This DIY dish rack was designed to slide across my sink. This design can be adapted to fit different sized sinks. The rack is made from maple boards that I bought from rockler.com

SUPPLIES:

½” maple boards
Available at the Rockler
I used ½” thick maple boards from rockler.com

Wood glue
Available at the Home Depot
I used Gorilla wood glue from Home Depot.

Bioshield wood countertop finish
Available at the Green Building Supply
I used Bioshield wood countertop finish to give this rack a foodgrade finish.

TOOLS:

RYOBI ONE+ 18 Volt Cordless Drill Available at Home Depot











RYOBI ONE+ Table Saw Available at Home Depot











RYOBI Compound Miter Saw
Available at Home Depot












RYOBI Jig Saw
Available at Home Depot












RYOBI Orbital Sander
Available at Home Depot

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Rip the boards
I used my table saw to rip the maple boards into 2 strips. The boards were 3” wide and I set the fence of the table saw to rip 1.75” wide strips.



STEP 2: Measure the sink
I measured my sink and marked the strips of maple. I made 2 sets of marks. One set that showed the width of the sink and a 2nd set that was about 1” past the first set.



STEP 3: Cut to length
I used my miter saw to cut the boards to length. I also cut short pieces of the thinner strips to use as spacers.





STEP 4: Mark notches on the wider boards
I marked notches on the wider boards so that the rack will fit nicely within the sink.




STEP 5: Cut the notches
I used my jigsaw to cut the notches. It is helpful to use additional boards so that the guard of the saw has a place to rest when cutting the thin boards.





STEP 6: Glue the pieces together
At this time I didn’t have long clamps so I had to glue the rack together into 2 pieces.







STEP 7: Add screws
I don’t trust glue alone in applications that are exposed to water so I drove long finish screws through the pieces. I didn’t the screw heads to show and I didn’t want the hard maple to split so I predrilled holes before driving the screws and also drilled ½” diameter holes that would allow me to glue wood plugs over the top of the screws. I used long finish crews from both sides to connect the 2 pieces of dish rack.







STEP 8: Glue in the wood plugs
I glued short pieces of ½” diameter wood dowels into the holes and then used my Japanese handsaw to cut them flush to the surface.





STEP 9: Sand the rack
I used my orbital sander to sand the rack with 220 grit paper.



STEP 10: Finish
I finished the rack with Bioshield wood counter finish.

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