commissioned: backpack hanger

I had a commission request from a good friend's husband and decided to share it with you! It's one of my favorite pieces from the fall - the patina is LOVELY and completely authentic. Not one ounce of fake distressing - although I do love myself some good faux distressing.

Remember the old chippy barn door from this pic?

My FIL helped saw off the top (the above is going to be made into a queen size headboard. Next year's Market maybe?) so I had this piece laying around.

As soon as he proposed the project I thought this would be the perfect piece for her backpack hanger.

The three faux antiqued "door knobs" came from the hobby store purchased for me ... so all I had to do was attach, right?

Not so fast.

First, the door piece fell apart at the joints. It wasn't glued just jointed together, so when we cut it apart ... yikes! So I glued it together with wood glue and hoped it would stay. It sturdied it right up. 

The knobs only had one screw hanger on the back, so hanging backpacks on it day in and day out wasn't feasible unless they were better fastened to the board.

I whipped out my trusty internet search engine and found that only a 2-part epoxy would work. I got some JB Weld original epoxy and mixed that baby up. It worked like a charm and is still holding (as far as I know).

However, I'd use gloves next time. What was I thinking anyway? I got the tiniest smear on my hand and my mouth tasted like metal for a few hours. Yikes! Not the healthiest stuff to be touching. Or using for that matter.

Finally, I attached a cleat to the back because it was HEAVY - and backpacks would make it even heavier! - and I wanted it to hold up.

Maybe I can snag a picture of it hung up. I'll update if I do.

I love it. What do you think?