How to Make a Simple and Stylish Thread Rack

Step 3 Drilling

When I went through my tools I didn't have a drill bit the same size as my wooden dowels, but I did have one slightly smaller and sandpaper so I could easily make it work with only a few extra steps. Despite whether or not you have the right drill bit, you will want to drill at roughly a forty-five degree angle. In my case I also wiggled the drill, rounding out the hole into a funnel shape. carpespasm suggested creating a jig to get the same angle every time by drilling the desired angle into a piece of scrap wood to line up all your holes.

Even if you do have the right size drill bit for the job, you might want to consider rounding the top of the holes if you also are going to upholster your thread rack in order to leave a little room for fabric and batting.

If your wood can handle it, I suggest drilling all the way through to the other side. This could be helpful later, and even if it's not, overall it really can't hurt. I decided to drill all the way through when I thought I might need wood glue to secure the dowels and would not be able to apply it on the top with the upholstery. While I did not end up needing wood glue, it was helpful when I was puncturing the fabric to insert the dowels as I needed to be able to push my tool all the way through to work properly.

Comments

[wa7jos]

 You probably don't need so steep an angle on your holes.  I've built thread racks, and 10-15 degrees is plenty.

For the ones I built, I just used the board, sanded and stained - no covering required.  The dowels were only about 2" long and drilled 1/4 to 3/8" deep.

[sincerelydisregard]

It sounds like you made very nice thread racks. Personally I choose different features for mine like steeper angles to see the thread better, covering it for aesthetic reasons and for needle storage, and long dowels so I could double stack spools if I ran out of room. I tried to create an instructable that would not need to be followed exactly, but something that could be easily modified to the users needs and preferences.

[TanyaL]

The longer dowels are nice to add the matching bobbins to the thread spools.  No more looking for the matching bobbin if they are already stacked together.

[kissiltur]

what an excellent carpetted work bench! Lots of room, plenty of high shelves...

Seriously, though, I'd put some scrap wood under what you're drilling to stop yourself from drilling a hole through the carpet - not to mention getting saw dust pretty deep into the fibres.

[sincerelydisregard]

I actually just staged those photographs in my living room. The lighting was better there and I was more or less using the space to produce a nice image quality than using it as an actual workspace.

[kissiltur]

Understood. Apologies for making such a feeble joke.