Sauder 5段本棚 ソルトオーク

I love this bookshelf! It looks really nice. If Amazon had a half star option, I'd be giving it 4.5 stars. The reasons I'm docking off half a star are: 1) There was a scratch on one of the top front pieces. However, it's not very large or super noticable, and I'm sure I could cover it with a similar colored Sharpie or something, so I didn't bother trying to get a replacement because that would just be a hassle. But the packaging the shelf came in wasn't damaged at all, so I'm guessing it happened when the pieces were being put in the box. But things happen, I'm not upset about is as it's an easy enough fix. 2) I read a lot of reviews saying this was easy to put together, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was easy. I'm fairly handy with tools, having put together a lot of furniture and doing minor home repairs on my own. I put this bookshelf together by myself. It took a couple hours and some steps required a lot of arm/hand strength to get the screws in, and I ended up stripping a lot of the screws just trying to get them screwed all the way in. I'm thinking using a drill would have made things a lot easier, but the instructions say not to and I'm usually one to do things by the book, so I didn't. However, if I had to put together another one of these, I think I'd probably go ahead and just use a drill for some of the steps to save time and avoid getting frustrated. 3) Some reviews say that the shelf doesn't seem sturdy on the sides, like it'll topple over onto itself, but I disagree. It seems very sturdy once put together and I'm not at all worried about it falling apart. BUT, I'm not so sure that it wouldn't fall forward if pulled on or hit. I have 2 dogs (50 and 60 lbs) that sometimes play rough, so I absolutely used the safety strap to attach it to the wall because I'm not confident that the shelf wouldn't fall forward if they were playing and rolled into it or something. I do have it on a carpeted floor, so maybe on a hardwood floor it would feel more stable. I don't like that the safety strap pokes through a big hole in the backboard of the bookshelf. I feel like the hole doesn't need to be so big. I ended up cutting the circle that comes off the backboard, leaving enough of a space for the safety strap to poke through, and then taping the rest of the circle back in place from the back so it's not as visible. Overall, I think this is a well made, beautiful piece of furniture. I'm glad this is the one I chose to purchase, and I have no regrets in buying it. I think it will hold up for quite a while. Also, props to the Amazon driver who delivered it! It was a little heavy, and I was home by myself and worried I wouldn't be able to get it inside on my own without opening it and carrying it in piece by piece. It was raining though, and that wouldn't be ideal, so he carried it inside and set it down in my living room for me. He was very nice and I appreciate him taking that extra step to make my life a little easier!

The Sauder product is a notch above the bargain bookshelves, as it has a more expensive look and it is more sturdy. The shelves have the facing which gives them strength against sagging. The only problem I had was that the facia pieces with the grove do not have a lot of strength. One of them actually broke along the whole length as shown on the attached picture. Fortunately I was able to glue it together and re-assemble the bookcase afterwards. I would recommend to add a warning in the assembly manual not to use the slide-in pieces to lift the bookcase. Overall very good product. I ordered another one.

The particle board pieces of this bookcase which make up the support (sides, top and bottom) are too thin. Several screws and nails splintered out into the veneer and in one case a a whole corner splintered out. Despite my best efforts to align things correctly, it was not sufficient. I worry about the integrity/sturdiness of this book case. It looks decent once it’s together, but I expected better quality.

I built this shelf with one other person. I didn’t time it because I thought it would be a breeze, but it probably took an hour and a half to two hours. The shelf looks great and is sturdy. It’s not difficult to lift and move on your own if you had to. Most of the parts went together fairly easy. When it came to putting the backing on, neither of the boards were cut straight. Even with an overlap in the middle, the corners were still off and there was some hanging that had to be cut with a box cutter. Needed a lot of pressure, but had to be careful not to go through the wood on the other side. I did chip a couple tiny spots on the top-back because of that, but it lays against the wall now and can’t be seen. A set of three screws was intended to “fit in” to a groove on one piece, but the screws wouldn’t go into the material with a screwdriver. Sure they fit in, but they weren’t secure and the piece kept falling out. We pre-drilled some holes and then they went in without a hitch. However, drilling wasn’t part of the instructions. Overall, it’s a good shelf. We just kept coming to some obstacles that needed a little creative thinking. Keep a drill handy and a friend to help.

I like how this thing looks that is all I like about it. I am currently in the process of assembling this thing, and it is way too flimsy during assembly to be trusted. I ended up breaking 2 of the camlocks during assembling while moving the shelf. (flipping it over as per the instructions on page 16.) The top bolts to the bottom so it fits in a smaller box, this design makes the whole thing wiggle and waggle putting a lot of stress on the melamine/particle board construction. This in turn causes those areas to blow out. Luckily I do dabble in carpentry, I do have wood glue and a workshop to build things. I bought this shelf because I just finished building a full set of cabinets for my workshop and didn't want to spend any more than a few hours putting something together. Well... it won't take you any more than a few hours BUT this thing is destined to end up cut up in my firepit because I already hate how cheap it is and will know about the defects every time I walk by it even though I wood glued the whole damn thing together after the blowouts. If you know how to build a shelf... Build your own, if you are not a handyman man look at other options cause this thing is way too fragile even during assembly to trust it to support a full shelf full of books. Also, let me qualify the following statement I strongly believe that we coddle kids to much today, I think that they should run/fall/scrape their knees and play on things. When I was a kid I climbed tree's furniture and shelving. Well, I shudder to think what will happen if my nieces try to climb on this damn thing as kids do, they will get hurt not because they try to jump off the bookshelf onto the couch, but because the shelf is liable to collapse into several pieces while they try to stand on it.