

i actually brought this up initially, and it was just the first thought i had.

i'm not sure why this whole "alu led profile" thing came up, since the original question was just about running and concealing a wire to a small led light.

[iclark]

clark -  you're getting into the weeds now.

That link was the very first hit on a google search of "alu LED profile"    - try it sometime.    We don't don't use that co. or any of those profiles, it was me doing a solid for you instead of telling you to GTS. 

You DO NOT glue the profiles


Whether you see exposed aluminum really depends on which profile you select and whether you use a lens or not.  This forum and frankly my patience don't really allow for bringing you up to speed on the design and implementation.  The profiles DO NOT get covered with wood.

If you appreciate my (an other's here) experience, do you really need to fully "understand what's going on ?   We're not here to screw up your shelving project.   Do you fully understand  all the maths, compression/shearing forces, modulus of elasticity, ect.... of wall studs ?   Or do you just accept that a wall made of 2x4s spaced 16" on center is whats called for ?  There's a lot more riding on that then whether a groove cut in your shelf will cause you grief.

Re: your gunshyness for sagging shelves......................you're off track.   Shelves sag because their length and weight placed upon them exceeds their materiel and design mandate.  You do realize (perhaps not ) that cutting a groove down the length weakens the shelf most on the short axis , not along the length which is where your shelf "sag" occurs.   Bottom line is , if your shelf is stiff enough to resist sag - adding a grooved in light isn't going to affect thighs much.

sorry to offend you.

I wrongly thought that you had provided a link to what you used or recommended for applications that were appropriate for the OP's search for knowledge.

When someone states here that they have experience in a subject that interests me, I often seek to learn from them.

Thank you for the info about not gluing.

I will not trouble you further with questions about how sticking an aluminum extrusion into a dado restores the strength loss due to the dado.

[KyleD]

Cabinet Monkey has a chip on his shoulder the size of a sequoia tree. I wonder how he would react to someone responding to him in the condescending tones he responds to others with?

[Handplanesandmore]

Pretty clear to me that Cabinet Monkey missed his morning coffee or something. The link he gave shows something that he didn't use!

Simon