****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I wanted a solid wood bookcase (plywood is ok in parts, so long as there's no particle board). This is it, and it looks very nice (first photo). The instructions are reasonably clear (I could have used a better diagram of how the tip-over prevention works, but I think I got it right).There were a few things that made me drop a star here and there, although my overall rating is still 5-star.The description says it's a 30" wide bookcase. That's true only if you count the molding around the top. The actual shelves are 24" wide.There's a few pieces of extra hardware, a nice touch.The non-removable shelf in the middle uses a funny kind of screw in the left and right panels, with a camlock in the middle shelf. I think the screw holes could have been a tad larger, as all of the screws broke off a little bit of the wood (second picture). The screws don't seem to go in exactly straight, but they're close enough and the assembly at that point is fine.The top and bottom shelves attach with ordinary screws (Allen wrench, not Phillips head!). The instructions say not to overtighten. I was hand tightening only, but a couple of the screws seemed to get easier to turn at the end--that's usually an indication that the screw has damaged the wood, either from being tightened to tight or because the wood is too soft.As others have mentioned, when you attach the back, there are screw holes in the back, but no screw holes in the side pieces. I used a 7/64" drill to drill all the holes, lest I split the wood. Drilled two diagonally opposite holes, put in those screws, then drilled the remaining holes. Be careful not to drill too far--the piece you're drilling into is not that thick, you can accidently drill all the way through it.Likewise when you drill a hole for the tip-over bracketOthers have mentioned the unsightly stickers. There's one on the right side piece, and this is the chief problem. The paper peeled off ok, but it left a gluey residue that I didn't succeed in completely removing. There are lots of stickers on the back, but they go on the side that faces the wall, so if they don't come off it's no big deal. (There are also small stickers on the side pieces pointing forward, but they're hidden by the shelves when you assemble it.)Others have also mentioned the Styrofoam. One piece had given its life protecting the wood, but that meant I had to remove statically charged tiny pieces of foam from the wood. The easiest way to get these off is to use tape (or the stickers).Delivery was a bit odd. It went out for delivery on a Friday, which usually means it's on the truck that goes by your house. But they didn't deliver that day, I had to wait until Monday. And boy is it heavy! I do wish it had come in two boxes, but I managed.I got this on sale, which differentiated it from all the other bookcases. If I could buy another one at that sale price, I would. But it's nice at any (reasonable) price.
