Entryway Mail Sort and Charging Hutch

Because this piece sees light everyday use, a nailer with 2" nails is plenty of fastener — 2" countersunk screws with glue or 1-1/4" pocket-hole screws work too. Measure and mark out every joint with a square before assembly.

Mark out where the mail-sort dividers will sit on the mail-sort shelf, then fasten them in place.

Mark the joint locations for the sides on both their inside and outside faces, so you know where to line boards up and where to start fasteners. Apply glue and fasten the sides to the shelves and center divider.

Attach the top to the sides and the center cubby divider.

Tack the back on with glue and 1-1/4" nails. If everything else was assembled with a nailer, make sure the back is also fastened into the shelves, not just the sides.

Nail the top trim on with glue and 2" finish nails, keeping the top flush and letting the ends overhang 1/4" on each side. Add the side trim the same way, also overhanging 1/4".

Add the shelf trim, keeping tops flush, and drive a nail or predrilled screw through the edge of the side trim into the ends of the shelf trim to keep that joint tight.

At every stage, measure diagonally corner to corner and compare the two measurements — if they don't match, push the two corners of the longer diagonal toward each other until they do. This matters even more if you're building multiple units to line up side by side.