Introduction: Mission Style Key Hanger Shelf From a $3 Pine 1x4
Turn a 3$ pine 1x4 into a functional mission style key hanger shelf that makes a good gift.
Step 1: Starting With a Single 1x4 Board of Pine
I had an 8 foot long 1x4 pine board lying around, I decided to start with that and build a key hanger shelf thing.
The requirements were that I should be able to hang 5 keyrings and have a little shelf for cell phones and gadgets above the keys.
I looked up the price of a similar 1x4 and you can get one for around 3$ at the Home Depot.
Now, to make the cuts I used my miter saw and cut pieces with the following lengths:
1 piece 13 inches long
1 piece 12 inches long
2 pieces 11 inches long
Thats a total of 47 linear inches out of the total length of 96 inches - a little more than half the board.
Step 2: Making All the Cuts and Removing the Rounded Corners
Use the miter saw to make the cuts and since my board had slightly rounded corners, I had to shave 1/8th of an inch off the sides of the boards.
I then drew the outlines of the side pieces - the 12 inch board will yield both side pieces as seen in the drawing.
The 13 inch board is for the top shelf.
Rip the 11 inch boards into one board of width 1 3/4 inches and one with 2 3/4 inches.
Use the remaining waste piece from the 1 3/4 inch cut to make the 3 small vertical pieces - 3 inches each.
Step 3: Make Curved Cuts Using a Scroll Saw or a Jig Saw
I used my scroll saw to make the curved cuts on the side pieces - the 3/4 inch pine board is about the limit of a scroll saw but it worked slowly but precisely. I also tried one piece using my jigsaw but it was tough, clamping one end and then the other to finish the cut.
Step 4: Template Routing All Side Pieces to Match the Master Piece
I sanded and perfected the first curved side piece and then used that as the master piece to use with my template routing bit - all side pieces end up identical this way. You can skip this step if you can live with slightly dissimilar side pieces.
Step 5: Gluing Up the Key Hanger Shelf - No Nails or Screws Used
I decided that this project piece will not experience a lot of stress - 5 keyrings hang off it, and the top shelf rests on the side pieces, so glue should be more than enough.
First, a dry fit to make sure everything lined up before I got messy with the glue.
I glued up the pieces and then clamped them up overnight. If you don't have clamps, you can use glue and screws but then you see the ugly screw heads on the sides. Maybe pocket hole screws would work, hiding on the backside of the key hanger shelf.
Step 6: Sanding Through the Grits
I used my belt sander with an 80 grit belt, my sheet sander with 150 grit sandpaper and then my big heavy Bosch Random orbital sander to sand to 220 grit. All weird corners were hand sanded with 220 grit.
After the 220 grit, the pine was very smooth to the touch, ready for the staining and varnishing.
Step 7: Staining
I used three different stains (did I mention I was making three identical keyhangers) to get some variety in the final products.
Varathane Traditional Cherry https://amzn.to/2QTVXIV
Varathane Dark Walnut https://amzn.to/2BJDbcO
General Finishes Java Gel Stain https://amzn.to/2BNTAwJ
Flood the surface and then wipe it off.
Step 8: Varnishing/Polishing
Wipe on poly is my preferred method of polishing projects.
Wipe on and remove the excess. Dries fast - you can usually do 2-3 coats in a day.
Since this project is not going to see much wear and tear, 3 coats of polyurethane should be enough to last a long time.
Step 9: Screw Golden Cup Hooks
Next step is to add cup hooks - I got a whole bunch of these cup hooks - mark off 5 equidistant locations and drill pilot holes before hand screwing in the hooks.
You can use any suitable hardware here - I just had these on hand.
Step 10: Brackets for Hanging From the Wall
I will use some right angle aluminium brackets under the horizontal shelf to fasten this to the wall.
Since I made three of these, I will give 2 away as gifts - I will include the angle brackets and drywall anchors plus screws along with them so that the recipients don't have to hunt down suitable fasteners.
Thats it - thanks for reading - this was a quick project but yielded some nice functional furniture.
Amazon Affiliate Links to all products referred in this Instructable:
Varathane Traditional Cherry https://amzn.to/2QTVXIV
Varathane Dark Walnut https://amzn.to/2BJDbcO
General Finishes Java Gel Stain https://amzn.to/2BNTAwJ
