How to Make A Wood and Mesh Noticeboard Out of Scrap

This is my build of a noticeboard made out of wood and mesh. I have been thinking of making one for a while and with the COVID lock down across most of civilization I finally found the time. I have a lot of small off cuts from a shed build and a few pieces of mesh laying about for years and decided to put them to use.

I have needed somewhere to hang my keys and notes from the kids schools for ages as I can be very forgetful so this helps me organize my life a little more and save time looking for my keys.

It would be a great idea for a present if you cant get to the shops and you have the materials or something similar.

It takes a single piece of 2 inch by 2 inch timber, 12 inch by 12 inch mesh panel and a piece of rope.
Supplies:

Materials Used.

1 piece of 2 inch by 2 inch by approx 14 inch long

1 piece of 1 inch by 1 inch mesh by 12 inch/2

a small piece of rope

4 net staples

8 headless nails 2 inch long

2 3 by 15mm screws.

Tools Used.

Table saw - Haven't got one see my post as why you need one here.

Miter saw

Angle grinder / mesh cutting pliers

Tape measure

Screw driver

Hammer

Make the Frame

To make the wooden frame from a single piece of 2" x 2" timber you need to divide it into 4 pieces. To do this I used my table saw.


When using a table saw or miter saw make sure you wear safety glasses and use push sticks and slides not your fingers.


To do this we needed to check the measurements on the timber. My piece measured at 44mm by 44mm so knowing that although my blade on my table saw it 2.5mm thick I know from previous jobs it cuts out more due to slight wobble of the blade so I took this into account when setting my fence and cut a test piece and checked the measurements and luckily it was on point so I cut the rest.


I needed to then cut a slot into each piece for a recess for the mesh. I marked half way on the first battern and adjusted the height of my blade to make sure i didn't go to deep and moved the table saws fence to centralize the cut line for the recess.


I cut a test piece to check the slot location and moved the fence to suit and carried on cutting the 4 frame pieces.


All to do now is cut the ends at a 45 degree angle with a Miter saw. Make sure you miter the pieces the right way so the slot is on the shortest (internal) side.

Making sure it all adds up

You now need to check the measurements.

Check the measurements of each piece to make sure their all the same size, if there not the same just trim them down in the Miter saw. Remember your safety goggles.

Once your happy with the sides align them together and check the measurement for your mesh panel. As you can see from the pictures, measure half way across the width of one side to half the way of the other. You can also measure outside to inside as it is the same measurement.

Cut The Mesh

Now you have your measurement for the mesh panel we can cut it to fit the frame.

I chose to use my angle grinder for this as its easier and faster but you can use mesh cutting pliers. If you use an angle grinder WEAR GOGGLES.

Mark the piece with chalk and carefully cut a straight line. I find it easier to flip the mesh over and use the bars of the mesh as a guide. The finished mesh panel needs to have the bars or the edge cut off so it will be just shorter than needed but will be plenty for inside the frame. Just see the pictures if you need any more help.

Assembling the Noticeboard

Place the cut mesh on a side and lay the sides around it and start to push the mesh into the sides until all four pieces or on and the corners meet.

Using a tape measure to measure the diagonals to ensure its the same which means it's square and A.O.K

You now need to hammer a net staple into each corner on the side not the front, this will keep the pieces together when moving. Double check the frame is square after hammering the net staples in and when its square hammer two headless nails into each corner making sure each piece is flush. 

**For those who do not know flush means when each face of the wood compared to the joining pieces have no step or difference in the size or an offset.**

Hanging the Frame

To hang the frame I used two 3mm by 15mm screws at the same distance from the decided top side and a thread of a piece of rope i found laying about and tied it to the screws and trimmed off the excess.

Finished Project

Now you just need to find someone to give it to or somewhere to hang it and you finished.

You could paint it, varnish it or simply keep it as it is and sit back and enjoy a job well done.

Well done.

Things to Improve On

On the first piece I mitered I accidentally cut it the wrong way so the slot was on the outside OOPS!!! It meant I had to make a new piece from scratch which was a bummer.

Also when I put the frame together I realized my 45 degree mark on the miter saw wasn't quite accurate so had to cut the angles so next time I will make sure with an angle finder or a 45 degree square.

We can't always get it right but I got there in the end.

If you enjoyed this please vote for me on my Instructable entry on the Scrap Contest to help me fund future projects. Click Here and scroll down to the bottom of the post. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for reading