so my wife wanted something decent to rack her saddle on and challenged me to make something for as little money as possible. this design requires one 12x8 or 12x10 one inch thickness board, and three 3x8 one inch boards plus some screws, a robe hook, a saw, even a hand saw, drill and bits and optionally some stain/varnish

Step 1: Decisions About Design

look at this frame- decide if you want a shelf below the center support, if you do then buy a 10 foot board, if you want it exactly like mine, get the 8 footer. you can salvage the wood for the top from pallets as i did or buy the three 3 inch boards. the shelf is a later addition and has proven good for holding brushes and the center support works great to rack the common green tool trays we all have around the barn.

Step 2: Cutting the Ends

saw the 12 incher into three pieces- two that are 36 inches and the remainder. if you want the shelf then saw that remainder into two equal lengths. these will become the ends and center support/shelf.
now mark the exact center of the end pieces and run a line all the way down
remember that "12 inch" is NOT the actual measurement so adjust the mark as needed.
ever notice that a two by four is not 2x4- same thing

Step 3: Cut the Top Slats

cutting down your 8 foot 3 inch wide board to 32 inches will yield 9 slats. of course using pallet pieces is cheaper but trim them down as needed.

Step 4: Tombstone the Top

lay a slat along the centerline of the end piece and use it as a guide to mark a 45 on either side of it, allow 3/4 inch wiggle room on either side. stack the two ends and cut out the tombstone shape-this will ensure they match even if you do the 45's by eye.

Step 5: Remember the Centerline?

now you get to use the drill- measure up 18 inches from the bottom of your end piece- opposite the tombstone end silly, and drill a hole to guide the screw- do both ends at once and they line up fine. make sure you are on the centerline

- drill a few more holes on the centerline to hold the center support you made from the tail of step two. drilling the holes is necessary so the wood won't split.

drill the center support with only one hole on each end two inches from the edge-be sure you are drilling into the end of the board so it can accept the screw in the lowest hole that you made in the end piece- confused? look at the pics, you are making that joint

*if you want the shelf, drill the end pieces and attach it below the center support-use a t-square to make a nice line and work from that, this is why the center support and shelf were made from the tail, that way they are easy to make identical and the exact measurement is not important.

Step 6: Assembly

attach the center support to both ends with one screw only, then drill the rest of the holes using the holes you made previously(in the end pieces) as guides, then add the rest of the screws. now attach the top slats with screws, be sure to pre-drill those holes too- add some stain and the robe hook to finish it. total cost even with buying the wood and hook- 25$

thanks for looking at this project, it really is just kind of a bash, no real measuring and the most important thing is to pre-drill the holes and hit the center on the end of the support- L brackets save the day when you screw that up so you add 4 bucks cost.
made entirely with a hand saw and cordless drill in one day and that included the hardware trip and staining.