Home Crochet baby clothesMake wooden key board yourself

Make wooden key board yourself

  • Key board 1: "apple branch"
    • Material and tools
    • manual
  • Key board 2: "Mix-a-lot"
    • Material and tools
    • manual
  • Key board 3: "key"
    • Material and tools
    • manual
  • variants

You are a DIY fan and looking for a creative idea for storing many different keys ">

Optically appealing key storage in three variants

In the course of our lives, more and more keys accumulate: be it for the house, yard and garden, garage, houses and apartments of relatives, sometimes from friends or for professional reasons. In addition, it usually does not stay with the individual household and a more people means more key. But where is this whole hodgepodge? A key board has to come! How you can make yourself such a wood and cheap materials, we show you in today's tutorial. In total, you will find here the instructions for three different, very individual keyboards made of wood.

At first glance, our workpieces may be complicated and the tool lists may seem very special and extensive, but do not worry: everything will be explained step by step, and we will show you the simple alternatives that every hobbyist has at home with any special tool. Although some basic equipment is required, all four projects are suitable for beginners. In addition, you create unique pieces that you can not only hang yourself proudly on your wall as a small piece of art even at home. These lovingly designed keyboards can be individually tailored to suit every taste, making them ideal for gifts.

Difficulty 1.5 / 5
(suitable for beginners)

Material costs 1.5 / 5
(per key board between EUR 2, - from the remaining utilization up to EUR 13, -)

Time required 1.5 / 5
(per key board about 1-2h)

The material costs may be a bit higher at the first purchase, since you will buy larger packages of the individual materials and do not process them in their entirety. For example, a package of screws can cost two euros, but they will not all consume immediately on a workpiece.

Tip: Basic materials for wooden keyboards can be obtained, for example, from Euro pallets, from whole pieces of wood or from firewood. But you can also cut a board in the hardware store to your liking and have it milled.

Key board 1: "apple branch"

Material and tools

  • 1 piece acacia wood, branch part, about 8cm diameter (alternatively: two boards from the hardware store)
  • 3 pieces of beautifully branched apple tree wood, 2-3cm diameter (alternative: other types of wood)
  • 6 screws
  • 2 pieces picture eyelets and 4 nails (available as a set)
  • if desired, some wood wax and / or wood stain (alternatively pickling possible)

  • Band saw (jigsaw or foxtail)
  • Surface planer (hand plane, sandpaper or grinding machine)
  • Cross-cut saw (foxtail)
  • Drill with wood drill
  • Caliper (alternatively tape measure or folding rule)
  • screwdriver
  • hammer

manual

First trim the branch to the length your key board should be wide.

Work out of the wood piece afterwards two straight boards.

The key board looks particularly rustic if you leave the bark on the front.

SAFETY WARNING !!!

If you are working with a band saw, as soon as you reach the end of your piece of wood, use a push stick to protect your fingers and hands and adjust the saw band guide so that it is no more than one centimeter above the workpiece to get an optimal cut. Otherwise the cut will not be straight.

Work the cut surfaces with a planer to get smooth and even surfaces. Alternatively you can work with a hand plane. If you are still not satisfied with the result, you can still finish by hand with the grinder or with sanding paper.

Pick three matching branched branches and cut them straight at the bottom. Place it on the lower part of your key board and try different positions until you are satisfied with the arrangement. Mark the bearing surfaces on the board, remove the branches and mark the locations for the holes with a small cross. Drill holes for the screws at the desired locations.

Tip: Do not drill holes too much and use thinner screws to avoid splitting the branches. The screws should be about the board thickness plus a maximum of one centimeter long.

Decide on the height of your key board and shorten the three branches all to the same length. You can do this with a caliper, a measuring tape or a yardstick. First mark the desired length and then cut the branches parallel to the lower cut edge.

In the next step, place a branch on the appropriate outline drawing and screw it from below in the pre-drilled hole.

Tip: Do not screw on too tightly so that you can readjust the branches if necessary. Later, the screws should still be tightened properly, so that your key board holds well.

After all three branches are bolted to the lower board, lay the board for the top in front of you and put the other board with the bare branches down on it. Now you can make all necessary markings again and pre-drill the holes for the screws. At the same time, you can tell whether you worked cleanly when cutting the branches or whether you still need to sharpen a bit. Now screw the three branches from the other side to the upper board.

For attaching to the wall, you will need two picture eyelets with matching nails or another wall hanger of your choice. Attach them exactly to the back edge of the top board so that your key board is hanging straight against the wall.

For the final touch, round off all edges and protruding wood chips manually with sandpaper and then treat the thinner branches with wax or polish, so that the natural colors of the wood show better and come into their own.

And already the key board can be used.

Key board 2: "Mix-a-lot"

Material and tools

  • 1 piece of firewood or a wooden block of your choice
  • 4 pieces old dough hooks of a hand mixer (apartment resolution, flea market)
  • 2 pieces picture eyelets and 4 nails (available as a set)
  • if desired, some wood stain
  • Band saw (jigsaw or foxtail)
  • Surface planer (hand plane, sandpaper or grinding machine)
  • Cross-cut saw (foxtail)
  • Drill with wood drill
  • vice
  • hacksaw
  • hammer

manual

Cut the piece of firewood into a block according to your wishes. Not all surfaces must be at a 90-degree angle to each other, but can also run obliquely. Alternatively, you can have a piece of wood cut to your liking at the hardware store.

Tip: The depth of your wooden block for this key-board should not be too tight, as slightly wider holes are drilled for the dough hooks and you have more room for installation.

First remove any plastic parts from the dough hooks and then lay them on the desired height for the key hooks on the wood block. It is not absolutely necessary that all hooks are the same length.

Now bend the individual hooks (if necessary with the aid of a vise and pliers) by hand to the desired position. Make sure that the lower bent end of the kneading hook is open at the front, so that you can easily hang up your keys. Check the position again and again based on your wooden block.

In order not to pierce the block and to drill not too deep holes, fix the dough hooks in the vise and cut them with a metal saw.

Mark the positions where you want to attach the hooks with small crosses and then drill holes exactly the diameter of your dough hooks.

Tip: By drilling in exactly the same diameter and avoiding the rounding off of the interfaces (deburring), the dough hooks clamp particularly well in the holes and you can dispense with adhesive.

Before you hammer the dough hooks into the holes with a hammer, you can let the wood in with wax or stain to emphasize the wood grain and thus it is better protected against soiling and therefore easy and uncomplicated to clean.

Tip: For cleaning wooden surfaces, it is best to use a damp cloth.

Mount the picture eyelets with the matching nails on the upper back of your wooden block. Then insert the ends of the dough hooks into the pre-drilled holes and gently tap them into the final position with a hammer. If you are not completely satisfied with the result, you can now readjust all the hooks individually.

Key board 3: "key"

Material and tools

  • 1 wooden board of your choice
  • 4 old keys
  • 2 pieces picture eyelets and 4 nails (available as a set)
  • if desired, some wood wax

  • Band saw (jigsaw or foxtail)
  • Surface planer (hand plane, sandpaper or grinding machine)
  • Cross-cut saw (foxtail)
  • vice
  • screwdriver
  • hammer
  • Possibly. Bunsen burner

manual

Cut a board from a piece of wood to your liking or have it made in a hardware store. With a piece of natural wood you bring more individuality into your project and do not have to pay attention to right angles and neatly aligned key rows.

First, wax the wooden board to make it more resistant (and in natural woods to highlight the particular drawing).

Now bend each key individually in the desired position using a vise and hammer. When bending the key shafts, make sure that the angle is less than 90 degrees, so that the keys that are hung later can not slip off (ie bend beyond the right angle).

Tip: Depending on the material of the key, it may be helpful to warm it with a Bunsen burner, otherwise it could break.

Attach the picture eyelets with the matching nails to the upper back of your key board and place the finished keys next to each other on your board. Arrange them until you are satisfied with the layout and tighten the keys with a screwdriver.

This key board is a real eye-catcher - now it just needs to be put in place.

variants

Especially if you have children in the house it can add a funny touch to your key board if you place two smaller screws next to each other to fix the keys. This creates the impression of "eyes" on the key heads. In this case you have to pre-drill two small holes with a metal drill bit.

If you want to add color accents, you can varnish the wood and / or decorate the keys with nail polish.

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