Level up your evening soak with a rustic rack to keep your bath-time essentials close at hand
This simple project reaps big rewards. After a little sawing and a bit of construction, you can lay back and relax.
A soak in the bath will be even more luxurious with your favourite tipple and a cracking read close by, plus you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you created all this comfort with your own hands.
First measure the width of the bath. This tray has an internal width of 65cm, but you may need to alter the measurements slightly to fit your tub. Cut two lengths of plank to 61cm each. These will form the flat bottom of the tray.
Cut another plank to 81cm, then cut the plank lengthways down the middle so that you have two equal strips. These will form the long sides of the tray. Next cut another plank to 20cm in length, then cut this plank in half lengthways too. These will form the ends of your tray.
To create the dips that will enable the tray to sit safely over the curve of the side of the bath Take the two pieces that will become the long sides and draw an 8 x 2cm box at each bottom corner. Take a small cup and place it (as shown) to draw a perfect curve between the two lines. Repeat this process on the other side of the plank. Use your saw to cut out the curves you’ve drawn. Sand the curves to ensure they’re smooth.
Take the two planks you cut to form the bottom of the tray and align them with the two end pieces. Drill holes through the end pieces and into the bottom planks, then use the wood screws to attach the ends. Attach the long sides to the ends of the tray in the same way.
To make a soap dish using a tile, place the long edge of the tile against the short edge of the tray and stick the tile to the tray bottom with little tile glue. Cut a piece of plank to measure 2.5cm high and 20cm long. Glue this against the other edge of the tile with wood glue.
To create a bookstand, cut one more small plank that’s 2cm wide and 20cm long, then apply wood glue to the bottom. Place this in the middle of the tray 1.5cm away from one of the long sides.
This how-to comes from Pallet Craft by Emma Basden, GMC Publications.
