Hockey Puck Display Shelf

I love hockey and have a lot of hockey memorabilia in my collection. Pucks are some of my favorite souvenirs and when I was rearranging my "fan cave" this summer I decided to come up with a better way to display my pucks.

We had already painted the walls to mimic hockey arena boards: light grey at the top, a blue stripe across the middle (at 1m/39" up from the floor), white below the stripe, and yellow trim around the bottom. I decided that making a narrow shelf to mount on the blue stripe would be a great place to display the pucks.

This project requires some power tool usage, so I enlisted some help. For those familiar with power tools, this isn't a complicated project.

MATERIALS
- wooden 2X4 or 2X2 cut to the length you want your shelf to be
- screws (2 1/2" or 3")
- latex paint or wood stain, paint brush
- wood filler or drywall putty, putty knife
- pencil
- sand paper

TOOLS
- table saw
- drill, drill bits, screwdriver bits
- level
- tape measure
- stud finder

1. Decide where you want to put your shelf (or shelves). I chose to put mine at 1m (39") up from the floor, but you might want yours up closer to the ceiling or above your TV or wherever. Measure the length of your space and decide how long you want your shelf. I wanted mine to go from the corner of the room across to my shelving unit. Cut your piece of wood this length.

2. My shelf has a groove that is 1/4" deep and a hair more than 1" wide. All hockey pucks are 1" thick and I wanted to make sure they didn't easily tip off the shelf if someone bumped it or the wall. My total shelf is 1 1/2" high (the same height as a 2X4) and just over 1 1/4" deep. You can adjust your groove to be deeper if you want more "lip" at the front, but keep in mind that this will hide more of the puck. Cut the groove down the length of the board.

3. Use a stud finder to find and mark your studs on the wall. My uncle showed me a trick for this: apply a strip of painters tape across the wall above and/or below where you want to put your shelf and make your marks on the tape. Once the shelf is mounted, remove the tape.

4. Get someone to help you hold the shelf in position on the wall. Balance the level on it to keep the shelf level. Use a drill bit that is the same size as the narrowest part of your screws (so that the threads would still "bite") and carefully drill through your shelf into the wall at the center of each stud.

5. Move the shelf and drill the holes in the wall deeper into the studs. Sand any rough spots that are sticking out.

6. Use a bigger drill bit and re-drill the holes through the shelf so the screws won't "bite".

7. Use an even bigger bit to drill just the very outside edge of the holes so the screw heads will "sink" in to the wood. Sand away any rough spots that are sticking out.

8. Paint or stain the shelf. Apply additional coats if necessary. Allow to dry completely.

9. Starting in the middle of the shelf, carefully screw the screws through the shelf and into the pre-drilled holes in the wall. Don't tighten any screws completely until you have all the screws in place. Tighten all the screws.

10. Fill the screw holes and paint over them. Apply additional coats if necessary. DONE!

Enjoy your beautiful handiwork as you display your puck collection.