It all started with a bucket of old spindles and an itch to get to the bottom of the stash. I didn't reinvent the wheel with his wood project because you'll find many on Pinterest. But what makes these DIY wooden garden tool caddies unique is the antique chair spindle handles. I couldn't just stop at one and ended up making four tool caddies in different colors to sell at an upcoming market. But when I was finished, I loved them so much that I kept one for myself.

Antique Chair Spindle Wooden Garden Tool Caddy

It's time for another Power Tool Challenge and the theme this month is Summer. For our challenge in March, I repurposed an Antique Pressed Back Chair Into A Bird Feeder and I figured I'd run with the repurposed antique chair parts again for this month's challenge.

If you haven't heard of the Power Tool Challenge, it is a monthly series where several female DIY bloggers come together to share a project made with a power tool(s). The goal is to inspire, motivate, and empower our female readers to step out of their comfort zones and try one of our projects using power tools.


I've included affiliate links in this post so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Before we get into the details on how to make these tool caddies, let's talk about safety...


Make sure to wear protective eyewear, ear protection, and read your power tool operating manual and safety guide.

What You'll Need To Build Garden Caddies

Power Tools

• Compound Miter Saw
• Jigsaw
• Cordless Drill
• Brad Nailer
• Mouse Sander

Supply List

• Chair Spindles
• 8' Pine Fence Boards
• 1 1/4" Brad Nails
• 1/2" Forstner Drill Bit or Hole Saw Bit
• 80 grit mouse sander pads
• Construction Glue
• Wood Aging Solution (homemade recipe provided)
• Chalk Type Paint 
• Inkjet Printer
• Printable Graphic 
• Glossy Paper

Tool Caddy Measurements

Side Pieces:  5 1/2" x 14"
Front & Back Pieces:  5 1/2" x 15"
Bottom Piece: 5 1/2" x 13 1/2"

How To Build The Wooden Tool Caddies with Chair Spindle Handles

Step 1: Trim the chair spindle handles

Use a miter saw to cut each end of the antique chair spindles so they are 15-inches long.

Step 2: Cut the tool caddy pieces

These wood caddies are a one board project and you'll need an 8-foot pine fence board to build EACH caddy.


Cut two pieces 14-inches long and another two pieces 13 1/2-inches long. We'll address the angled cuts in the next step.

Step 3: Cut the angles on the side pieces

There are a few saws that you can use to cut the angles on the side pieces. A jigsaw (like I used but not the most precise cut), a sliding compound miter saw (my preference and on my wish list), a scroll saw, band saw or table saw (the one tool I'm too afraid to use).

1. Mark the center of the top of each side piece.
2. Measure 3/4" on each side of the center mark - making the top measurement of 1 1/2" wide.
3. From the bottom of each side piece, measure up 5 1/2 inches on both sides. This equals the height of both the front and back pieces.
4. With a straight edge, draw the angle on both sides of each mark (pictured above).
5. Clamp the board securely on your work surface and cut the angles.

Step 4: Drill the holes for the spindle handle

For this step, you'll need either a hole saw drill bit or a Forstner drill bit like I used.

1. Find your center at the top of each side piece.
2. Measure and mark 1 1/4-inches down from the top.
3. Using a 1/2-inch Forstner Drill Bit (like pictured above) or hole saw bit, place the tip of the bit on the mark you just created.
4. Drill the hole for the spindle handles.

Helpful Tip

For a nice clean cut on both sides of the board, drill until just the tip of the drill bit is poking through the other side. STOP, flip the board over and drill from the opposite side until you've drilled all the way through.

Step 5: Assemble the caddy

My apologies for the blurry picture. You may notice in the photo below that I'm nailing a plywood front, rather than the pine board we cut in a previous step. In full disclosure, this photo is from the wedding card caddy that I made for my daughter's wedding. I completely forgot to take a photo of this step when assembling the garden tool caddy.

1. Apply construction glue to the base of one side piece and nail it onto the bottom piece with a brad nailer and 1 1/4-inch brad nails.
2. Apply construction glue to the inside of the hole for the handle.
3. Insert the chair spindle into the hole.
4. Apply construction glue to the inside of the hole on the second side piece.
5. Feed the chair spindle through and nail the side piece to the bottom piece of the caddy.
6. Nail the front to the base and the side pieces together, ensuring everything is lined up nice and straight.
7. Repeat for the back piece.

That's it, your caddy is assembled! Now onto the fun part, painting and adding vintage French country charm to the caddies.

Step 6: Let's make that new wood look old!

The fun part about aging the new pine boards used to build this garden tool caddy is that we're going to use stuff found in your kitchen pantry.


I share detailed step-by-step instructions on how to age the wood here in my How To Age New Wood Without Chemicals tutorial.

Step 7: Paint wash technique

I painted each garden caddy a different color but the one I'm focusing on in this post is painted in the color Sage Advice by Country Chic Paint. The colors of the other caddies are Simplicity White (a cool white), Vanilla Frosting (a warm white), and Elegance (a soft blue) also from Country Chic Paint.


To do a paint wash you simply dip just the tips of your brush into a bucket of water first and then into the jar of paint. With light pressure on the brush paint long brush strokes over the aged wood. It gives a semi-transparent wash so the wood underneath shows through. With a lint-free rag, wipe the excess paint in some areas so more of the natural wood peeks through (like pictured above).

Step 8: Vintage graphic transfer on the wood caddy

All the graphics on the chair spindle caddies were found at The Graphics Fairy website like the sweet French Jardin 1914 image transferred onto the green tote.


Step-by-step instructions for transferring graphics onto wood can be found here in my Glossy Paper Image Transfer Technique tutorial.

Step 9: Protect the tool caddy finish

After the ink has completely dried on the image transfer (overnight), brush clear wax with a lint-free rag to protect the finish. The wax will deepen the paint color and the graphic.


The peonies in our garden are in full bloom and I couldn't resist filling the garden caddy I chose to keep with fresh-cut pink peonies.


What do you think of my French Country Chair Spindle Garden Caddy? Would you try making these for your home?


If you have any questions about this DIY wood project, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this DIY Wooden Tool Caddy project, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your DIY Wood Crafts or Tool Caddy Ideas board on Pinterest.





Please join me for more "summer" themed projects by the talented ladies on our Power Tool Challenge Team by clicking each link below.



I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.