Any wine enthusiast and collector will know the value of a good wine rack. Although there are many available for purchase either in a local wine retailer or over the Internet, these are often expensive, and not necessarily as custom as the collector might want.
It is really pretty easy to build your own wine rack, once they obtain a design and plans and have the proper equipment and tools on hand.
Wine Rack Kits Available On Amazon.com
Choosing A Design
When you have decided to construct a personal and custom wine rack, the first place to start with is plans. These are commonly available to download for free over the Internet, for purchase from a craft store, or in an Do It Yourself Book. You’ll have to determine which type of wine rack to build. Two basic layouts are available. They can be built to hold the bottles of wine either vertically or horizontally.
Before you opt to go with a vertical wine rack, contemplate several important thoughts.
- Many wine experts recommend the use of horizontal wine racks, since they allow for a consistent coverage of the bottle’s cork with liquid. This keeps the cork from getting dry.
- Horizontal wine racks also allow the collector easy locating and getting to the bottles.
- Perhaps most importantly at this early stage, horizontal wine racks prove to be much easier to construct than the vertical alternatives.
All that said, there are many different designs for wine racks available. Decorative types of wine racks could feature vintage styles, wine racks that double as bookends, and even wine racks that are specific antique replicas.
A last thing to consider when planning the wine rack design is accessorizing with the furniture in the room in which the wine rack will be built. The details and colors of appliances, cabinets, tables, trims, and various accessories should all be contemplated.
Finally, think about where precisely you want the final product to rest. If it is a smaller wine rack, it could be mounted on a wall or sit on a counter top. A larger one could be made with a table top, or as a rolling wine cart. How many bottles the wine rack is to hold will help to determine the appropriate size of the rack.
Before the Project Begins
A final word of caution before beginning the project concerning building skills. For those who have never worked with woodworking tools before, or have never worked with metals (if applicable), they should consider enlisting the aid of a professional.
Wine racks require well-built, secure connections of all of the different parts in order to make sure that the final product is both safe and stable. Craft stores, or even an area college or university, may offer classes to assist in obtaining the necessary skills. Workshops and experts can also be found and consulted through home improvement and building supply retailers.
Any individual who does not possess metal working experience should probably stick with a wooden wine rack design, which will be the subject of the remainder of this article.
Cost, Materials and Time Necessary
In order to create a basic sine curve wine bottle rack which is mounted on the wall and will contain as many as six different bottles, a reasonable expense of only seven dollars will be required. This will cover the cost of all of the raw materials necessary for the project.
The time investment will be about three good hours.
A single board, in the dimensions of six inches by thirty-nine inches by three quarters of an inch (15.2 centimeters by 99 centimeters by 1.9 centimeters), will be sufficient to build two different wine racks.
Using a Wine Rack Kit
To build a simple wine rack which does not require much in the way of tools, you should consider a wine rack kit. These can be purchased to make it simple to put together a common design wine rack. They only need a screwdriver and a hammer to assemble, making them imminently practical for the skill levels of most wine enthusiasts. Look to IKEA for some great ideas.
Supplies for Building the Wine Rack
To construct a wooden wine rack will require a variety of materials and tools. Though not all of items on the following list are required, it is helpful to have them. These materials should be easily obtained from Home Depot or any area hardware store.
- Tape measure
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Safety goggles
- Table saw
- Screwdriver
- Tracing or Transfer Paper
- Drill bits, drill press, attachments for drum-sanding
- Drill with countersinking drill bits
- Hole Saw with several diameters
- Jigsaw, band saw, coping saw, or a scroll saw
- Spindle sander that oscillates
- A sanding block or sandpaper
- An orbital sander
- A vise or clamps for holding the various parts still
- Dado Set – employed to cut notches on a table saw
- Toggle bolts or mounting screws for attaching wall racks
- Paint, stain, polyurethane, varnish, antique oil, or tung oil, along with rags and paintbrushes
- Spare wood pieces
Wine rack wood needs to be dry. The content of moisture has to be smaller than twelve percent so that the wood does not warp. Any number of wood choices are possible, including fir, birch, pine, beech, cherry, cedar, mahogany, oak, spruce, or maple. All hardwoods, and most soft woods will work out fine.
Building the Wine Rack
The following steps are generally necessary for a basic wooden wine rack design. Begin by ensuring that appropriately detailed plans for the project are available and on the work bench.
- Cut the wood down to correct sizes. Begin with cross rails and end panels. The cross rails generally hold the wine bottles.
- Pre-drill the wood. Assuming that screws will be utilized to bind the rack together. Screw holes that are pre-drilled will help ensure that the wood does not split.
- Build the actual frame. Some wine racks rely on screws to hold the various pieces in place. Others utilize notches, or dados, which are cut into the end panels themselves and have cross rails which lock together the supporting pieces. Remember that in the end, the connections must be tight to make sure that the final product is both secure and stable.
- Cut out supports for the wine bottles. Round holes, partial circles, or arches support the individual bottles on numerous wine racks. Utilize a hole saw or a drill press to cut out two varying sizes of holes. The smaller one is for the neck, while the bigger one is for the bottle’s base. The saw employed ought to be a little bigger than is the bottleneck and base diameter.
- Sand the pieces down. Put on the desired paint or finish. Choose from tung oil, stain, or paint. Polyurethane for safeguarding the surface of the wine rack is a good idea for the top. Generously put on the coat of antique oil or tung oil, if either is being applied. It must then be allowed to sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes. Utilize a clean cloth to wipe away any excess oil. Permit it to properly dry before repeating the step.