Clever Desk Accessory

Turn an old wooden plane into an all in one desk set simply by drilling a few holes. Look for inexpensive or damaged planes at flea markets, garage sales and auctions.

I thought this would be cool for a man's office.

Supplies:

Wood Plane
Ruler and pencil
Awl or hammer and nail
Drill with a 5/16 inch drill bit
Masking Tape
Sandpaper

Directions:

1. Mark the spots for holes in the flat surface of the plane, spacing them evenly to form a grid pattern. The pictured plane has a grid of 4 rows of 3 holes each

2. Determine the depth of the holes. Wrap tape around the bit at this point to help drill holes of equal depth.

3. Drill a hole at each marked point,taking care to drill straight down and not at an angle. Drill only to the edge of the tape. Lightly sand around each hole to remove shavings and burns.

4. Place a strip of tape across the bottom of the plane's shavings hole to seal the opening beside the blade. Fill the shavings slot with paper clips and the holes with pencils and pens.