Coat Rack, Part 1: Design and Initial Stock Prep

Immediately on the right as we enter our house is a metal coat rack.  A few years ago I embellished it by making cherry "leaves" that sort of match the motif of the rack, and sticking them on the coat hooks.  But it has always seemed like we need something more.  For one thing, we could use more hooks.  We also need a place to throw keys and (in the winter) hats.

The existing coat rack

It doesn't hold the keys - they're hanging on the door lock to the right

SWMBO wanted the design to incorporate the existing metal coat rack.  And she wanted the coat hooks to be at about the same height as they are now.  The width dimension is governed by the wall on which it will reside, which is about 36" wide.  The depth dimension should not be so great that people hit their noggins on it when entering the house.

An internet search gave me some ideas.  And I borrowed from a coat rack Bob Rozaieski had made earlier this year.  Here are some ideas that I messed with.

Version 1 - this is very similar to Bob's design

Version 2 - dumped the top, but the wife didn't like that the upper and lower
curves on the end pieces were similar

Version 3 - changed the lower curve to convex.  Nobody liked this.

Version 4 - Similar to design 1, but internal dividers have concave curve.  Meh.

Version 5 - Upper curve changed to convex.  No good.

Version 6 - lower curve squared off.  Just plain ugly.

Version 7 - Much like version 2, but the lower curve is smaller

I liked version 2 the best, but we settled on version 7, which is very similar.  Karene just didn't like the top-to-bottom symmetry of version 2.

Close-up view of version 7

From the sketchup model, I got my cut list.  I'm using red alder, same as the two shoe shelves I completed last month.

Cut list and a few detail drawings

Starting to break down the stock

Three of the parts I need are thinner than the (roughly) 3/4" thick boards, so I thinned them down using a heavily set scrub plane ( a repurposed #5 with a cambered iron), followed by planing with the grain and finally a smoother.

Traversing with a scrub plane to reduce thickness more quickly

Gluing up the 1/2" thick back

I've got all the parts to rough size now.  Next time I'll write about laying out and cutting the joinery, which consists simply of dadoes and rabbets.  The shelf will fit into stopped dadoes in the sides.  The dividers will fit into dadoes in the shelf.  And the back will fit into rabbets at the back of the sides.