How would you build a fold-UP shelf?

[parakeet]

Imagine a wall shelf that could fold up when not needed.
I don’t mean like a Murphy or drop leaf table which folds *down* against the wall. That’s because there would be objects underneath the shelf.
So, when not needed, the shelf could be folded UP and retained against the wall maybe with a magnet or something.

How could this be built and what pieces would be needed?

I imagine perhaps a piano hinge, but bonus points if it could be hidden.
Then there’s the aspect of keeping it up when it shelf mode. This may be to go between two walls, so battening in a retaining stopper at each side wall may be an option, or something less unsightly?

[big-all]

general comments
a piano hinge would work but the knuckle would be at the surface or just above dependant on angle up to around 100degrees will be flush
dependant on table use you could have say 95-143mm deep shelves on the wall that the raised top will cover
width off top construction method and frequency off operation will dictate the best desighn

[dewaltdisney]

All carpentry is either stools or boxes and much of your project will depend on your design, skills, and tools available. You need to think about the loading such as you leaning on it and a laptop weight etc, a drop down shelf would need support of a sort as the hinge would soon fail. In old bureaus with a drop-down flap there were two slide out support rails that the flap rested on when open. see https://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/ ... as272a2046 this will give you an idea.

Therefore I can only speak as to how I would do it. I would make a slim box where the back was fitted to the wall and the lid was a drop down flap. I would secure this when open with a couple of these stays https://www.acsissling.com/?i=330697&f=330703 you will see the type of flap hinge shown as well. The whole could be built to fit in the space between shelves but the verticle gap would dictate the flap size. It works in my mind.

DWD

[Grendel]

I built a fold up shelf in my box trailer although to be honest it rarely gets folded as it’s normally loaded. That said , the way I built it was with a frame that holds what are actually plastic bakery trays ( this was done as it’s lightweight and has holes for ventilation) to which I fixed butt hinges for it to swing on and chains to hold it in position when down . A couple of simple turnbuckles are there to hold it in the up position . A barrel bolt would also work . As it’s in my trailer it’s purely functional so perhaps not the prettiest thing in the world but there’s no reason why you couldn’t make it more visually appealing.

[Grendel]

A way to do this without a hinge , well a metal butt or piano hinge , could be to pivot the shelf on dowels. A dowel is fitted into the edge of the shelf and that acts as the pivot point. It does mean a slightly larger distance off the wall and a little bit of the shelf will tip lower when the shelf is raised . Could look quite nice though.
In my case the folding shelf is there in case I wanted to use the trailer for something else. I never do but either way it being suspended by chains means it’s clear underneath and I have nothing to hinder me sliding in my re-enactment gear of chests and the like.