Key Holder With Perpetual Calendar

The purpose of this Instructable is to show how to make a key holder that includes a 200-year standalone perpetual calendar. Two advantages in having a perpetual calendar in a key holder are: a calendar is readily available when you pick up your keys and no additional wall space is needed for the calendar. The key holder can be thought of as consisting of an assembly, which holds the calendar and has hooks for the keys, and the perpetual calendar. Factors that influence the design of the assembly are the materials available and personal preferences. The main part of this Instructable describes the assembly that I built using surplus and scrap material. A pdf attachment describes alternate materials and designs for the assembly. The perpetual calendar that I used can be incorporated into a variety of assembly designs and a pdf attachment for copying it is included. There is also a pdf attachment that shows how to create an Excel spreadsheet for making the calendar.

The standalone perpetual calendar is similar to the one in my Nine-Stick-Perpetual Calendar. (See https://www.instructables.com/Nine-Stick-Perpetual-Calendar/ ) It is a moving window type, which is easier to make than the moving slider type that I used to improve a tile perpetual calendar. (See https://www.instructables.com/Tile-Perpetual-Calendar-Improvements/ .) These small standalone perpetual calendars use unique concepts that are described in my book “Practical Perpetual Calendars – Innovative, Convenient and Green” by James R. Saltvold. (A pdf copy of my book can be viewed on https://archive.org/details/9781532021367PdfOfBook/mode/2up )

For the Standalone Perpetual Calendar

A sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch 60 lb cardstock

A sheet of Avery 76293 or equivalent self-adhesive laminating sheet

For the Assembly

A piece of 0.75-inch-thick fir plywood that is 4.75 inches wide by 10 inches long

Five 1.25-inch cornice hooks

An empty cereal box

A piece of 0.125-inch-thick paneling that is 3 inches wide by 10 inches long

Two frame hooks with screws

Two #6 x 0.75-inch round head screws

Mod Podge or white glue

The first document describes alternate designs for the assembly and suggests materials that can be used if you have to buy them.

The second document is a template that can be printed to make an exact duplicate of my perpetual calendar. This is a refined design that needs little, if any, improvement. The two parts are a moving window and a fixed piece. The calendar is set by moving the window to put the year of interest over the month of interest. An alternative design is to have the window fixed in place and the tables that are on the fixed piece move as a slider behind the window. When the window moves, the construction is simpler and the overall length is less. However, the appearance is less pleasing, as the window is not fixed in place in the centre of the key holder, and parts of tables that are not in use cannot be hidden.

The third document provides enough information to make an Excel spreadsheet for printing the calendar. An Excel spreadsheet is only needed if you want to make modifications to the template in the second pdf document.

The above photo shows the parts before assembly. The parts are:

1. Perpetual calendar moving window.
2. Perpetual calendar fixed tables.
3. Body, a piece of 0.75-inch-thick fir plywood that is 4.75 inches wide by 10 inches long.
4. Lower track for the moving window, consists of a piece of 0.125-inch-thick paneling that is 1.25 inches wide by 10 inches long. Under the paneling (not shown) there is a two-layer piece from a cereal box that is 1.0 inches wide by 10 inches long. See the first pdf for more details.
5. Upper track for the moving window, consists of a piece of 0.125-inch-thick paneling that is 0.75 inches wide by 10 inches long. Under the paneling (not shown) there is a two-layer piece from a cereal box that is 0.5 inches wide by 10 inches long.
6. Five 1.25-inch cornice hooks.
7. Two frame hooks with screws.
8. Two #6 x 0.75-inch round head screws.
9. If frame hooks are not available two pieces of paneling that are 1.25 inches wide by 5.5 inches long can be glued and nailed to the back of the body for hanging the key holder.

1. Cut out the body. It is made from 0.75-inch-thick plywood which is 4.75 inches wide by 10 inches long. I had a piece of plywood 4.75 inches wide and this is the narrowest the width can be for the size of calendar that I used. Making the grain parallel to the long dimension is recommended, but is not important as only the edges of the body are seen.
2. Cut out the paneling for the bottom track. It is 0.125-inch-thick by 1.25 inches wide by 10 inches long. I had a piece from an old vanity.
3. Cut out the paneling for the top track. It is 0.125-inch-thick by 0.75 inches wide by 10 inches long.

1. Cut two strips from an empty cereal box that are 2.5 inches wide by 11 inches long.
2. Glue the two strips together to make a two-layer strip. Use a small brush to spread glue evenly on both of the surfaces that will be in contact.
3. About 0.5 inches in from one edge, draw a straight line the full length.
4. Draw another full-length line 0.5 inches in from the first line.
5. Draw a third full-length line 1.0 inches in from the second line.
6. Using a utility knife and a metal straight edge, cut along the three lines to make one piece 0.5 inches by 11 inches and another piece 1.0 by 11 inches. For a cutting pad, I use an old magazine.
7. Cut 0.5 inches off the end of each piece.
8. Cut each piece to a length of 10 inches.

The procedure just followed cuts the pieces from the middle of the two-layer strip to ensure that the pieces are well glued at the edges.

1. Glue the 0.5-inch-wide cereal box strip along the side the body that will be the top when the keyholder is hung. Getting the edge of the cereal box strip lined up exactly with the edge of the body may be difficult. Having the cereal box strip in a position where it is 1/16 of an inch outside the edge of the body is better than being inside the edge. Use a small brush to apply the glue.
2. After the glue is dry, glue the 0.75-inch-wide paneling strip on top of the 0.5-inch-wide cereal box strip. Try to get the edge lined up with the body with being outside better than being inside.
3. Optional if you have a table saw: After the glue is dry, set up the rip fence on the table saw so that about 1/16 of an inch will be cut off the top edge of the body. When the body is pushed through the saw, any cereal box and paneling that protrudes beyond the edge of the body will be cut off leaving a top edge that is free of uneven spots.
4. Glue the 1.0-inch-wide cereal box strip along the side of the body that will be at the bottom when the keyholder is hung. The 1.25-inch-wide paneling strip will be glued to the top of this strip after the fixed table of the perpetual is glued between the two cereal box strips.

1. Use a laser printer set to its highest dot density (most common is 1200 dots per inch) to print the pdf document “Standalone Perpetual Calendar Template” on 60 lb cardstock.
2. As noted on the pdf document, the height of the moving window has to be cut to fit the space between the tracks, which are the two cereal box strips. Measure the width between the strips and draw a line on the cardstock for cutting to this height. To slide freely, the height of the window has to be slightly less than the width of the channel. The top of the window can be trimmed after first cutting if necessary.
3. The fixed piece has to be cut to both height and length. Follow the same procedure for drawing the line for height as for the moving window. The length of the fixed piece is the same as the length of the body. Measure the length of the body, which should be close to 10 inches and divide by two. Then measure out this distance to both sides from the top and bottom centre marks and draw a line on each side.
4. After drawing the lines, cover the sheet with a sheet of Avery 76293 or equivalent self-adhesive laminating sheet. This is a delicate operation. Peel backing off the laminating sheet and lay the laminating sheet sticky side up on a flat surface. Then lay the stiffer cardstock on top of it. Covering the cardstock with a laminating sheet is essential to give it more rigidity, more resistance to wear and to have a smooth surface on the fixed piece for the moving window to slide on
5. After the cardstock has been covered with the laminating sheet, cut out the two pieces and the three windows on the moving window part. Use a metal straight edge and a utility knife that has a sharp blade. I suggest cutting out the windows first as an 8.5 by 11-inch piece is easier to hold down than a piece the size of the moving window. Use an old magazine as a cutting surface. As the pages get cut up, tear them off and throw them away. Self healing cutting surfaces can be purchased from craft stores, but I have found that an old magazine works well.
6. Glue the fixed table in place between the two cereal box strips.

1. Glue the 1.25-inch-wide paneling strip on top of the 1.0-inch-wide cereal box strip.
2. Optional if you have a table saw: After the glue is dry, set up the rip fence on the table saw so that about 1/16 of an inch will be cut off the bottom edge of the body. When the body is pushed through the saw, any cereal box and paneling that protrudes beyond the edge of the body will be cut off leaving a bottom edge that is free of uneven spots.
3. Optional if you have a table saw: Set up the mitre gauge the table saw to 90 degrees. Push the body through the saw so that about 1/16 of an inch will be cut off one edge of the body. When the body is pushed through the saw, any cereal box and paneling that protrudes beyond the edge of the body will be cut off leaving a side edge that is free of uneven spots.
4. Repeat sub-step 3 for the opposite edge.
5. Sand all edges until they are smooth. Start with 80-grit paper, then 120-grit and finish with 220-grit. If you were unable to trim the edges with a table saw, use a rasp to remove uneven spots before sanding.
6. Optional: Finish the edges with stain and urethane.

1. Mount the frame hangers on the back about 1.0 inch from each edge Select a bit size for the pilot holes according to the size of the screws and drill a test hole in a piece of scrap before drilling in the back.
2. Mark the location for the centre cornice hook. It is 0.5 inches up from the bottom edge and equal distance (about 5.0 inches) from each side edge.
3. Mark the locations for the remaining four cornice hooks. They are 0.5 inches up from the bottom and 2.0 inches and 4.0 inches to the right and left of the centre hook.
4. Select a bit size for the pilot holes according to the diameter of the cornice hooks Drill a test hole in a piece of scrap wood before drilling the five holes for the hooks.
5. Attach the cornice hooks.
6. Slide the moving window into position.
7. Hang the key holder on the wall in the desired location using the two #6 x 0.75-inch round head screws.