At my house, coats pile up on dining room chairs and get put away only when dinner guests actually need to sit. I have a coat closet—two, in fact—but after a long day at work, who has the time (or patience) to mess with hangers? So for a project using vintage metal doorknobs, a toss-and-go coatrack seemed just the antidote for my lazy ways. I had six knobs and their matching rosette backplates; all I needed was a nice old board to mount them on. Lucky for me, my boss, This Old House editor Scott Omelianuk, was willing to part with some chestnut trim he salvaged after taking down a wall during his house renovation. Here’s the step-by-step for how to build the rack:
1. Attach dummy spindles
Once you've determined knob placement and made the necessary reference markings, you'll have to position a dummy spindle over each cross-hatch marking (where the doorknobs will be attached) and attach the spindle with screws. (Note: For knobs with insignias or letters, you may need to position the spindles on the diagonal so their patterns can be properly viewed.)
2. Secure rosettes
Place decorative rosettes over the spindles to conceal their steel mounting bases, and then drive in the screws to secure the rosettes to the board.
3. Glue the knobs in place
Secure the knobs to the spindles using silicone adhesive applied with a glue gun, and let dry. If necessary, now is a good time to bring back the trim board’s shine by applying a wood preserving and conditioning oil with a lint-free rag.
4. Anchor the rack
Hang your finished rack using appropriate anchors for your wall type.
More on How to Make a Salvage Doorknob Coatrack
Watch the video for this project
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