2boards6' long 1x4 poplar woodchoose appearance boards that are straight
2dowels48" long x 1 1/8" diameter poplar dowels
1packwood shims
1bottleWood glue
1disc60, 120/150, 220 sand paper
Instructions
Cut your ladder rails:Set your miter saw to 15 degrees and cut the bottoms of your rails - make sure both of them are the same length. Mine are 70" long.The 15 degree cut is what makes your ladder a leaning ladder.
Mark your ladder rails:Place your rails side by side like the image above. Make sure that the tops line up perfectly and the pointed tips at the base are flush.Place a measuring tape on the pointed tip of one of the rails, and measure up 10 1/4" and make a mark. Work your way up the ladder, marking every 10 1/4".There should be 6 marks and 8" of remnant at the top.Double check that your rails didn't move. Take your speed square, line it up to each of the marks and draw a straight line along both boards. As you go, also mark the center of each board on those lines to save time for the next step.
Drill holes for your ladder rungs:The ladder rungs in our plan are made from 1 1/8" poplar dowels. Prepare your drill with a 1 1/8" drill bit.If you are not using a drill press, clamp your rail to a level surface, like a worktop or table. Use a piece of scrap wood beneath it so that when you drill through the rail you don't drill through your worktop.Work along the ladder rails drilling holes on each of the center points you marked. Use a steady hand or a drill press and drill all the way through the board on each mark. You are creating holes for the dowels to join the rails. These dowels become the ladder rungs.You don't need a drill press to make accurate holes, but it does make it go faster
Prepare your dowels:Cut your dowels to 15 7/8" long. You should be able to get 3 rungs per dowel.Dry assemble your ladder. My dowels still had a little bit of play when I slipped them in to the holes. I wanted a very stout ladder and to do that I knew that adding a wedge into my dowels would create the tension and strength I needed.If you do not have any play, go ahead and skip to assembly.
If you are using a band saw for relief cuts:Set your fence so that the saw blade will cut centered on the rung. Set your saw stop at 1/2-5/8".Align the ladder rungs so that the grain is perpendicular to the blade.Cut each end of the rungs.Clamp the cut dowels or rungs to your worktop with the edges hanging off of the worktop. The scrap wood protects the worktop. When clamping your rungs, align your grain parallel to the surface of your worktop.Mark 5/8" away from both ends of the rungs. Mark the center of each end as well.Cut a relief cut or kerf through the center point on the end of each rung, stopping at the 5/8" mark.You can easily see the grain and the mark I made perpendicular to the grain. It's very important you kerf perpendicular to the grain.
If you are using a jig saw for relief cuts:Clamp the cut dowels or rungs to your worktop with the edges hanging off of the worktop. The scrap wood protects the worktop. When clamping your rungs, align your grain parallel to the surface of your worktop.Mark 5/8" away from both ends of the rungs. Mark the center of each end as well. Cut a relief cut or kerf through the center point on the end of each rung, stopping at the 5/8" mark.
Join the rungs to the rails:Place glue into one of the rail holes, insert one of the rungs.Add glue along the end of a shim and press it into the end of the rung. Use a mallet and lightly tap on the shim to push it into the relief cut. This will wedge the dowel into the ladder.Work quickly along the ladder assembling both rails to all of the rungs like this. Don't let the glue dry before the next step.Once everything is lightly joined, adjust all of the rungs so that the ends are flush with the edge or face of the rail - this will help square everything up.Quickly glue and assemble the ladder, lightly tapping the shims in to place.
Square up your blanket ladder:While supporting the ladder, use the mallet and drive the wedges into the rungs until they feel tight and as far as they will go.Score the shims and snap them off at the joined edge.As the wedge gets pushed deeper into the relief joint, the dowel presses against the walls of the drilled hole and creates an extremely strong bond.
Finishing your blanket ladder:Once the glue is dry, usually overnight or several hours. Sand the rung ends smooth, so that the shims and ends are flush with the rail edges. I use 60 grit to sand the shims down. Once they are flush with the rungs and rails, I move up in grit until I get to 220.Once you finish sanding with 220 you can now stain and seal the ladder.