Free standing shelving system

In a free standing shelving system including a plurality of shelves each having upper and lower faces and side and end edges at the sides and ends thereof, and a plurality of spindle assemblies for supporting the shelves, some of the shelves being arranged in endwise adjacent relation whereby the shelving system has some abutting shelf ends and some free shelf ends, the improvement comprising:

• each shelf having its corner portions removed to provide like corner openings which extend vertically through the shelf at all four corners thereof, which corner openings intersect the adjacent side and end edges of the shelf generally symmetrically of the virtual shelf corner, the abutting shelf ends having their corner openings contiguous and their virtual corners substantially coincident, one of said spindle assemblies being located at each corner opening at the free shelf ends and one of said spindle assemblies being located at the contiguous corner openings on the abutting shelf ends, each spindle assembly including upper and lower spindle members having end faces at the adjacent ends thereof overlapping portions of the shelf adjacent the respective corner opening, each spindle assembly including an adapter member extending between the adjacent end faces on associated ones of the upper and lower spindle members externally of the shelf, and threaded connector means extending axially of the spindle assembly and in substantial alignment with the virtual corners of the shelves for clamping associated ones of the upper and lower spindle members to the respective adapter member and to the shelf.