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Umbrella and Boot Stand[8/4 · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 umbrella and boot stand
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths / 4-6"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A sturdy hardwood stand for the front door that keeps wet umbrellas upright and drips off the floor. Three openings in the top frame hold the umbrellas, the tips rest on a slatted floor, and a plastic tray underneath catches the water. The open front takes a pair of kids' boots or shoes. Glued dowels and screws hold it square.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corner posts | 4 | Boards 1–2, ripped in half | 24" × 1 15/16" × 1¾" | 24" × 1 11/16" × 1¾" |
| Low rails, front and back | 2 | Board 1 strips | 16½" × 1 15/16" × 1¾" | 16½" × 1 11/16" × 1¾" |
| Low end rails | 2 | Board 1 strips | 4⅛" × 1 15/16" × 1¾" | 3⅝" × 1 11/16" × 1¾" |
| Mid end rails | 2 | Board 2 strip | 4⅛" × 1 15/16" × 1¾" | 3⅝" × 1 11/16" × 1¾" |
| Top rails, front and back | 2 | Board 3 | 16½" × 4" × 1¾" | 16½" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Top end rails | 2 | Board 3 | 4⅛" × 4" × 1¾" | 3⅝" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Dividers | 2 | Boards 3–4 | 4½" × 4" × 1¾" | 3½" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Back slats | 2 | Board 4 | 16½" × 4" × 1¾" | 16½" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Floor slats | 3 | Boards 4–5 | 8" × 4" × 1¾" | 7" × 3½" × 1¾" |
Posts: four 24" posts ripped from boards 1–2 (half width × 1¾").
Rails to posts: every rail fits between the posts, outside faces flush. Two ⅜" × 1½" dowels per joint (glue in the holes only) plus one #10 × 3" screw through the post into the rail end, counterbored and plugged. Rail ends are end grain, so the dowels and screw carry the joint.
Top frame: full-width front, back and end rails, with two dividers doweled and screwed between the front and back rails — three openings.
Back and ends: two full-width back slats and a ripped mid rail at each end keep the umbrellas in.
Floor: three full-width slats across the low rails, one screw per end, no glue.
Finished size: S4S 20" W × 8" D × 24" H, openings about 4¼" × 4½" · S2S 20" × 7" × 24", openings about 4¼" × 3½". Floor about 6" off the ground.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 · 4ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- A bag of 60+ ⅜" × 1½" fluted dowel pins
- About 30 × #10 × 3" flat-head screws
- ⅜" face-grain wood plugs (or cut your own)
- Plastic drip tray, up to 16" × 8" and under 2" tall (a small boot tray or a long plant saucer)
- 4 felt pads
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: hardwax oil or spar urethane (water-resistant)
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square) — with a stop block
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide), push stick and splitter
- Dowel jig and ⅜" brad-point bit with a depth stop
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ⅜" counterbore bit
- Flush-cut saw (plugs)
- 4 bar clamps, 24" or longer
- Tape measure, combination square, pencil
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first. No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 1¾" × 4", ¼" to square an end · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean); we plan S2S at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Rip boards 1 and 2. Rip each one down the middle with a push stick and splitter — four strips about 1 15/16" wide. Cut a 24" post from each strip with a stop block.
- 2 Cut the strip rails. From the two board 1 strips, cut two 16½" low rails and two 4⅛" low end rails. From one board 2 strip, cut two 4⅛" mid end rails. The last strip end is offcut.
- 3 Cut the wide parts. Board 3: two 16½" top rails, two 4⅛" top end rails and one 4½" divider. Board 4: two 16½" back slats, one 4½" divider and one 8" floor slat. Board 5: two more 8" floor slats. Sand everything to 180 and round the edges.
- 4 Drill for dowels. Every rail, slat and divider end gets two ⅜" dowel holes, ¾" deep, with a dowel jig. Drill matching holes ¾" deep in the posts so the outside faces end up flush. Top rails sit flush with the post tops. Low rails sit 2¼" off the floor, and the mid end rails are centred 12" up.
- 5 Build the back and front. Lay the two back posts down. Fit the low rail, the two back slats (evenly spaced, about 2⅝" gaps) and a top rail between them. Glue only in the dowel holes. Clamp, check for square, then drive one pre-drilled #10 × 3" screw through the post into each rail end, counterbored so you can plug it. Build the front the same way with just a low rail and a top rail — the open front lets boots slide in.
- 6 Join front and back. Stand both frames up and fit the end rails between them — low, mid and top at each end — with glued dowels and one screw through the post into each end, staggered so screws miss the dowels. Check the diagonals.
- 7 Fit the dividers. Space the two dividers between the top rails to make three openings about 4 5/16" wide. Dowel each end and drive a screw through the top rail into the divider, counterbored and plugged.
- 8 Add the floor. Lay the three slats across the low rails, front to back, with about 1⅛" gaps. Pre-drill and drive one #10 × 3" screw through each slat end into the rail. No glue — the grain crosses.
- 9 Finish all faces. Glue plugs into the screw holes and sand flush. Wipe on 3 coats of hardwax oil or spar urethane, every face and end. Slide a plastic drip tray up to about 16" long and under 2" tall in under the front rail.
S2S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance). S2S boards finish 1¾" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Rip boards 1 and 2. Rip each one down the middle with a push stick and splitter — four strips about 1 11/16" wide. Cut a 24" post from each strip with a stop block.
- 3 Cut the strip rails. From the two board 1 strips, cut two 16½" low rails and two 3⅝" low end rails. From one board 2 strip, cut two 3⅝" mid end rails. The last strip end is offcut.
- 4 Cut the wide parts. Board 3: two 16½" top rails, two 3⅝" top end rails and one 3½" divider. Board 4: two 16½" back slats, one 3½" divider and one 7" floor slat. Board 5: two more 7" floor slats. Sand everything to 180 and round the edges.
- 5 Drill for dowels. Every rail, slat and divider end gets two ⅜" dowel holes, ¾" deep, with a dowel jig. Drill matching holes ¾" deep in the posts so the outside faces end up flush. Top rails sit flush with the post tops. Low rails sit 2¼" off the floor, and the mid end rails are centred 12" up.
- 6 Build the back and front. Lay the two back posts down. Fit the low rail, the two back slats (evenly spaced, about 3 3/16" gaps) and a top rail between them. Glue only in the dowel holes. Clamp, check for square, then drive one pre-drilled #10 × 3" screw through the post into each rail end, counterbored so you can plug it. Build the front the same way with just a low rail and a top rail — the open front lets boots slide in.
- 7 Join front and back. Stand both frames up and fit the end rails between them — low, mid and top at each end — with glued dowels and one screw through the post into each end, staggered so screws miss the dowels. Check the diagonals.
- 8 Fit the dividers. Space the two dividers between the top rails to make three openings about 4 5/16" wide. Dowel each end and drive a screw through the top rail into the divider, counterbored and plugged.
- 9 Add the floor. Lay the three slats across the low rails, front to back, with about 1½" gaps. Pre-drill and drive one #10 × 3" screw through each slat end into the rail. No glue — the grain crosses.
- 10 Finish all faces. Glue plugs into the screw holes and sand flush. Wipe on 3 coats of hardwax oil or spar urethane, every face and end. Slide a plastic drip tray up to about 16" long and under 2" tall in under the front rail.
Why dowels and screws? Every rail meets a post with its end grain, and glue holds almost nothing on end grain. The dowels give the glue long-grain walls to grab and keep the rail in line. The screw pulls the joint tight while the glue dries and adds strength for years of bumps.
Why is the floor raised? Umbrella tips stand on the slats, not in a puddle. Water runs through the gaps into the tray, and air dries the wood from below.
Why finish the inside and the ends? Wet umbrellas drip on every surface. End grain soaks up water fastest, so give the post bottoms and rail ends an extra coat.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Hooks: screw two small hooks on the ends for dog leads or a shoe horn.
- Copper tray: swap the plastic tray for a shallow copper or zinc tray cut to fit.
- Wider stand: make the rails and back slats up to 24" long and add a third divider for four openings — the boards have the length.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Rip the posts and short rails with a push stick and a splitter. Cut the short end rails with a stop block on the mitre saw, never against the table-saw fence.
- Empty the drip tray often — standing water grows mould.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
Three openings hold three to six umbrellas, depending on size. Golf umbrellas fit one to an opening.
The floor is 8" (S4S) or 7" (S2S) deep and the front is open, so a pair of kids' boots, short rain boots or shoes stand inside. Tall adult boots stand beside it on a mat.
Yes, but put the stand on a mat. Water on a wood floor leaves marks, and the tray is easy to empty.
Planned offcuts only: about 2" off each board 1 strip, about 15" and 23" off the board 2 strips, and about 30" of board 5. Use them for hooks, a shoe horn or a small key tray. All 5 boards go into the stand.
No. The posts need 24", so a 2ft pack is too short. A 2ft 8/4 pack suits our Chunky Wall Hooks for the same entryway.
