Shoe Rack built using only Kreg Jig and pocket hole joinery

[Jonathan Gelaude]

I accidentally previously posted this as a blog entry. Now that the project is complete, I guess I should post it here.

 

My wife and I had been looking for a shoe rack for our bedroom closet, but I wasn't liking what we found. They just didn't maximize the small footprint we had in the closet, so we wouldn't have been able to put all that many pairs of shoes on it. So, I decided to build one.

 

This shoerack is my second project. The first thing I built with the Kreg Jig was the workbench. And that workbench came in-handy to build the shoe rack on!

 

If you follow the link to lumberjocks, you'll find all the project details.

 

This includes all the information you'd need to build this project exactly as I did, include materials list, cut list, etc. I used almost one entire box of 100-course thread 1.25" screws on this shoe rack.

 

You'd want to modify your measurements depending on what size of shoes you're planning to put on the rack. This particular rack holds 15-pairs of womens' size 9 shoes. Or if you have sandals, flip-flops, etc. you can stack them and get even more on it.

 

If I had to do it again, I'd probably still use the pine for the frame, or poplar, then use red aromatic cedar for the shelves, rather than regular cedar.

 

This link has the basic details for the project, plus pictures. If you follow the link near the top of the post, it will take you to all of the detailed information. Here's the link:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/27531

 

Let me know if you have any questions. This is a very easy plan to modify to fit your dimensions. I basically took about a dozen pairs of my wife's shoes out of the closet, set them on the floor side-by-side (mixing various larger/smaller pairs), then took my measurements off of there. I needed about 10.5-inches front-to-back, then I figured 8-inches wide for each pair would give me a little extra room.

 

 

 

[Jonathan Gelaude]

Phillip,

Thanks for the kind words. I have only built a couple of things that I would consider woodworking projects in my life and this is the second recent project besides the Kreg workbench. I felt the finish turned out OK, but it could've been a little better in a few spots. With practice and maybe a little more patience (by both myself and my wife), I think I'll get better at it.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes cedar is a bit soft. You could certainly use any wood for the shelves. I used white cedar because it is what they had at HD. I felt that cedar would add a bit of aromatics to it, sort of a mild deodorizer. I didn't finish the cedar so that when the shelves get scuffed, dinged-up, or just need a bit of refreshing, I can simply take the shoes off, grab a sanding sponge and hit them lightly to renew them.
2. I would possibly use aromatic cedar for its aromatic qualities. It would definitely be a deodorizer for the shoes, plus help keep bugs/moths out of the closet (not that we have an issue, but more as a deterent). That way, every time you open the closet door, you get a nice whiff of cedar. As far as cost, I was at a lumber supply place about a week ago looking at wood for my next project and did find aromatic cedar, but I can't remember what the price difference was? It would've been like comparing apples to oranges anyway since we're talking about rough lumber that is partially finished and in 4/4, compared to big box pricing where they tend to gouge a bit, plus the wood isn't 4/4, it's thinner. More, but by how much I'm not sure? And being that this is a fairly small project, a few bucks more probably would've been worth it, at least to me. But again, I really like that smell! It obviously would've given the finished project a completely different look too.
3. I did use a lot of screws. More than I thought I was going to, in actuality. And I think I could've used less screws. I did need the amount of screws I used constructing the frame, there's no getting around that. The areas I probably could've used a few less screws would've been when making the shelves by joining the cedar boards together. I think I spaced the screws every 6-inches. I'm sure that could've been stretched to 9-inch spacing. I probably also could've used a few less screws when I attached the rails on the front and back of each shelf. I think these were spaced at 6-inch intervals too. Again, probably could've gone with 9-inch spacing. However, in going with tighter spacing, I assured a tight fit too. Not that any of the wood I had was noticeably warped or anything, but it did pull it all together well with the spacing I used. In reality, I probably could've used between 1-2-dozen less screws than I did and still would've been fine. However, this only being the second time using the Kreg Jig, with the other being the workbench, I was, and still am to a degree, familiarizing myself with this tool.
4. The spray-on poly turned out just fine. However, I might try wipe-on next time for a couple or reasons. The main reason is that I did this down in my basement in the middle of winter. So, guess what? For several days while all the stain, then the poly was drying, the house smelled. Now, of course it's going to smell because there are VOCs involved. However, the spray can obviously immediately atomized a lot more of this stuff than just wiping something on would've. It was a bit of a hassle in the makeshift space I was working in to try and contain the overspray. With wipe-on, overspray is not an issue. So I guess I might've switched to a wipe-on poly. more for circumstantial reasons than anything.

In conclusion, this was a good learning experience on a project that is not sitting out in the middle of the living room, staring me in the face on a daily basis. In addition, it helped me to visualize a project from start to finish, plus modify a project to use nothing but pocket hole joinery (and a little glue on the frame rails).

Thanks again Phillip. Let me know if you have any other questions. I think this is a very manageable and practical project for someone that has just purchased a Kreg Jig to complete. The only thing that you really have to do would be to modify the plans to your situation. For instance, I definitely could've made this bigger, but these measurements fit the closet space we have very well.

I think the other page on LJs probably has most of the pertinent information as far as a materials list and a cut list, but if anybody has any other questions, let me know. I'd be happy to help figure out how to modify this for your situation.

Phillip said:

Jonathan:
Nice looking project. Looks like you have the hang of the Kreg pocket screw jig. I am curious about a couple of notes you made.
1.Why cedar in the first place (not a critique just a question)?
2. Why switch to aromatic cedar? Isn't there a large price difference?
3. You used quite a few screws. Is there a reason?
4. You also mention switching to wipe on poly. I have not used that. Why the change?

You did a very nice job and from the photos it looks as though you are very good at stains and finishes. I do like the wood contrast color of the two colors. I like the look of cedar, though I find it sort of soft, but that might be just what I get out here.

Welcome to the group and Kreg Jig users.

[Jonathan Gelaude]

There aren't really any "plans" for the shoe rack. I just looked at another shoe rack I saw on LJ and then tried to do something similar. It looks almost identical to the one I produced, only he used different wood and finish. The basic pattern is the same though.

Not sure where you were looking for the materials list and cut list? If you go here: http://lumberjocks.com/JonathanG/blog/13293
they are about 8-paragraphs down.
The only thing I didn't include were the screws and finish, but that's all detailed there too.

I have yet to actually count all the screw holes. I did end up having to redrill (I think) 8 of them because of an overlap issue I didn't notice when I designed the thing and did my screwhole layout. So, there are a few extra holes in the bottom of the shelves because of this.

Yes, that's true about the aromatic cedar. I could get some thin sheets and attach them to the bottom of the shelves. I might actually do that, so thanks for the suggestion.

I was at the lumber supply place again yesterday with my wife looking at various oak samples for the built-in bookcases and adjoining mantel that I'm going to build next. And yes, I'll be using the Kreg Jig on part of this project too.

While there, we looked at the red cedar. It's actually not too bad in price. It was $3.++/BF. However, I didn't have a tablesaw when I built the shoe rack, so I wouldn't have had a way to cut the cedar to the size I would've needed. That's changed though! Now I can buy rough lumber and cut it to whatever size I need. I don't have a planer or jointer yet, but that will probably be next.

I'll do a separate posting when the bookcase and mantel project begins. I basically just need to make sure the tablesaw is tuned-up, then I can begin the carcasses for the bookcases. It should be another enjoyable learning experience. I think I'm going to use red oak plywood for the carcasses and back of the bookcases, then hardwood for the faceframe, doors (with glass inserts), and mantel surround.

[David Roberts]

Looks to nice to put shoes on it. Looks like a great coffee table.

[Jonathan Gelaude]

Thanks David. Maybe a touch small for a coffee table though!

One of these days, I'll tackle a coffee table. I have to build the bookcases and mantel first though.

I love the Kreg Jig for these types of projects! It makes it pretty fool proof, fast and easy.

Now I just need more practice with finishing. That is a whole new world to explore.