The result is a rustic pot rack made from aromatic western red cedar. This pot rack has two 5/8-inch bars that are 36-inches wide, each of which have five S-hooks that slide along the bars to hold the pots, as you can see from the image above. This allows for adjustable horizontal positioning of the pans as necessary.
While she's using it for cast iron pans, the rack would work just as nicely for stainless steel or any other kind of cookware that you might want to display out in the open. The rack hangs on a hidden wedge bracket, sometimes referred to as a french cleat. This cleat absorbs all of the weight of the pans and transfers it to the wall studs without putting undue vertical pressure onto the fasteners. When you want to take the rack down to clean the wall, simply lift the rack off of the cleat.
This was a fun and practical project to build, and one that adds not only a great look to her kitchen plus (at least for a while) the smell of aromatic cedar as well. For me, the only downside to building this pot rack is that now I'm sure she's going to be hitting up all of her friends to buy her more cast iron pots and pans as gifts!
Download the free Rustic Pot Rack Plans to build this woodworking project in your shop (PDF).
Difficulty Level
- Woodworking: Moderate to Easy
- Finishing: none
Time to Complete
- 3-4 Hours (woodworking)
Recommended Tools
- Table Saw
- Circular Saw or compound miter saw
- Cordless Drill or Power Drill
- Drill Press
- Tape Measure
- Combination Square
- Pencil
- Countersink Pilot Hole Drill Bit
- 5/8-inch Forstner Drill Bit
- Phillips Screw Bit
- Hammer
Materials Needed- 1 - 2x6 x 8' - rough cut cedar
- 1 - 2x4 x 8' - rough cut cedar
- 1 - 1x6 x 4' - rough cut cedar
- 2 - 3-foot long sections of 5/8-inch steel rod
- 10 black S-hooks
- 3" deck screws
- 4d finish nails
