Build your own DIY clothes rack

• 8 straight branches, 1.8-2 m long, about 6-8 cm thick, cut to: 7 lengths of 160 cm and 2 lengths of 80 cm.
• Jute rope: 6 x 3 m lengths, 7-9 mm thick
• 14 wood screws, 6 x 80 mm

• High-pressure cleaner, e.g. STIHL RE 110
• Garden pruners, e.g. STIHL GTA 26
• Wood drill bit, 5 mm
• Utility knife
• Cordless sander
• 120-grit sanding sheets for cordless sander
• Cordless screwdriver with bits
• Tape measure
• Small workbench
• Marking chalk

Working with high-performance power tools is fun and allows you to broaden your skills, which is great if you can rely on effective and safe protective clothing. 

Always wear your personal protective equipment when working with STIHL power tools. Find out more in the owners manuals for your product. Before using your power tool for the first time, fully familiarise yourself with it and ensure that it is in flawless condition before each use.  

On request, your STIHL dealer will be happy to prepare your power tool for its first job, and will also advise you on models and sizes of protective clothing that you can try on at your leisure. Please remember that personal protective equipment is no substitute for safe working.

Measure the branches and mark the lengths needed for your DIY wooden clothes rack. Now cut the branches to the correct length. The STIHL GTA 26 garden pruners, for example, are ideal for this task.

Clamp the lengths of wood you have sawn for your clothes rack in the workbench so that they cannot slip or turn. Now score the bark with a utility knife, using a cross-hatch pattern first in one direction and then the opposite way. This will make it easier for you to debark the branches in the next step.

Now it’s time to debark the branches using the STIHL RE 110 high-pressure cleaner. To do this, mount the rotary nozzle before attaching the connecting hose and finally the water hose. Push in the locking lever, switch on your high-pressure cleaner and thoroughly debark the branches. You should only use the high-pressure cleaner on frost-free days, and should avoid working too close to the house or garden shed because softened bark could be flung a few metres away.

After debarking, remove the wood from the workbench and place it in the garage to dry out. This can take about 3 to 5 days.

Now thoroughly sand the cut edges, taking care to also remove any loose fibres.

Lay out the wood pieces for the sides of your DIY clothes rack, and drill holes using a 5 mm drill bit. Connect these pieces with screws, then set up the frame. 

Now screw on the cross struts at the bottom and the hanging rail at the top. You can use a cordless screwdriver to do this. 

Tie a loop of rope around each screwed joint and use it to conceal and consolidate the connection. To do this, wind the rope around the branches several times in a figure-eight motion. Start above the clothes rack and continue below it. Finally, knot the rope tightly. Your DIY wooden clothes rack is done!

Your DIY wooden clothes rack is ready for you to add clothes hangers.

To build a wooden clothes rack yourself, you need a little bit of practical skill, 2 to 3 hours (plus drying time), as well as the appropriate materials and tools.

How much it costs to build your own clothes rack depends on where you get your wood from. If you are planning an upcycling project that uses waste wood, you can expect the costs to be low.

A self-built wooden clothes rack does not require any maintenance. You can simply use natural, untreated wood, which is also very sustainable.

If you want to, you can finish your DIY clothes rack with wood oil to protect the wood from moisture and marks, and to visually enhance the grain. However, doing this means that the wood cannot later be used as firewood, disposed of with household waste or used as garden wood.