A Pine Leaning Blanket Ladder
- Hands on
- 180 min
- Start to finish
- 24 hours
- Level
- moderate
- Makes
- one ladder, 1650 x 400mm
This is a ladder in shape only: two rails joined by five dowel rungs, leaned against a wall rather than climbed. The only real skill in it is keeping the rung holes lined up between the two rails and drilled square, which a bit of clamping and a shared marking-out solves.
What you need
Step by step
-
Square one end of each length of rail stock, then cut both rails to 1650mm on the mitre saw, measuring from the squared end.
10 min -
Clamp the two rails together edge to edge with their faces aligned, and mark five rung centres across both pieces at once so the holes will match. Measuring from the bottom: 150, 490, 830, 1170 and 1510mm.
15 min -
Fit a 25mm bit and set a depth stop or a strip of tape at 20mm. Clamp the rail to the bench or drill press table and drill each marked point 20mm deep, keeping the bit square to the face. A drill press is the most reliable way to do this; a hand drill with a doweling guide also works.
40 min -
Cut five dowel rungs to 400mm long, cradling the dowel in a V-block or dowel jig clamped to the mitre saw table so it cannot spin as the blade meets it.
15 min -
Dry-fit all five rungs into one rail without glue, then offer the second rail onto the other ends. Check the assembly sits square and the rails run parallel before any glue goes on.
10 min -
Glue the holes and rung ends on one rail, seat all five rungs, then glue the second rail onto the remaining ends.
15 min -
Clamp across the assembly at each rung. Check square by comparing the two corner-to-corner diagonals, adjust if they differ, then wipe off any squeezed-out glue with a damp cloth and leave clamped.
15 min -
Once the glue has cured, ease the top ends of the rails and the ends of each rung with sandpaper or a block plane, then sand the whole ladder from 120 to 180 grit.
30 min -
Apply the hardwax oil in thin coats, following the tin's recoat time between them, and let it cure fully before the ladder is loaded.
20 min -
Fit a self-adhesive rubber foot to the base of each rail, to stop it skating on hard flooring and to protect the finish where it takes the load of leaning.
5 min
Afterwards
Vacuum rather than sweep the sanding dust out of the rung holes before gluing. Leave the glue-up clamped for at least an hour and fully cured overnight before easing edges. Hardwax oil is normally dry to handle in a few hours but wants a full day or two before it takes real load, so hold off loading the ladder with heavy blankets until then. Check the rubber feet every so often and replace them once they compress flat.
Questions
Will it mark the wall it leans against?
Only if the top rail ends are left bare on a painted wall. A strip of felt pad on the back of the top rung, or simply leaning it a little further out, avoids contact.
I don't have a drill press. Will a hand drill work?
Yes, but use a doweling guide or a scrap block drilled square as a bushing to keep the bit going in straight, since it is the alignment between the two rails that matters most.
Can I make it taller or wider?
Both scale fine. Keep the rung spacing under about 350mm so there is enough to loop a blanket over, and keep the width under 450mm or it starts to feel unstable when leaned.
Why hardwax oil rather than paint or varnish?
It is quick to apply in thin coats, does not build a film that can chip on the rungs, and is easy to refresh later with another light coat.