Originally Posted by
roselady
Will you share the materials he used and any helpful techniques? Thanks!!
He used a remnant of shelving, so it was finished on three sides, and we put the unfinished side to the back. It was about the right size for the width of the desk drawer.
We marked out how many spools would fit across, but staggered the rows for ease in lifting them out.
He cut 3/16 inch dowelling into approx 4 inch lengths for the spool pins.
We used the drill press to drill the holes and I sanded the ends of the dowelling on the sander to round off the edges (and make them smoother). A regular drill could be used as long as you don't go too far in. They could be sanded with sandpaper too if you don't have any other way to take the roughness off.
A light tap with the hammer set them into place.
Because he made it almost the same length as the drawer, we stapled a piece of purse strap webbing onto the bottom of the shelving and left it long enough so that it would lie on top when in the drawer. That way it can be pulled up to pull the shelf out to get at the spools on the back pins.
If you have a deeper drawer, this wouldn't be necessary, or if you make it shorter than the full length of the drawer. BUT! I wanted it all!!!