Just a precaution before we continue. All woodworking projects are potentially dangerous. DO NOT attempt if you not familiar with using tools or are not willing to accept risks...ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTIVE EYE WEAR and know and learn how to use your tools properly according to manufacturers instructions.
We share projects under a commons license ideal and all activities are at the risk of participant.
Now that that is out of the way:
Here we go:
I am just going to give you a starting taste of some of the things we have been making for the last 7 years. We will start with this cute little number my husband made from found objects. The list of supplies is:
1. old solid wood door (do not attempt this project with a hollow core door) with criss cross lattice style window (we removed the glass and it will later be recycled into pieces for jewlery)
2. old kitchen cabinet, upper cabinet
3.4 matching bun legs salvedged from old sofa
4. old wooden vent a hood (goes above stove)
5.two- 1/2" to 1/4" thick scraps of wood, wide enough to fit under kitchen cabinet and long enough for the length on one an the other wide enough and long enough to hang over 1 1/4" to 2" on three sides of upper cabinet
6. scavenged knobs
7. paint (for this project we use old miscolored paints as base coat and Wal-mart custom mix outdoor semi-gloss paint, black ...mix code is one gallon starter and 64 y measure black only tint)
8. screws
9. brads
10. wood putty
11.electric screwdriver
12. jigsaw
13. circular saw
14. hammer
15. paint brushes ( we use the multi 6 pack found at Family Dollar stores, best price for the quality anywhere)
16. optional: poly acrylic finish, matte or gloss depending on the look you want.
17. handle face plate
18. set of matching hooks, single or double.
19. optional: chicken wire
First gather all your supplies, making sure the cabinet you have secured for use on the bottom of this hall tree is the width of the door or smaller (nothing wider). Same goes for the hood (if you can find one it is not required to make a Hall tree if you don't like the look or cannot find one.)
Here are all of our supplies:
Next you will bust out all the glass(if you choose you can leave the glass, but be warned it is more dangerous if you have children. Also makes the piece more difficult to work on and moving a more cautious task.) We choose to take the glass out, as the market we sell in, things with mustard colors DO NOT SELL WELL. Save the glass if you make jewlery, otherwise recycle it or put it up on Freecycle so others may put it to good use. Remove the hardware from door(handle , both sides)
Then we cut a board the width and length of the bottom cabinet. Attatch the bun legs to board with buns sticking out slightly from the corner edges of front and side of board
Back buns need to be tucked in and set so that when the board is up against the door the board butts up with no gaps next to the door. Use several long grabber screws for each bun leg attachment. Screw through the top of the board to do this.
Next you will open doors of cabinet and screw from the inside, attaching the cabinet to the board which now has legs. Screw in each corner and a couple of places in the middle. Counter sink the screws(in other words sink them deep enough that the cap of the screw head is below the wood. This is done so the cabinet will have no rough screw tops to catch on items stored inside. The counter sunk screw holes will be covered with wood putty and smoothed when dried (sanded) to make a smooth shelf at bottom of cabinet. Then you will attach the cabinet to the door by again screwing through the cabinet back attaching the cabinet to the door....Make sure door is in standing position as well as cabinet. Align the cabinet centered on the door center (in other words mark both the door vertical center and the cabinet vertical center and line them up so that when you attach them, your piece will be balanced on each side.Counter sink screws slightly and treat as the bottom screws.Make sure when working on this portion that you work on a level floor and that the door is level to the floor. Once cabinet is attached, mark and cut board to place on top of cabinet (make sure this is a nice piece of wood as it will be seen, also once cut, it is nicer if the three sides that will face outward have a routered edge for a more finished look and feel.) Board measurements should be size of upper part of cabinet plus over hang on two sides and front. overhang can be 1 1/4" to 2" but should not be wider finished than the door across measurment. Router if desired and attach to top by screwing from under side of cabinet top. Make sure screws are not too long to go through the top and mare the cabinet top.
Next attach the vent a hood to top of door by screwing from back of door through to hood. Again make sure your screws are not too long to mare the hood. Make sure screws are slightly counter sunk on back of door as most likely this piece will always sit up again a wall and you would not want walls mared. We added extra wood to the back of the door to make it taller on this piece since the vent a hood was large, to counter it and make it more attractive. You do not have to attach a vent a hood. Any moulding trims could be attractively stacked and attached to finish the top. If you have a door with missing window but it is not criss cross pattern like this one you can also attach chicken wire to the back and staple for a country look (make sure all staples are hammered in securely and all edges of chicken wire are hammered in as well to prevent walls from becoming scratched....This should of course be a last step after painting and finishing the entire piece (inside and out, front and back and make sure you get all the way around those bun legs. You never know when some little rug rat may be crawling along and checking out your work.) Putty all holes except the hole where the door handle was. Wait to dry then sand smooth. Use junk paint as first coat of paint. Let dry. Second and third coats black paint. Dry in between coats throughly. Apply one to two coats of poly acrylic finish coat if desired. Comes in glossy or matte. We use matte finish.
Attach cover plate over door knob hole in front only. Add knobs (hardware) and Double hooks to top as shown in picture. (DISCLAIMER: as with ANY LARGE HEAVY PIECE OF FURNITURE, please if you have small children living in or visiting your home, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ANCHOR LARGE PIECES OF FURNITURE TO WALLS APPROPRIATELY to avoid crushing accidents PLEASE) This item is made very bottom heavy and would be very difficult to tip, but you should never take chances, especially if you have children who like to climb, as it only takes once and a life time of regret.) And lastly a picture of our new creation once delivered to Home Again Midvale, Utah location. This item is sold. Sold in three days..We sell lots of Hall Trees. Each one is different and unique. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions please e-mail or feel free to leave a comment. If you use our tutorial and create your own Hall tree from it send us pictures and we will gladly post them on our blog. Happy Trash Hunting, Salvedging, and wood working all!!
The pumpkin picture window in this picture is also our creation and in two weeks our tutorial will be on how to reverse paint on vintage and antique windows. See you then......Also don't forget to sign up as a new member on this blog and e-mail me your physical address and I will send the first 100 new members a free gift. Also look for our free give-aways to members posted on Mondays.
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