Make a weathered wood towel rack
Make this ladder-style towel rack using PAR pine that you will find at your local Builders Warehouse, and use tea, vinegar and steel wool to give the wood a weathered look.
YOU WILL NEED:
3 of 25mm diameter x 1200mm long pine dowels
2 of 50 x 69mm x 1800mm PAR pine
Wood glue
120- and 180-grit sandpaper
Woodoc fine steel wool
Spirit vinegar
Plastic container
Teabag
Paintbrush
TOOLS:
Drill/Driver
25mm spade or MAD bit
Clamps
HERE'S HOW:
Before you start, place some steel wool in a plastic container and fill up to three-quarters with spirit vinegar. You need to let this soak for at least 24-hours. This will be your 'stain' for the ladder towel rack and will give the pine a lovely weathered look.
The sides are already 1800mm in length, so now you just need to cut the dowels to the required length for your towel rack. If you want a taller rack, buy 2400mm PAR pine. The length for this project is 450mm, but you can increase this if you wish. Use a 25mm spade or MAD bit to drill out the holes for the rungs.
Use wood glue in all the holes and fasten the dowel rungs in place. You will need to clamp this overnight to let the glue dry completely.
GOOD TO KNOW: If you don't have enough clamps - you can use bricks on either side to hold everything together.
Make a cup of very strong tea - sans milk and sugar of course! - and brush it on your ladder. The tea releases tannins in the wood that allow the vinegar/steel wool solution to work better. We applied two coats of tea, letting each coat dry in between.
Give the vinegar and steel wool mixture a stir and then brush onto your towel rack. will start to turn the wood darker as soon as you brush it on and within an hour or so will be completely weathered.