The other long piece which came in the order for the hardware was the bracing piece for the sliding library ladder rail. This was a wonderfully straight piece of timber (just as I’d requested) and simply needed to be cut down in length before being fixed into place. There was one slight issue though. Do we make the timber level with the ground (using a spirit level) or line it up with the Ikea Billy units? My lounge room does have a very slight drop in some of the floor which is not noticeable, until you try to build along the 4.5-meter-long wall. In the end, we ditched the spirit level and went with what would work best for the eye. This is, after all, meant to be a functional and beautiful built in bookshelf.

There had been much discussion about what sort of detail should be in the gaps between the Ikea Billy units. We decided to follow the details on the door surrounds in my house and have three long grooves running the full length of each cover strip.

Once again using thin MDF, a broad sheet was cut into lengths which then each required three passes along the router (to cut in each groove) and two more passes along another tool to slightly bevel the edges. This isn’t a detail anyone will ever notice. But it would have stood out if we hadn’t bevelled the edges.

And have I mentioned that dad is not only incredible handy but has been amazing in how much he has embrace the goal of this project? It’s not just about practicality (I honestly could have fit in a sixth Ikea Billy unit, and made the build easier if I had just bolted then all together), it’s more about creating something fun and unique. For this reason, dad patiently ensured each detail piece had the right grooves and details to ensure the overall effect would be beautiful.

While we were busy cutting the detail pieces, still to the soundtrack of golden oldie radio, a parcel arrived…

My sliding library ladder!!!

Life goal achieved. I will admit here, that I was not as helpful to dad that afternoon as I unpacked my parcel and assembled the ladder.