Coat Rack and Mitten Stand From Old CD Rack

My husband got an old CD rack from the side of the road and brought it home. We don't keep CDs out anymore, because of the kids. It has sat in the basement for a while, until now.
Being in New England in the Winter is wet and messy. With two kids, we always have wet and snowy hats, mittens, gloves, boots, coats, snow pants, etc. lying around on the floor. When they're in a heap, they never dry. But now, problem solved!!!

Step 1: Get Ready

Here's what you will need:

One found CD rack. (a wooden one with dowels)
drill
paddle bit
screw and screw bit
saw
glue

Now dismantle the CD Rack. I used my handy dandy drill, and 6 screws later, the rack was in a bunch of pieces.

Step 2: Drill Some Holes

Now, find the right size paddle bit, by comparing it to the holes that the dowels used to go into. I used a 5/8" paddle bit. Remove the screw bit from you drill and insert the paddle bit.
Now drill holes into what used to be the top of the CD rack. I made two rows of holes. Space them equally. (you can measure if you want to)
When drilling the holes, but a scrap piece of wood under the board, so that you don't drill into your floor. Drill the hole deep enough to the point of the paddle bit pokes through. Don't drill too deep, or you'll have a problem when you want to attach the dowels.

Step 3: Attatch the Dowels.

Now its time to attach the dowels.
I attached the full length dowels in the back row. Add a dab of glue, and screw through from behind. I used 1 5/8" screws.

If you can't stop the dowel from turning, use vice grips. If you are worried about the finish, put a paper towel, or cloth, between the vice grip and the dowel.

For the front row of pegs, I cut them with a saw. (I used a hand saw because it was handy, but you could easily use a circular saw.)

Step 4: Make It Pretty.

Now turn it right side up, straighten and tighten any loose dowels. Dust it off, and now get ready to make the coat rack.

Step 5: Drill the Angled Holes

Take the board you want to use for the coat rack, and mark 4 equally spaced spots through the center of the board. Using the same paddle bit as before, put the point of the paddle bit down onto the mark. Now tilt the drill down so that the battery touches the ground.
If this angle looks good, go ahead and drill. If it's too shallow, but a board under the board you're drilling into. If it's too steep, put a board under the drill.

Repeat this step to drill all 4 holes. If you use this trick, all four holes angles should be the same. Drill just deep enough so that the hole makes a perfect oval.

Step 6: Attatch the Pegs

Take a screw and screw into the board the way the peg will go through, until you just poke out on the other side. This gives you your mark of where to screw into the pegs. Remove the screw. Add a dab of glue, jam the peg in, and screw in from behind. Use the pegs that were scrap after cutting the dowels for the mitten rack. Try to line it up so that the drill, screw, and dowel, make a straight line.

Step 7: Put It Where It Goes

Screw the coat rack onto the wall. (use drywall anchors, or screw into studs, locating them with a stud finder)
I put my mitten rack onto a boot tray to protect the floor.

The great thing about making something from another piece of furniture, is that it already has a finish on it. No need to paint or stain.

This whole project only took me about an hour. Now we have nice dry mittens and boots. This project was free, and saved something from ending up in the landfill. For extra bonus points, you could make the dowels on the coat rack shorter, and put a shelf on top, to hold more stuff.