Make it for Mum! Knock up a jewellery stand for Mother’s Day

Build a handy jewellery storage rack that’ll put your mum in a spin

Don’t head to the shops for a Mother’s Day gift, head to a hardware store instead. That’s where you’ll find all the materials you’ll need to make her a gift that’s not only personal but practical. With simple techniques and a few basic tools, you can use your hands to make a gift that’s from the heart.

Gather your supplies

40 x 12mm x 1.2m pine 184 x 19mm x 1.2m pine 19mm x 1.2m pine dowel 12mm x 1.2m pine dowel 6mm x 1.2m pine dowel 75mm lazy susan bearing plate

You’ll also need

Combination square; pencil; tenon saw; chisel; various sandpaper grades; Sikabond PVA glue; drill; 19, 6 and 12mm spade bits; clamp; hammer; rag; 30 and 16mm wood screws; interior varnish stain in black; paintbrush; adhesive felt

Here’s how

STEP 1 Use combination square to mark a 40mm wide and 6mm deep housing centred on each top piece. Make multiple cuts through the housing using the tenon saw, then use a sharp chisel to remove the waste timber and smooth the bottom. STEP 2 Cut off corners of top pieces and use sandpaper to round the ends and make smooth. Spread PVA glue in bottoms of housings and join top pieces together. STEP 3 Drill holes through each end of the top pieces using a 19mm spade

bit. Make the centre of holes 20mm from ends.

STEP 4 On bottom, drill 5mm deep holes centred 20mm from each adjacent side near the corners.

STEP 5 Working from one end of post, mark points for side rails at 40, 135 and 230mm. Clamp to bench, then drill through post at each point using a 6mm spade bit.

STEP 6 Give the post a quarter turn and mark

a point 60mm from end you measured from in Step 5. Drill through post with 12mm spade bit. STEP 7 Measure and mark top rails for pegs. First peg is 30mm from end and rest are 15mm apart. Drill through rail with 6mm bit. STEP 8 Squirt PVA glue into holes and tap in pegs until flush with other side. Use damp rag to remove all excess glue before it dries, as the stain won’t penetrate there later.

STEP 9 Join a pair of posts using side rails glued into 6mm holes in posts. Join these pairs using top rails glued into 12mm holes. Turn top rails slightly so pegs stick outwards.

STEP 10 Glue top pieces and bottom to post assembly, tapping them together with hammer. To protect timber, use a block between the project and hammer.

STEP 11 Turn carousel upside down, predrill through bottom into centre of posts, then join using 30mm wood screws. Leave for 12 hours for glue to set.

STEP 12 Sand so all protruding ends of dowel are flush with surrounding surface.

STEP 13 Apply 3 coats of black stain to carousel and base. Let dry after each coat.

STEP 14 Fix lazy susan bearing plate to centre of base using 16mm screws. Offset the halves of bearing plate, then mark the base through 1 of the screw holes in top half. Drill a 12mm hole through base at this point.

STEP 15 Hang edge of base off bench, then centre carousel on bearing plate. Screw up through hole in base into top half of bearing plate. Attach adhesive felt to base.