Drying Rack for Miniatures

Watch the video here.

This week I am going to show you how to make one of the things that is always on my work table. It is a rack or block that I use for drying small painted items and for baking off clay flowers.

I know that I have shown this in use in at least one of my videos and I remember mentioning then that I would show you how to create one of your own.

I've had mine for at least 13 years probably at least 15. I know this because I remember explaining to my dad what I needed and putting our heads together to make it. He was great at doing things like that and I still miss him a lot. I know that it was the influence of my parents making things all my life that made me creative. It was just something we all did, if we wanted something or needed something we made it.

The rack my dad helped me to make was made from a 6” long piece of scrap 2x4. The one in the video is made from a slightly longer chunk of 2x7 lumber. Just use whatever you have on hand. I drafted 2 of my sons to help me did through the pile of odds and ends of lumber out in our barn to find something to use. My oldest son gets full credit for using the table saw to cut it down to size.

I like to have the block about 6” to 8” long because that size is big enough to make it worth while, meaning you have room to set out your project. And yet small enough that it doesn't take up too much of the valuable space on my work table.

Also because I need the block to be small enough to use it to bake off clay flowers. I do have a flowering plant that I want to show you how to make in a few weeks and I use the block to both dry the paint on the stems and to bake the clay flowers.

On the video I quickly stated the size of the drill bits I used but in case you missed it they were:

5/64^th inch for the small holes

1/16^th inch for the larger ones

The lines are drawn about ½” apart but this is totally up to you how far apart you want yours. One really important point is to not drill all the way through the board. That is why I use a thick piece of lumber instead of a thin one. I want the holes to be deep enough that what I put into it stays upright. If the holes went through the board the wire stems of flowers would fall through.

The larger holes are for golf tees, be sure to check back for my blog post about those on one of my upcoming Tools of the Trade Tuesdays. They are another of my favorite tools in my workshop.