How to Build a Hanging Wood Paper Towel Holder

Get paper towel off your bench and onto a handy hanging holder.

Finding the proper place for a paper towel roll in a kitchen or workroom is often a struggle. Upright paper towel holders tip over all the time. If the paper towel roll just sits on a bench, it’s liable to get dirty, and flimsy, plastic holders for paper towels are usually more trouble than they’re worth. The ideal solution is a sturdy wooden paper towel holder that hangs from the underside of a kitchen cabinet or from under the edge of the bench, making it easily accessible and out of the way at the same time.

Things You'll Need

• 2 pieces 1-by-3-by-6-inch lumber
• Measuring tape
• 3/8-inch router bit
• Router
• 1-by-3-by-12-inch piece of lumber
• 1 1/2 inch screws
• Drill
• 1-by-11 1/2-inch dowel
• Wood glue
• 2 dowels, 1/4 by 1 inch
• Paper towel roll

Instructions

1. Lay two pieces of 1-by-3-by-6-inch lumber side by side on a work surface with the 6-inch edges touching.

2. Measure 1 1/2 inch from the bottom of each piece, and draw a straight line at that point that is 1 1/2 inches long and extends outward from the wood edges that touch. The lines will be parallel to the end of the pieces of lumber.

3. Draw a 1/2-inch line that extends straight down from the end of each horizontal line you drew on the planks. The result will be two sideways L shapes. The L shape on one piece of lumber should mirror the L shape on the other piece of lumber.

4. Attach a 3/8-inch router bit to a router, and cut a groove along the L shapes that is 3/8-inch deep and 3/8-inch wide. These will be the side panels of the paper towel holder, and the grooves will hold the paper towel rod in place.

5. Stand the side panels so that the grooves face each other, and place a piece of 1-by-3-by-12-inch lumber between the side panels on the end opposite to the grooves. The sides should form right-angled corners with the ends of the 12-inch piece, which will be the top of the paper towel holder.

6. Secure the sides to the top with two 1 1/2-inch screws driven through the sides into the ends of the top piece.

7. Drill a 1/4-inch wide and 1/2-inch deep hole in the center of the ends of a piece of 11 1/2-inch-long, 1-inch wide dowel.

8. Glue a piece of 1-inch-long, 1/4-inch wide dowel in each end of the 1-inch-thick dowel with wood glue. Push the smaller dowel right into the drilled holes so that 1/2 inch of the smaller dowel pieces protrudes from the end of the long dowel rod.

9. Position the paper towel holder on the underside of a cabinet or other location, and use 1 1/2-inch screws driven through the top of the paper towel holder to attach the paper towel holder.

10. Put a paper towel roll over the dowel rod. Slide the ends of the small dowel into the grooves on the side of the paper towel holder, ensuring that it goes all the way along the long side of the L and rests in the short side of the L to hold it in place.

References

• Amateur Woodworker; Paper Towel Holder; July 1999