Upcycling – or updating something to a new purpose – is growing in popularity as a way for people to create stylish furniture and decor without the designer pricetag.

The “farmhouse chic” trend has found ways to repurpose mason jars, old crates, cable spools and more.

The key to upcycling is finding a good piece as a base to work with. You want to find something that is going to hold up to re-creation, even if it isn’t aesthetically pleasing to start with. Check out yard or estate sales, transfer station swap shops or thrift stores for good finds.

I was driving to work when I spotted a pair of crutches protruding from a “free” pile at my neighbors – the remnants of a yard sale the previous weekend.

Though dusty, the crutches were in good shape, no obvious cracks or splinters in the wood, all the requisite bolts and wing nuts used to adjust the height were attached.

I recalled a picture of a shelf made of crutches by blogger Mamie Jane’s on Pinterest, and decided I’d try to create my own. The blog is by invite only, which meant I wasn’t able to read her instructions, so I made up my own.

Since crutches come in all shapes and sizes, the directions may need to be altered depending on your “find.” I’ve noted all the measurements you’ll have to make.

Trash to treasure crutch shelf

Equipment:

Screwdriver/drill

circular saw

tape measure

speed square

1-inch hole saw

paintbrush

hand saw

Supplies:

pair of wooden crutches

about 10 feet of 1-by 4-inch board, I used pine

2-inch mending plate (a small metal brace with pre-drilled holes, find it in the hardware section)

screws

sandpaper

stain, paint or varnish

adjustable furniture legs (optional)

Start by extending your crutches to the tallest setting. I got mine to go to about 4½ feet. I also popped off the rubber feet, as they were cracked and not necessary for the function of a shelf.

Lay the crutches on the floor in a triangle, with the bottom of the crutches making a point at the top. Then, grab a sketch pad.

First, measure the underside of the arm support, between the two verticals. This will be the widest your shelf can be. Mine was about 3 inches, which is about the actual width of a 1-by-4-inch piece of lumber.

Adjust the angle of your crutches until it looks how you might want your finished shelf to look. I decided that I wanted the lowest, longest shelf to be 3 feet long and I decided that I would have 6 inches of overhang on each side of all the shelves, with 24 inches of the shelf between the two crutches. Shelf one is 36 inches long.

Looking to the next shelf, I decided to place it on the handles you’d hold if you were using crutches, which was about 14 inches from the first shelf. Measure across to see what the length of that shelf should be. Mine was 17 inches, plus 12 inches for the overhang. Shelf two is 29 inches long.

The next shelf up didn’t have a logical resting stop, so I measured up 10 inches from the last shelf, which is a pretty standard shelf height. The distance there was 13 inches. With overhang, shelf three is 25 inches long. 

The fourth and final shelf, would rest at the point where the single bar of the crutch branches into two. Here, the width was 7 inches. With the overhang, shelf four was a total of 19 inches long.

Once you have your measurements, you can cut your shelves out of the length of wood you bought (or scavenged). Use the tape measure to mark the length and the speed square to complete the line. Then, carefully use a circular saw to cut the wood to length. Remember to wear eye and ear protection.

After cutting each shelf, write the length on the wood so as not to get it mixed up with the other shelves or uncut wood. This can be erased or sanded off later.

After you have your rough shelves, it’s time to dry fit them. You will essentially loosely build the unit to make sure everything fits and then take it apart to sand and finish the shelves.

Start by measuring 6 inches from each end of the bottom board and mark. Loosely screw the shelf in place, so the crutches can wiggle.

To secure the top point of the unit, attach each side of the mending plate to each crutch. Again, keep the screws loose as you will need to take it apart again.

The second shelf can just rest on the handles dry fit.

Since the crutches taper at the ends, shelves one and two will fit as is, but the upper shelves will be too wide.

For shelf three,  you’ll need to notch out where the bars of the crutch bump into the shelf board. Measure the width of the opening at the height where you want the shelf to sit. On my crutches, this was about 2¼ inches. On the board for shelf three, measure six inches from each edge and use the speed square to draw a line. Then, find the mid-point of the line. Using that point you can center the shelf and mark where you need to remove wood.

The resulting marks should be four notches – both sides of each end – about an inch wide and ¾ inch deep. Use a hole saw to remove most of the wood and finish off with a hand saw, like a coping saw.

Try to dry fit, but if it doesn’t fit you may have to remove some more wood with the hand saw. It’s okay if it’s a tight fit, you can use a rubber mallet to pound into place. The final shelf will not actually have a bar of wood on each side. Instead, use the hole saw to make two openings in the center of the board, 6 inches from each end that you will put the legs of the crutches through. In order to dry fit, you will need to unscrew a side of the mending plate.

Once you have all the pieces fitting, disassemble the unit. Sand all the shelves you cut, paying close attention to the edges and openings you cut.

Dust off any sawdust residue and stain according to the directions on the can. You won’t need much, so if you have leftover stain from a past project, go for it. I used a dented can of American Chestnut by Minwax and only needed one coat. 

After the stain dries, you can finally assemble the unit.

Start by loosely screwing in the bottom shelf.

Then pop on the top shelf and slide down until it rests in place.

You won’t need to screw it down, since the width of the split will keep it from going too far down and once the ends are attached you won’t be able to slide it up.

Once the top shelf is on, you can join the ends of the crutches with the mending plate. Pop in the second and third shelves and screw in from both sides. 

Finish by tightening the screws on the bottom shelf.

If you find that the floors in your home aren’t level or that your crutches are a bit warped and the shelf doesn’t stand perfectly straight, you can consider adding small, adjustable furniture legs to even the unit out. Have fun filling up your shelf.

(To see more upcycling ideas, visit pinterest.com/LiveWellNH/upcycling or check out the August issue of LiveWell New Hampshire. Sarah Kinney can be reached at skinney@cmonitor.com, 369-3324, or on Twitter @sekwrites.)

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