How to shorten height of shelving unit?

[st22]

https://www.bunnings.com.au/montgomery-1830-x-910-x-410mm-5-tier-shelving-unit_p2760578 can I overlap and bolt together legs of such a shelf if too tall?

The manual says not to overlap, but seems it would be better than chopping part of the legs off to shorten.

I got such a shelf second hand and it is too tall.

I don't plan to load to maximum capacity, maybe 50% of maximum load.

[st22]

for example: 90cm + 90cm is 180cm

but i have only 170cm

so 70cm, then 20cm overlap, then 70cm

for example

means 160cm total height

[JacobZ]

Hi @st22,

Thank you for your question.

These shelves are designed so that when the shelf arms are installed, they will bridge the joint between the top and bottom half of the legs. This makes the top half of the leg sit directly on top of the bottom half, meaning the weight bears down onto the bottom half of the leg.

If you were to overlap the legs, the top half's weight would not be bearing down on the bottom half of the legs, but rather on the cylindrical connectors on the shelving arms that sit in the slots of the legs. 

For this reason, I would not suggest doing this. You are much better off using an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to take however much you want to remove from the top or bottom of the legs. As they usually have plastic caps that cover the top and bottom, you would never see it anyway.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

[Nailbag]

Hi @st22 

I've personally cut these types of shelving units down a few times using an angle grinder like @JacobZ suggested. My tip is to fit the horizontal brackets in the new height position and mark the tops. Then check the cut off position will still allow the other section to allow fitment of horizontal brackets. This is because I have repurposed the other half of the system.

Use a flap wheel to take off the sharp edges so the plastic end caps can be re-fitted. Use these wheels instead of the edge of the cutoff disc as that can be very dangerous. They should only be used flat or they can shatter. Plus flap wheels are super handy to have from sharpening bar style mower blades to shaping other metal projects, even very course sanding. 

Nailbag