Furniture

Wall-Mounted Mail and Key Rack

Need a place to keep your mail and keys?

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 3–5.8 hours
Cost: $$

About this build

Need a place to keep your mail and keys? Make this wall-mounted mail and key rack with a unique and modern look. It is a beginner-friendly woodworking project using pocket hole joinery.

Tools

Essential

Drill / Driver
Impact Driver
Miter Saw
Pocket Hole Jig
Random Orbit Sander

Optional / nice to have

Bar / Pipe Clamps
Pencil
Tape Measure

Materials

Item	Qty
Birch, 2’ x 3 1⁄2” x 3⁄4”	1 board
Teak Round, 15” x 15” x 1”	1 board
Box of 1 1⁄4” Kreg Pocket Hole Screws (see tools list)	1 each
Box of Kreg paint-grade plugs (see tools list)	1 each
Level	1 each
Paint of choice	1 each
Paint brush	1 each
Spray primer	1 each
Drawer pull of choice	1 each
Two-prong hooks	3 each

Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L
Birch	1	1" × 3" × 3"

What to buy

Buy 1 board at 8 ft.

1" × 3"

1 board

Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →

Start building →

Instructions

1Cut wood
- Cut wood according to the visual cut list in the woodworking plans with a table saw and miter saw.
- Cut the length of the birch board with a miter saw. You can either purchase a ready to-use 15” wood round or cut your own.
2Drill pocket holes
Drill pocket holes on the bottom of the shelf as shown in the woodworking plans. We used the Kreg 720 Pro.
3Taper the edges of the shelf and sand
Hold the shelf up to the correct location on the wood round and mark any edges of overlap due to the rounded edges. Sand the edges of the shelf so they match up with the edge of the wood round using 80-grit sandpaper and an orbital sander. Follow up with 150-grit sandpaper on the entire shelf.
4Attach the shelf
Using clamps, secure the shelf to the correct location on the wood round. Use a level to make sure it is nice and straight. Then attach the shelf to the round with Kreg pocket hole softwood screws.
5Fill pocket holes with plugs
Once attached fill the pocket holes with wood glue and pocket hole plugs. Let dry.
6Sand
Sand off the excess plugs and glue with 80-grit sandpaper and an orbital sander. Sand everything with 150-grit sandpaper until smooth.
7Tape off the shelf and paint
- Tape around the shelf using painter’s tape.
- Apply 3 coats of primer. We used a spray primer.
- Then use your desired color paint to put on a final 2 coats.
- Remove the tape with done.
8Apply teak oil finish to the round
After a day, tape off the shelf and apply teak oil on the wood round to bring out the natural wood look. Apply 2 coats and let dry.
9Add hardware
To finish off the mail and key organizer. Add hooks to the bottom half of the wood round. Lastly, add a drawer pull to the shelf as a place to keep mail organized.
10Hang on the wall
Hang on your wall to start using your key and mail organizer. You can use either picture-hanging hardware or heavy-duty Command picture-hanging strips.