Hackers Help: Help me hack a library trolley?

I want to make a library trolley. Real ones are available here, but at a price I can’t afford.

Then I saw a photo of a BILLY bookshelf with the new BOTTNA display shelf insert and that gave me the idea of hacking a library trolley.

BILLY + BOTTNA insert | IKEA.com

But I’m not sure how. I’d probably need a BILLY-like bookshelf, but much lighter. Also the inclination of the inserts is to be the other way round.

See two pics of real library trolleys

Source

~ by Nicole

***

Hi Nicole

Sounds like a fantastic project to take on.

I think it’s possible with the BILLY bookcase and the BOTTNA display shelf. You’ll just need to turn it into a cart.

There are plenty of tutorials online on how to add wheels to a BILLY bookcase. I found this one by Susan of Living Rich on Less quite easy to follow along.

Photo credit: Living Rich On Less

Idea for a no-hacking library trolley

Alternatively, you can try the RÅSKOG cart. I’ve seen quite a few of these holding tons of books and craft items, etc. And best thing is, no hacking required.

Source: Kylie Interiors

If you prefer the books to be angled, rather than standing, add a BRÄDA laptop support at the bottom of the trolley to create a slanted base.

BRÄDA laptop support | IKEA.com

You can also try the other IKEA trolleys, like the SUNNERSTA and RISATORP. But my money’s on the RÅSKOG.

One last suggestion is a variation of this mobile kids book storage hack.

Susan used the OLTEDAL bedside cabinet with castors and BEKVÄM spice racks to make a library trolley for her kid’s books. Perhaps the colours are a bit juvenile for you but the same concept can be adapted.

Unfortunately the OLTEDAL is no longer available, but with some ingenuity this can be recreated with a TROFAST storage unit.

TROFAST | IKEA.com

Flip the TROFAST around and add wheels to the new base. Add shelves where you want your books to sit. If you want the shelves to be angled, you won’t be able to use the slots for the shelves. Trim the TROFAST shelves and screw them in from the side, at the angle you want. Do add a lip to the shelf to stop the books from falling off. You can hang the BEKVÄM spice racks to the sides or omit them altogether.

Hope you got a few ideas from this post.

Let us know how it goes. We would love to see how you hack a library trolley.

Good luck and happy hacking,

Jules

The post Hackers Help: Help me hack a library trolley? appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

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