u/defnotclueless

I have an idea for a bookshelf that I have never seen done before and was wanting some advice- I have attached a rough sketch of the idea with an explanation below. I have never used Reddit before, so if this is the wrong thread to post this on, or if I’m doing this wrong, please let me know!

I am not a skilled woodworker by any means, but my dad can hold his own and is an engineer, so I think we might be able to figure things out through trial and error, but if we could save any time/arguments (lol), it would be much appreciated! I have an idea for a nursery bookshelf that has regular shelves flanked on the sides/potentially below, but the centerpiece of this piece is a painted tree featuring 4 recessed shelves made to look almost like the “fruit” of the tree, if you will. The unique aspect is that the 4 shelves can be rotated out seasonally, so behind the “cabinet front” with the tree painted on it would be a sort of “Ferris wheel” where the shelves face toward out and you could spin them to display different sets of shelves. I only want 4 shelves to be displayed at a time, and the more I think about it, the more I’m realizing that I think only 8 shelves will fit on the ”wheel”. I was hoping for 16 so I could do one rotation per season, but logistically I think the wheel would have to be huge to accommodate that, and it’s not like the nursery will be gigantic (I’m not pregnant yet, but my husband and I are hoping to be expecting within the next year, which is why I think now is the perfect time to do this). We haven’t done any of the math yet, it’s just a feeling, but I’m okay settling for a split 2 spring shelves/ 2 summer shelves display and rotating to a 2 fall/2 winter shelves display, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I think our main problems are:
a) Figuring out a way for the shelves to be “loose” and able to rotate around the wheel while keeping the base parallel with the ground and avoiding twisting around based on weight distribution/gravity, if that makes sense. So that way the books aren’t sliding around/falling every time the wheel rotates if the shelf isn’t completely full or if I want to display the books cover forward instead of spine. I think this is our main problem we need to work through if anyone has had to deal with something similar/has ideas?
b) How to get the shelves to “lock” into place when we’re not rotating them, otherwise the heaviest shelf will always swing to the bottom.
c) Will a wheel made of wood be sturdy enough to support the weight?

And then definitely not the most important things, but also:
d) Fun ideas/ways to control the wheel. I thought about carving a hole into the center of the tree where the center of the wheel is and adding a tree hollow and hiding the mini control wheel in that, along with a stuffed owl or something to hide the wheel.
e) Ways to change out the decor of the tree seasonally that are built into shelf so when it’s winter it looks like the tree has snow on it, spring has buds and flowers, etc. I have no idea if this is possible other than just making stick on decor to put on the tree myself each season, but maybe decorating the tree with simple stick on decor could be a fun tradition with littles.
f) Any other practical/fun ideas we could incorporate to the design!
g) Who could I talk to/go to for questions and to help design and build other than my dad?

Even if you have thoughts/advice on something that isn’t one of our main concerns, it would be MUCH appreciated :) any tidbit helps! I know this is very extra and feels like shooting for the moon, but I think my dad would love having a project like this to work on together in his retirement, especially since it’ll be for grandkids, and I really want to create something special- an heirloom piece- for our kids! Plus I’m wanting to learn wood working skills and am all for unique, handmade items, and adding whimsy when possible, but if it’s completely unrealistic, shoot me straight.

Adding image of sketch of front and rough sketch of inside of cabinet. I hope this makes sense!