Recycled Project: Shelf with Hooks

With the kids both in school, and homework happening at the kitchen counter, we needed someplace nearby for backpacks and homework to call home-base. I immediately thought of the standard sort of Junior High Woodshop shelf plan, of which I've probably built 5-10 over the years in various sizes and shapes. Mrs. Big A, however, remembered buying some old table legs/feet at an estate sale 10 or so years ago and thought we should finally enlist them into service. The plan was to use the legs as shelf supports, attach a back with hooks to the supports, and attach a shelf across the top. We set a few goals for this one, though, which were: 1) use only materials on hand (not buy anything new), and 2) obtain a rustic look, 3) create something sturdy, useful, and attractive.

The table legs presented the first challenge in that there were no flat edges or square corners. I needed to create a right angle somewhere on the table legs so it would hang straight and flat against the wall, but I wanted to maintain the character of the legs. Basically, it was a matter of creating a straight line along one edge (the "top" of the shelf) then cutting a right angle to that line (for the "back"). I used the bandsaw for this task, a tool that I find myself turning to time and time again. Used carefully, it can do amazing things.

In this photo, the top leg is cut/trimmed, stained, and finished. The bottom one is rough, though you can see my layout lines if you look closely.

Next, I created the back. I have a small (and thankfully, dwindling) pile of scraps and boards I've acquired through the years, and enlisted this old solid oak board. After scraping off the old finish, I had this:

The back. I can't believe this was covered with paint. I also can't believe I got all the paint off.

The top shelf was a bit trickier because I didn't have any "rustic" wood that was wide enough to work as a shelf, or enough narrower pieces to glue together into a shelf. I did, however, have some cherry veneered MDF left over (my wife found a couple pieces at a yard sale years ago, and I used some on the Digital Upright project), so I cut it to the size I wanted and edged it with solid oak. I softened the corners and took a pass with the router to round the edges. I stained it all with Minwax Red Oak stain, which made the grain in the cherry wood pop out, but rendered the oak edging too red. I was left with a shelf that looked beautiful and brand new, and supports and back that did not. I had to make everything match. I stained the uprights with the Red Oak, as you could see in the pictures above, and treated the shelf part with a Golden Oak stain to add more of a brown tint. Not perfect, but close.

The top shelf.

When the stain was dry and the dust was wiped away, I measured and drilled the back to attach it to the wall, and treated everything with 3 coats of Minwax Rub-on Polyurethane (satin finish). I attached the hooks and put it all together with nails and screws.

Here is the shelf in use.

Homework center complete! Eventually that baby blue wall color will have to change...

It took around 4 hours total time to build this one, and a lot of time was saved because I didn't have to scroll cut or sand the uprights. It's hard to estimate the cost, because some purchases go back 10 years or so, but I'm guessing it's around $20. The hooks themselves have been recycled multiple times at various locations. Regardless of thrift, the kids now have a place for their backpacks and homework that is not on the floor just inside the front door!

Thanks for reading!