Exploding Detolf Shelf?!

Hey folks, I am wondering if this has been experienced or discussed before. I have several Detolf cabinets lined up on the wall of my home office. They have been on the same wall for a few years. Last night as I was sitting at my computer, all hell broke loose. One of the shelves just exploded. All it had on it was the Kotobukiya Vinyl Batman statue. It simply popped loudly and blew glass everywhere knocking the door open. One weird thing I noticed is after the shelf exploded, the small pieces of glass continued to pop and crackle, even jumping a little. It reminded me of mexican jumping beans. This continued for quite some time.

Anyone ever experienced this or know what could have caused it?

Holy moly, sorry to see that. Anything damaged in your collection?
This is the main reason I don't like glass shelves.

Heat and humidity can cause it if there's even a minute defect in the glass....And it can happen years later too, after the glass has expanded/contracted enough times.

My dad and I once went to a ballgame and took his new-ish car (it was about a year old). We were driving home and his rear driver's side window exploded just like you describe. We thought maybe someone had shot at us (we were in the boonies driving through farmland). But nope, it was just the heat.

jkno said:

Holy moly, sorry to see that. Anything damaged in your collection?
This is the main reason I don't like glass shelves.

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My HT Reeve Superman was on the shelf just below and has damage to the cape and suit. It happened kinda late last night and I haven't gone over my droids yet, but I think I made out okay considering. The Koto Batman is Vinyl, so I was lucky there, too.

Wow that's awful! Especially after having it for so many years. Time to replace those glass shelves with thick acrylic sheets.

This happened to me twice with newer ones during assembly.

izeroi said:

Wow that's awful! Especially after having it for so many years. Time to replace those glass shelves with thick acrylic sheets.

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Thats a good idea.

Shelves, tables, desks. Unfortunately it's a well known issue...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?ie=...hattering&gfe_rd=cr&ei=NZrZV6fBNsmT8QfYyLngCw

This is my nightmare... Where would one buy "thick acrylic sheets"?

Just google something along the lines of "cut to size acrylic sheets". Sites will pop up where you can customize what you want. They aren't cheap but at least they won't explode on you.

I'm sure you can do the sides, rear, and door as well but at that point it's just getting pricey.

Oh god! Well time to visit a Home Depot and look for those thick acrylic sheets

did you have the lights on your detolf on?

Holy moly batman...that stinks hope nothing important got wrecked. I use Pulaski cases hope the extra cost brings better quality for me

CTO15 said:

did you have the lights on your detolf on?

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No, I rarely use the lights.

I don't think I will get rid of my tempered glass shelves. It appears that this happens, but statistically, its not common. I think that I will be buying some thick acrylic and making shelves, but I will likely use the glass AND the acrylic. Not sure yet, but will definitely work on getting acrylic.

I was extremely lucky in that I had a Koto vinyl Batman on the shelf itself and HT/SSC figures below it. Many of my other shelves hold resin or polystone statues.

TAP Plastics. All kinds of acrylic sheets cut to fit. Clear, colored, mirror, etc are just a few examples.
Ryan

Shanester said:

No, I rarely use the lights.

I don't think I will get rid of my tempered glass shelves. It appears that this happens, but statistically, its not common. I think that I will be buying some thick acrylic and making shelves, but I will likely use the glass AND the acrylic. Not sure yet, but will definitely work on getting acrylic.

I was extremely lucky in that I had a Koto vinyl Batman on the shelf itself and HT/SSC figures below it. Many of my other shelves hold resin or polystone statues.

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hmm, I watched the video that was posted about the random tempered glass breaking. That's so crazy. Are the pieces that were in line with the broken shelf ok?

Glass is good because it doesn't scratch as easily as the acrylic would. So I guess if you are going for a combo, you would put a glass shelf on top and reinforce with acrylic underneath?

I've worked with acrylic for applications in my job. I find if there is any pressure on it, if it's any less than 1/4 inch thick it warps at best and gets brittle and cracks at the worst. My money would still be on glass though seeing this thread, I may reorganize what pieces I have on higher shelves now! :O

Happened to one of shower doors.

Wow. Wasn't aware of this issue.