Parquetry Coatrack

An eye-catching chevron catchall

This wall-hanging coatrack stores your jacket, umbrella, keys, or whatever you need to grab on your way out the door. And its slim profile keeps it out of the way wherever you install it.

Create the parquetry using pieces from your scrap bin in the species we show or create your own. Either way, you’ll end up with something you can hang your hat on.

Shape the chevron

The panel consists of alternating strips of solid maple, cherry, and walnut, and laminated strips.

1 Rip thin strips to size [Drawing 1], then glue the strips into a laminated block [Photo A].

2 Scrape off any dried glue from the surface of the lamination and cut one end square. Cut six laminated strips (A) from the block [Photo B].

3 Cut to size the solid-wood strips (B) [Materials List]. We cut six each of maple, cherry, and walnut. Build up strip assemblies [Photos C–E].

4 Build the chevron cutting jig [Drawing 2] and trim the edges of the strip assembly [Photo F].

5 Cut the ends of the strip assembly square, then resaw it [Photo G] and assemble the halves into a chevron-pattern panel [Photo H]. 6 Sand away the saw marks and trim to length and width [Exploded View], removing from all edges as needed for symmetry.

Frame the arrows

1 Cut to size the frame stiles and rails (C–E). Drill pocket holes in the ends of the rails, staying clear of the inside edges where the rabbet will be cut later [Exploded View].

2 Glue, clamp, and screw the rails (D, E) to the stiles (C) [Exploded View].

3 Rout the rabbet in the back of the frame [Exploded View, Photo I]. Square up the corners of the rabbet with a chisel, then check the chevron panel for fit. Cut the back (F) to size.

Address your hang-ups

1 Finish-sand the frame, panel, and back (F), and apply a finish. We used a satin spray lacquer.

2 Insert the panel and the back (F) into the frame rabbet and secure the back with angled brads [Exploded View]. Don’t glue the panel to the back or the frame so it can move with changes in humidity.

3 Install keyhole hangers on the backs of the stiles (C), 2" from the top of the frame [Exploded View].

4 Attach the hooks to the front of the frame [Exploded View]. Hang the coatrack wherever you could use a little extra support.

Parquetry: Inlaid blocks of various woods arranged in a geometric pattern.

F Overhang the strip assembly off the edge of the jig and cut away the corners. Remove the assembly from the jig and trim the opposite edge.

D Glue and clamp the walnut/laminated pairs to the maple/cherry pairs, offsetting the ends. When completed, you should have six of these assemblies.

C Glue a walnut strip (B) to a laminated strip (A) and a maple to a cherry, offsetting the ends by 3⁄4". Repeat with the remaining laminated strips and solid-wood strips.

E Once the glue dries, glue and clamp the assemblies together, offsetting the ends, until you have combined them all.

G Install a resaw blade in your bandsaw and cut on the centerline of the workpiece. You should end up with two halves about 5⁄16" thick. Tip! Sand the panel with a random-orbit sander to accommodate the varying grain directions in the pattern.

I Install a ¼" rabbeting bit in your router table and rabbet the rear face of the frame. Use several progressively deeper passes to rout to a final depth of 9⁄16".

H Glue the halves together, bandsawn faces up, using light clamping pressure. Take care to align the intersecting points at the center.