Entryway EDC Shelf W/ Letter Slot

A friend of mine asked me to make her a shelf for her everyday stuff, such as her mail, her keys, sunglasses and dog leash. I came up with a shelf unit that consists of a shelf for her mail, a shelf for her sunglasses and other items, and three hooks for her keys, dog leash, light coat, etc.

Had a lot of fun making this project and got to have a go working with sapele and cutting dados, two things I have never done before.

For clarity sake, I will assign a letter to each piece that needs to be cut out.

Part A: Back Pannel (16" x 10 1/2" x 3/4")

Part B: Letter holder face (10 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 3/4")

Part C: Letter holder shelf (10 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 3/4")

Part D: Bottom Shelf (10 1/2" x 3 3/4" x 3/4")

• Dressed 4 sides hardwood, I used Sapele:
  • 4' of 1x6 (Actual Measurement: 3/4"x 5 1/4")
  • 1' of 1x3 (Actual Measurement: 3/4" x 2 1/2")

• 3 Metal "school hooks"

• 2 Keyhole Hangers

• Wood Glue

• Screws:
  • Four 8 x 1 1/2 Flathead
  • Six 8 x 3/4 Flathead
  • Four 6 x 1/2 Flathead

• Sanding Disks and sheets (80, 120, and 220 grit)

• Wood Finish, Oil or Polyurethane (I used Rubio Monocoat Oil + 2C Pure)

• Black Spray Paint

TOOLS:

• Planers
  • No. 5 Jack Plane
  • Block Plane
  • Router Plane (If you are like me and do not own a router plane you can make your own here: Paul Sellers' "Poor Man's Router Plane"

• Japanese Ryoba Saw (Or a crosscut saw and rip cut saw)

• Random Orbital Sander

• Power drill and drill brace (You do not need both, but I used both, either one exclusively would work)

• Drill Bits (3/32", 1/8", and 3/8")

• Marking Knife

• Combination Square and Try Square

• 3 Clamps with at least 12" spread

• 2 right angle or "corner" clamps (I used the Bessey light duty corner clamps)

• Chisels (1", 1/2")

• Shooting Board (if you do not have one you can easily make one, search on YouTube)

• Bench Vise or other work holding alternatives

First, you'll need to cut out all your pieces for the shelf as follows:

From the 1x6 (nominal, actual dimensions: 3/4" x 5 1/4"):

• Crosscut two 16" long boards (Glued together will produce Part A)
• Crosscut two 10 1/2" boards (Part B & D)

From the 1x3 (nominal, actual dimensions: 3/4" x 2 1/2"):

• Crosscut one 10 1/2" board (Part C)

I like to cut the boards 1/8" longer to account for any variation from the line, then use the shooting board to square up the ends and bring down to the final lengths.

Then, take the two 1 x 6 x 10 1/2" boards and rip cut one to 4 1/2" (Part B) and the other to 3 3/4" (Part D) to make both the letter face and the shelf.

Take the two pieces you cut out for Part A (the two 16" pieces) and, using a doweling jig and your power drill, drill five dowel holes along one of the long (16") edges of one of your boards. Setup your jig as per its instructions and duplicate the holes on the second board. Then, insert the five dowels and test fit your panel, it should come out to be 16" x 10 1/2" x 3/4". If the holes line up properly take the pieces apart and apply some wood glue in the dowel holes and along one edge. Then you can clamp the pieces and leave it for a few hours to dry.

Once dry, use a straight edge (I use the ruler from my combinations square) and check to see if the panel is flat. If it is like mine and has a slight cup, clamp it in your vise and use your jack plane to flatten out both faces.

Three dados need to be cut, one on part B and two on Part A.

Marking

Part B

Begin by marking out the dado on Part B, this will run along the grain on one of the faces (see first photo). Draw a line using your combination square and a pencil 3/4" from the long edge along the face. Then, line up the edge of part C on the inside of the line you just drew (see photo 2). You should now have two lines, one 3/4" from the edge and one 1 1/2" from the edge.

Part A

From one end of your panel, measure 5" down and make a mark, then, from the other end, make a mark at 4". Then, using your try square, draw a line at both the 5" and 4" mark across the panel between the two 16" edges. using the same method as above, place the edge of part C along the line that is marked 5" down, and draw a parallel line. Use Part D for the line at 4" and repeat. This should produce two 3/4" channels, one that is 5" from the top, the other 4" from the bottom, with 6 1/4" between them.

Cutting (same for all 3)

First, use the ruler from your combination square and your marking knife to mark along each of the lines you just drew, 4 on part A and 2 on part B. Then, at the end of each of these channels, use your marking knife to scribe 1/8" down along the edge, then connect the lines. See photos 3, 4, 5. Once all the dados have been marked with your knife, use your 1" chisel to remove material along each of the dados, see photo 7 and 8. Work your way fro the edge to the middle along the entire length of the dado. Then, use your 1/2" chisel bevel down to remove some of the material in the middle of the dado (photo 9). Once complete on all 3 dados, use your router plane to remove the remaining material. I did multiple passes removing little material at a time until I had gone 1/8" deep.

Parts A and B are now complete.

Place Part A in your vice, then, place part C in the top dado and clamp in place with 90 degree corner clamps. Then, from the back of panel A, drill holes with your 3/32" bit through into part C approximately 1 1/2" deep. Complete the same process with part D in the bottom dado. Then, use your 3/8" bit to drill approximately 1/6-1/8" into the holes you just drilled, this will counter sink the screws when assembled. See photos 1-6.

Then, at the bottom of Part A, lay out your hooks below the bottom dado. Place one in the center and the other two 1/4" from the outside edges. Mark all the locations of the screw holes and drill in the center of these marks with your 3/32" bit. You can drill through part A as the back won't be seen. See photos 7-9.

Mark out the location of your 2 keyhole hangers on the top on the back of Part A. I placed mine 3" from the top and 2 1/2" from the sides, placed the hangers and marked out the outside of them. Then use your chisels and marking knife to cut the outline of the hanger. Then, using your 1/2" chisel, similarly to the dados, remove the material along the edges before using your router plane to go as deep as the hangers are thick (about 1/8" for mine). Once the hangers fit, place them in their mortise and mark the keyhole and the screw holes, then drill the screw holes with your 3/32" bit approximately 1/2" deep, then drill and chisel out the keyhole with your 3/8" bit and half inch chisel. See photos 10-19.

Then Sand all the pieces with your orbital sander, going from 150 to 220 grit. While sanding, use a sheet of 80 grit sandpaper to roughen the surfaces of your hooks. If your hooks are already the desired colour then there is no need to continue with this step. Once sanded, spray paint the hooks black and leave to dry.

Lastly, glue parts B and C together using wood glue and clamps. spread glue in the dado then insert and clamp down part C, leave to dry.

Once dry, use the wood finish of your choice, I used Rubio Monocoat. Apply the finish to all parts and let cure as per the instructions on the can.

You can now assemble all the pieces, place the shelves in the dados on part A and screw them in from the back with the 8 x 1 1/2 screws. Attach the keyhole hangers with the 6 x 1/2 on the back and screw on the hooks with the 8 x 3/4 screws. All holes will have already been pre-drilled so everything should line up.

Then you're done! Affix to a wall of your choosing and enjoy!

****Ensure if using an oil based finish to dry your rags properly and not bunch them up as they are a fire hazard. I lay mine on the concrete floor flat and leave to dry for a couple days before disposing.