04 Mar DIY – How to Build a Coat and Mail Organization Rack

I saw the design for this super functional coat rack and mail sorter on Amenity Home. It is so simple and modern. The company does not carry the size I needed, so I decided to build my own. I asked a friend who is a carpenter and ship builder, Amy VanDerLee, to help me out.

Check out Amy’s work here.

Lowes has a couple of different species to choose from, domestic hard and softwoods, in many widths and are already cut to shorter lengths of 24″ and 48″.

Overall Dimensions (not including pegs) =  28″w x 8″h x 2″d

Cost = $30

Difficulty (1-10) = 4

Time = approximately 2 hours

Materials needed:

• 1 piece of wood at 8″ x  48″ (1″ thick)
• 1 piece of wood at 3″ x 48″ (1/2″ thick)
• 1 piece of wood at 6″ x 48″ (1/2″ thick)
• 4 wood screws 1 1/2″ long
• 1/2″ wood dowel over a foot long
• key hole hanger with anchors to mount
• compound miter saw
• drill
• wood glue
• clamps
• countersink bit (optional)
• tape measure
• 180 grit sand paper

Instructions:

1. Take all three pieces of wood, inspect the ends. If you see chipping or flaking on the side you decide to use, trim it off with the saw. With the tape measure, mark out 28″ with a pencil and cut.
2. When all three pieces are cut to size, put wood glue on one side of the 3″ piece, smear with your finger and place on the bottom side of the 8″ piece. Then, put more wood glue on the other side of the 3″ piece, smear, and place the 6″ piece on top of it.
3. Even up all the sides as best as possible. Take three pieces of wood scraps and place them on the front side of your coat rack and secure with clamps/vice grips. It is important to protect the wood with scraps because the clamps will make a dent.
4. On the back of the board, measure 4″ in from each end and mark an “x” with your pencil. Measure 10″ away from the marks you just made, mark another “x”. These marks will be where you place the dowels (but on the other side). This way, you will know where they will be and the screws won’t get in the way.
5. Now, evenly space 4 more spots, mark with a “x” in a different color pencil or pen. This is where the wood screws will go in to secure the pieces together. Take the countersink bit and drill the holes. If you don’t have a countersink bit, just pre-drill a hole and secure the screws.
6. On the other side, remeasure the 4″ and 10″ spots you made for the dowels, the center being about 1″ from the bottom. Measure up about 3/4″ on the bit and mark it with electrical tape, this way your holes will be at a more even depth. Drill the holes at roughly 30 degrees; Amy says that the human eye is very good at dividing spaces, so you can probably eyeball this. Cut three portions of the dowel at about 2 1/2″ long. Put wood glue on one end of all three and secure in the hole.
7. If the edges are a little uneven, just trim a little off with the miter saw. Sand all the corners and edges so you don’t cut yourself while hanging jackets or reaching for mail.
8. After the rack is sanded and has dried, you can paint or stain. I chose to leave mine raw. Attach the keyhole hangers to the back and attach to the wall.

To see photos with the step by step instructions, visit the original article here

By Sarah Stacey