12″ wide spice rack plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Stud finder
• Level
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Plan the spot

   The rack is 12″ wide and 26 3/4″ tall. Pick a spot away from the stove: heat and steam fade spices fast.

   Find the studs there with a stud finder now and mark them in pencil, so you can centre the rack on them.

   ✓ You have marked at least one stud inside the rack's width.

4. 4Mark the shelf lines

   Lay the two sides (A) together, ends even, and square a line across both for the underside of each shelf, measured from the bottom: 0″, 6 1/2″, 13″, 19 1/2″.

   That spacing leaves 5 3/4″ above each shelf: room for a 4 1/2″ jar plus enough to tip it out.

   ✓ The lines on the two sides meet when the sides are held edge to edge.

5. 5Glue the lips onto the shelves

   Glue a lip (C) on top of each shelf (B), standing on its edge, flush with the front edge and both ends. It stands 1 1/2″ high so jars can't slide off.

   Clamp every 6″, or drive 1″ brads from underneath to hold it while the glue dries. Wipe squeeze-out on the jar side right away.

   ✓ The lip is flush with the shelf front along its whole length.

6. 6Assemble the rack

   Stand the shelves between the sides on their lines, lips at the front, and the top (D) flush with the top ends.

   Predrill and countersink, then glue and drive 2 screws, 1 5/8″, through each side into each shelf and the top.

   • Tip Clamp a square inside a corner while you drive the first screws; it holds the rack square for you.

   ✓ Measure the diagonals: they match within 1/16″.

   STOP. Predrill every hole: pine 1×4 splits easily this close to the end of the side.

7. 7Add the wall rails

   Lay the rack face down. Glue and screw a wall rail (E) across the back at the top, flush with the top and the outside of the sides, and one at the bottom: 2 screws through each rail into each side.

   The rails hold the rack 3/4″ off the wall and give the stud screws solid wood to go through.

   ✓ The rack lies flat on the rails without rocking.

8. 8Hang the spice rack on the wall

   Slide a stud finder along the wall and mark every stud with a pencil. Studs are usually 16″ apart, measured center to center. Confirm one by drilling a tiny test hole where the trim will hide it: you'll feel the drill bite into wood.

   Hold the piece at the height you want and draw a level line along its top with a level.

   Drill pilot holes through the back or hanging rail where it crosses a stud, then drive #10 × 3″ screws into the studs: 4 in all.

   Drive the screws through the top rail into each stud it crosses, 2 per stud, and 1 more through the bottom rail into each stud. A rack 12″ wide crosses one stud if you centre it on one.

   • Tip Before drilling, check the wall for pipes and wires: avoid drilling directly above or below outlets and switches, and behind sinks.

   ✓ Every screw went into wood (they pull tight, not spin). The piece doesn't move when you pull on it firmly.

   STOP. Drywall alone won't hold it. Never hang this with only drywall anchors. Keep the load under about 25 lb, and never hang it over a bed or crib.

9. 9Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.