Dowel hanging rack

Use a piece of pine, plywood or MDF, a 25mm dowel and some Rust-Oleum 2X UltraCover spray paint to make this dowel hanging rack.

 

 

 

 

 

This dowel peg hanging rack can easily be mounted in a hallway for coats, in a bathroom for towels, or in a children's bedroom.

 

 

 

 

You can make a longer rack for more hanging pegs, and choose your own colours for the pegs.

 

 

 

 

YOU WILL NEED:

Piece of board (MDF, plywood or pine will do) approx. 250 x 500mm or longer

25mm pine dowel

No More Nails adhesive

Rust-Oleum 2X UltraCover spray paint in your choice of colours

120- and 180- or 240-grit sandpaper

2 keyhole hangers and 4 of 16mm screws

 

 

TOOLS:

Drill / Driver plus assorted bits

25mm spade bit

Jigsaw and clean cut blade

Steel rule and pencil

OPTIONAL: Mitre saw if cutting dowel pegs at an angle

 

 

HERE'S HOW:

 

 

1. You can extend the length of the board if you want to add more hanging pegs. Divide the board into sections, allowing between 60 to 80mm between each peg. Use a steel ruler to mark and draw where to cut out for the pegs. 

 

 

 

 

2. At the base of each slot drill a hole with a 25mm spade bit. If you are using a different sized dowel - use the corresponding size of spade bit.

 

 

GOOD TO KNOW

Place a scrap board underneath the board being cut to reduce ripping and chipping at the back of the board.

 

 

 

 

Tork Craft have a 9 piece Spade Bit set that contains a selection of the most commonly used spade bits. You will find this at Builders.

 

 

 

 

3. Use a jigsaw to cut out the slots.

 

 

 

 

4. After completing all the cutting, sand the edges smooth with 180- or 240-grit sandpaper. If you need to remove uneven edges inside the slots a Dremel MultiTool and sanding ring comes in very hand. Alternatively, wrap the dowel with sandpaper.

 

 

 

 

5. When using spray paint on SupaWood / MDF it is always better to seal the cut edges. This effectively blocks the edges and means that you use less paint. A small bead of wood glue applied over the edge works like a dream. Let the glue dry.

 

 

 

 

6. The pegs are 25mm in diameter and 100mm in length. The ends are cut at an angle for effect, but you can keep them straight if you don't have a mitre saw.  The ends for our peg rack were cut at a 20-degree angle. Sand away any rough edges.

 

 

 

 

7. Choose your favourite colours for the pegs. We used Rust-Oleum 2X in satin poppy red, aqua, french lilac and green apple. Apply several light coats, allowing each coat to dry. The main panel was spayed with Rust-Oleum 2X satin heirloom white.

 

 

 

 

8. To mount the board onto a wall we used 2 keyhole brackets mounted at the back. These particular keyhole brackets need to be drilled out behind the fitting, so draw out the shape with a pencil...

 

 

 

 

... Use a 10mm wood bit to drill to a 5mm depth where you marked the shape...

 

 

 

 

... And then screw in place with 16mm screws.

 

 

 

 

9. To mount the pegs use No More Nails adhesive at the base of the slots and push down the pegs. Use a damp cloth to wipe away any excess adhesive that oozes out.

 

 

 

 

BELOW: Let the adhesive dry overnight.

 

 

 

 

Now you can hang the peg rack on the wall.

 

 

 

 

When mounting anything onto a wall it is important to use fischer wall plugs. I have discussed previously that fischer wall plugs are nylon (not plastic) and provide a secure mounting for large and heavy items. For this project I used SX6 wall plugs that require a 6mm drill bit and 4 to 5mm diameter screws. Remember that the screws should be about 5mm longer than the plug.

 

 

Mark the location on the wall and use a spirit level to ensure the line is straight. You should also use an electronic detector as a safety precaution, because you never know what lies in the wall and checking before you drill is far safer than drilling and possibly hitting a water pipe or electrical conduit.

 

 

If you are looking to buy a drill / driver, consider the Bosch PSB 10,8 LI-2 combi drill / driver. This model is lightweight and also features a hammer function for heavy-duty drilling for the home DIY enthusiast. Buy at your local Builders.

 

 

 

 

Using Alpen masonry bits is like a hot knife through butter and with a Bosch PSB 10,8 LI-2 drill / driver and 6mm bit it really is a breeze to drill the holes.

 

 

 

 

Make sure the hole is clean before pushing in the nylon wall plugs.

 

 

 

 

Drive in  5mm screw so that only the head of the screw protrudes from the wall. Place the keyhole brackets onto the screw heads and push down to slot securely in place.