This tutorial will show you how to make a small wall shelf using vintage door knobs:
1. Build wooden base (any size you want) or use existing wooden shelf. Add 1/4 in thick tack strip on sides to give the bolts that will hold on the door knobs room behind the base once hung.
2. We painted the wood shelf red first, then off white. Next we sanded some areas to "distress" the paint to expose a little of the red.
3. Prep the antique door knobs: Most have a square bolt receiver, but some still have pre-cut threads, which you can match to a bolt. For those without threads (the grooves on the inside of the doorknob), you will to use a thread tap slightly larger than the diameter of the hole on the knob to cut the grooves.
Make sure the tap is not too large or you can cut out too much metal and break the knob. Keep track of the tap sizes you use for each knob so you can match to the right bolt diameter. For a quick tutorial on thread tapping click here.
4. Determine the bolt length you will need by measuring the thickness of your board/shelf and then adding about a 1/2 inch to that number. If your bolts are too long, you can add washers to the back of the bolt. Drill holes just big enough for the size of your bolts (ours were 1.5 inches) into the shelf, spaced evenly across.
5. Thread knobs onto the bolts on the front of the shelf.
6. Attach the shelf to desired wall and enjoy!
A fun yet functional piece of vintage wall art!
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