Shaker Peg Rail

I've been wanting to make a nice length of Shaker peg rail for a while. As the space between the end of my bed and the opposite wall is narrow, it would be the perfect place for Shaker pegs. I did check out Shaker Workshops peg rail but decided I could more economically make it myself. I mean, how hard could a simple peg rail be? Well, as it turns out it's not terribly difficult, but if I had to do it all over again I might modify my design. Since I'm not planning on hanging heavy objects on my rail, I simply glued the pegs in place. If I were planning on hanging heavier loads, I would definitely enlist the strength of screws to secure the pegs. I'll have to delay my sense of accomplishment until I see how well the pegs hold up under use.

If you're interested in building your own peg rail, Martha Stewart has a simple tutorial. Between some general directions on the internet and the example of a short length of peg rail that I bought at Goodwill months ago, I went about creating my homemade version. I was able to find some nice pegs on Ebay, but a Google search will lead you to additional suppliers of Shaker pegs.

As usual, I ended up making several trips to Lowe's during the process. In the end, I found the 1/2" Irwin Speedbor drill bit to be what I needed. The 7/16" drill bit recommended in Martha's directions was not the right size for my pegs.I also decided that I wanted my pegs to be spaced more than 6" apart, so I got my tape measure out and played with the spacing. I went with a 7" space between pegs, which looked a little less cluttered and a bit more modern.

Be very careful with your measurements if you try this yourself. I ended up making a mistake with my first attempt and had to cut my board down, losing a peg in the process. That I was functioning on three hours of sleep didn't help matters (I'll never learn). The weather here has been spectacular and I figured that I could sleep when the cold, crappy weather returns. After all, it's only mid February.

I'm blogging while I wait for the glue to dry. The next step is placing the holes for mounting the rail and then finishing. I will more than likely paint the rail, but I'm not 100% committed to a finish yet. I promise to post pictures once I get it hung.