30″ wide hall tree 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 and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Stud finder
• Level
• Table saw or track saw for ripping
• Jigsaw
• 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. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   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. 3Edge-band

   Iron edge banding onto every front edge that shows, and all four edges of each door and drawer front. Trim and sand.

   Set a household iron to "cotton" with the steam off. Cut each strip of banding about 1″ longer than the edge, lay it glue side down so it hangs a little past both faces, and slide the iron along it slowly, about 10 seconds per foot.

   While the glue is still hot, rub the banding down hard with a scrap block. Let it cool, then trim the ends with a sharp utility knife and the overhanging sides with an edge-banding trimmer or a sanding block held at a slight angle.

   • Tip Band the parts before assembly. Once the case is together the iron cannot reach the inside corners.

   ✓ Run a fingernail along every banded edge: nothing lifts and nothing overhangs. Re-iron any loose spot.

4. 4Build the case

   Work on a flat floor with the front edges facing up. Stand the bottom between the sides first; clamp a square scrap block inside each corner to hold it at 90° while you drive the screws.

   Drill a pilot hole with a countersink bit for every screw, 3/8″ in from the edge so the screw lands in the middle of the plywood edge. Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries.

   Glue and screw the bottom between the sides with its underside at 0″, and the top flush with the top ends. 1 5/8″ screws, 3 per joint.

   Glue and screw a stiffener under the front of the top in each bay, flush with the front edge.

   Fit the dividers between top and bottom at 9 3/4″, 19 9/16″ from the left side, outside faces.

   • Tip To square the case before the back goes on, push on the long diagonal until both diagonals measure the same, then nail one corner of the back and work around it every 6″.
   • Tip Plywood edges split if a screw is closer than 3/8″ to a face. Keep the drill straight.

   ✓ Diagonals match within 1/16″.

5. 5Prepare the back panel

   Cut the back panel (E) 30″ wide and 72″ tall, with the plywood grain running up and down. Iron edge banding onto both long edges and the top.

   On its back face draw where the bench meets it: a line 17 5/8″ up from the bottom for the seat, one 3/8″ up for the bench bottom, the sides 3/8″ in from each edge, and a line down the middle of each divider. You will screw through the panel along these lines.

   • Tip Pick the nicer face for the front: it is the biggest surface anyone sees.

   ✓ The panel is square: its diagonals match within 1/16″, and it lies flat on the floor.

6. 6Screw the back panel to the bench

   Lay the bench on its front on a blanket, cubbies facing down. With a helper, set the back panel on top of it, back face up, bottom ends flush and sides flush, so the panel becomes the bench back.

   Drill and countersink from the back of the panel along your lines and drive 1 5/8″ screws every 8″ into the back edges of the bench sides, top, bottom and dividers. Glue the edges first.

   • Tip The back panel is what keeps the cubbies square, so every edge needs screws: don't skip the dividers.

   ✓ Stand it up: the back is square to the seat (check with a framing square) and the bench doesn't rack when you push a top corner.

   STOP. It is top-heavy from here on. Keep a helper on it until it is anchored to the wall.

7. 7Fix the hook rail and hooks

   Glue the hook rail (F) across the front of the back panel with its top 64″ above the floor. Drive 1 5/8″ screws from the back of the panel into it every 8″.

   Screw 4 hooks to the rail, centred 1 3/4″ below its top, at 3 3/4″, 11 1/4″, 18 3/4″, 26 1/4″ from the left.

   ✓ The rail is level and the hooks are in a straight line.

8. 8Add the brackets and top shelf

   Cut the two brackets (H) from a 1×12 offcut: 6″ tall, 8 13/16″ deep, sloping from 1 1/2″ at the bottom to full depth 1 3/4″ below the top. Glue and screw them to the panel face at each end, tops flush with the panel top, with 1 5/8″ screws from the back.

   Set the top shelf (G) on the panel top and brackets, back edge flush with the back of the panel, 1″ past each side. Screw down into the panel edge every 8″ and into each bracket.

   • Tip Trace the first bracket for the second so they match.

   ✓ The shelf is level and doesn't move when you press on its front edge.

9. 9Stand it in place

   Stand the hall tree against the wall. If the baseboard holds the bottom out, either take the baseboard off behind it or fit a strip of the same thickness behind the top so it stands plumb.

   Check plumb on the side with a level; slip shims under the front corners if the floor slopes.

   ✓ It stands plumb and doesn't rock. Anchor it before hanging a single coat.

   STOP. Coats on the hooks and a child pulling on one can tip a hall tree. Anchor it to a stud.

10. 10Anchor to the wall

    Slide a stud finder along the wall behind where the piece will stand and mark the studs.

    Fix the anti-tip kit's bracket to the back or top of the piece, then screw its other end into a stud with the screws supplied.

    Do not load the piece until it is anchored.

    STOP. Confirm the wall type first. Drywall on studs: use the studs. Plaster or masonry: use the kit's matching anchors or ask a pro.

11. 11Finish

    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.