One of my most popular builds! This coat or hat rack features arms that fold up when not in use, it’s pretty neat and gets a lot of comments when people first use it. I made my first one more out of necessity, I run a dojo and my students needed a place to hang coats. Wanting something to stand out I chose this design and all the students loved it. Since then I have made a few others when pressed, you see, they are a real pain to make, seemingly impossible to keep from twisting.

This build however was different, with my new shop and a bit more experience and a 1/32 larger drill bit these were delivered without any twist. I must thank my father in law for the odd ball sized bit. You understand, a bit that is 3/8 plus 1/32 is a game changer (leave a comment if you are yelling out that fraction). I chose not to worry about the math, but to instead do a test fit and it worked, so I went with it.

My friend, Dena, wanted her coat rack to be made from reclaimed lumber, I think she saw my FB post where I picked a barn a month back. I found 3 boards that where suitable and and pulled out the nail then milled to get square. I included the milling process in the photo gallery below, it’s a time consuming process.

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After the above process is done, one can start the actual build. I first cut the fingers to width and made the 45 degree cuts. I used a miter saw with a stop to get the needed repeatable cuts. Now onto the blanks (the piece that spaces the jackets apart and does not rotate). Using the table saw, I placed the fence exactly 2 widths away from the blade, then clamped a blank to the fence, to make the cut. This allows for repeatable cuts that are the same width. Keeping the cuts in order is important, if you want the finished product to have the grains all line up (a mistake I made in the one at the dojo and I bet your going to look closer next time your there).

Next comes the most important step, drilling at the exact location, to achieve this I made a stop block on the drill press and it all went pretty smooth. It’s important to have good music during this step and Santana delivered. Listing to The Cars, I drive a 3/8 dowel through the entire thing. Next step? Sand, man, sand (Metallica). Then finish with a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax and the Bee G’s really brought it home

The final step is to deliver, install and take a photo of Dena’s happy kids who now have a place to hang their hat, jacket or scarf.

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