So I was looking for driver/passenger cup holders to add to my '88 E250. Guess people didn't ever drink a pop while driving in '88. I wanted one like we had on our old E150 that was wooden and fit on top of the dog house. I found some but they were $70. So I decided I would make one.
Started with a 1x12


After cutting the right length I got out the hole saw. Figured 3.5" was good.


Test fit


Then I measured and cut the angle so it didn't take up too much room.


Test Fit.


Then I had to figure out how to mark and cut the other openings. I cut a template out of paper and then used chalk to do a rubbing.


I cut out the openings on the template and taped it to the cup holder board.


Did my best to trace the openings onto the cup holder board.


Then used my Dremel to cut it out. A jigsaw or scroll saw would have made a cleaner cut, but I don't have one and this is a budget project.


Checked the holes. Lined up okay. Gonna take some sanding to smooth out the openings.


Next I cut a piece of the 2x12 to support the bottom of the cups and used 2.25" pieces of dowel to connect the top and bottom. In the pic I just have zip ties supporting it to test fit it since the doghouse angles out.


And another angle.


Now I have to decide if it will be stained to match the wood grain on the dash or painted. I am leaning toward staining it. What do you think?

 

Looks good. I will eventually need something similar for my F350.

A third finish option: clear polyurethane, no stain.

Roy

 

I'd stain it.
Looks a lot like the cup holder in my RV.

Nice job!

 

Missing slots to hold cards or bills in yours

This one was in the motorhome when I bought it.




Sure is nicer than what's in my cargo van, just a cheap plastic dual cup holder on top of the dog house, mind you I do like it since it doesn't have anything else.





I have to make one like you did for my club wagon though. Doesn't have cup holders at all yet.

 

That's what I found on ebay (or really close to it) but they were asking $70. My supplied costed $9.

I still plan on using a router to round over the outside edges and the cup holes. Not enough wood left to use a router on the other cut outs, so I am just going to use sand paper to smooth the cuts out and dull the edges. Then I have to decide how I want to secure it.

 

Nice work, looks good!

John, those slots originally were for cassettes, an archaic method of making music portable back in the ancient 1980's when we wore bear-skins, had bone knives, grunted at each other, and drug our women around by the hair.

 

Well for some reason my 8 tracks don't fit in those slots


Jayroo, mine was only glued on, and still is, but the wood cracked at the half way mark, so I put screws in at that area. You can just barely see them at the tip of each cup holder.

 

Some good double sided tape would probablyy hold it on.

 

Speaking of double sided tape and cassettes, I tried to play some old tapes last year. The double sided tape that was used to hold the little felt pad to the copper leaf spring thinggie, under the tape, has dried up on every cassette I ever had. Now they sound like they're being played under water! I had to find and download all my Motorhead tunes and put them on my phone.

 

Wow great job! My windshield leaks in my E250 and got my cup holder thing all wet and it swelled up since its that particle board crap. I took most of the interior out of a gm winnebago conversion van in the junk yard. It had lots of nice stuff in it like lights and ashtrays and seats.

 

True, but I bet your smaller reel to reel portables will.

 

So I'm reviving an old thread. Finally got back to working on my cup holder project. It's amazing how life gets in the way of play time.
Back at it:


Next step is taking a router to the sharp edges and running over it with some sand paper in order to dull the sharp edges:


Then it is stain time. I tried to match up the wood grain in the dash. I also decided to try the "One Step" stain from Minwax instead of staining and then sealing:


A pic right after the staining:


Now just waiting for it to dry. After that a few small dabs of glue and my bradnailer should have it ready to install. Planning on using some heavy duty double sided foam tape to secure it. Hoping it holds so I don't have to use and fasteners to secure it.

 

Assembled. Just need to fill the nail holes with some putty and then install:


Installed using some industrial double sided tape. Label on the tape says it holds up to 20lbs. Seems pretty secure....better than I thought it would:




You can see where the stain dripped a little and its not quite even. Overall it matched up pretty well.

Though I do not recommend using the one step stain with the poly in it. It is sticky, doesn't wipe on evenly and doesn't give a consistent color.

For the $10-$15 I have invested I am pretty happy with it.

 

Wow that turned out pretty nice!!!


A thing I'd do, to hide the inside of the cuts, like around the cups, and square openings, is get some stick on chrome molding that's just wide enough to match the thickness of the wood, and stick that around the inside all around your cutted areas to hide the drips etc.


Off subject, but not a big fan of where your brake controller is. You should install it under the dash, you wouldn't have to bother it every time you remove the dog house

 

Interesting idea about the molding. I'll have to keep an eye out for something.

The previous owner mounted the controller on the dog house. When I upgrade to a newer/smaller unit I may look around for another location. With the spade connectors it's not too bad to just unplug them....though eventually I want to wire loom it all to make it look a little nicer. For right now it is functional and I don't trip over it.