How to Build a Spice Rack

Ron had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful gulf coast beach resort town of Sarasota, Florida, home to Alexandra and Jeffrey Coe. The Coes, who are now raising their family in their classic Florida home, have spent a lot of time traveling and living in foreign lands. Traveling has given Alex a taste for international cooking and she's acquired so many unusual spices that she no longer has room for them all in her spice rack.

Click Here For a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

Alex and Jeff asked Ron to help them create a spice cabinet that would not only accommodate all of the spices they currently own but also provide extra space as the collection continues to grow. Ron thought the best way to get more storage was to create a cabinet that was deeper, but not so deep that Alex would be unable to see the spices that were stored in the back.

1. Design

• Ron suggested that they build a large, open-faced cabinet with a permanent shelf near the top. Beneath it, they would install two vertical dividers that would support several adjustable shelves.

• They built their cabinet out of three-quarter inch thick red oak veneer plywood, which they purchased in 4' x 8' sheets.

2. Cut wood

• Jeff and Alex first took turns on the table saw cutting each cabinet piece to its proper width.

• Once the widths were cut, the next step was to cross-cut each one to length. For that, Ron used a table saw accessory called a cradle that he had made himself.

• A cradle is an attachment that goes on a saw, which can be made out of plywood. The cradle essentially converts the table saw into a very accurate cross cut saw. To use it, they lined up the cut mark with the kerf or blade slot on the bottom of the cradle.

• For more information on building a cradle, see page 1 of the instructions for Ron's mailbox project.
  

• Because Ron needed to cut several pieces to the same length, he also made a wood stop with a notch on the end, which he clamped to the rear edge of the cradle.

• The stop helped to ensure that the second piece they cut was exactly the same length as the first. Ron simply put the first board into the cradle and slid it up against the stop. Then, whether he needed to make one, two, or fifty cuts, they would all be exactly the same.

• Ron cranked up the table saw blade, and Alex cut the top, bottom and side sections. Then Jeff took over to cut the shelves and dividers.

3. Rabbets and dados

• With each piece cut to size, they were ready to cut the joints, which would not only result in a stronger cabinet but would also make assembly easier. First, they cut an "l" shaped groove called a rabbet down the back edge of each side panel. The plywood back would then slip inside the rabbets and the raw edges of the back would be concealed.

• To cut the rabbets, Ron fitted the table saw with a dado blade, which was actually a pair of saw blades with a series of so-called chippers in between.

• Alex passed the wood along the blade, making her first rabbet joint, which came out perfectly.

• The next rabbet was just like the first except wider. This was where the top of the cabinet would nest into the side. Ron moved the saw fence back to expose more of the blade, 3/4 of an inch this time, and then they slid it slowly through the blade.

• After the last pieces were cut, Ron showed the Coes how the top would fit into the rabbet they had just cut.

• They were also going to need a groove where the divider was going to intersect the side.