Looks great, Mike!
Wine Cellar Opinions Needed
- Thread starter mrramsey
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
I picked up the material to construct the wine racking. For this project I designed individual bottle wine racks as opposed to open shelf racking. This was mainly because I will have various wines from multiple vineyards. If I made my own wines or purchased large quantities of the same wines open shelving would be more practical. My rack openings are 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ which will hold most every type of 750ml bottles. It will not hold Champagne or Magnums. 336 bottles in the racks + space for ~6-12 cases on the floor.
This design will require the following pieces:
(54) 3/4″ x 1-1/2″ x 64″
(18) 3/4″ x 1-1/2″x 9″
(18) 3/4″x 1-1/2″ x 36-1/4″”
(672) 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 9″
I chose to use common White Wood Pine as it is more than capable as a material choice for this. Commercially available rack kits that are unfinished would easily exceed $1000. The lumber for the racks only cost me $120. I optimized the sizes based on the pieces I was cutting and ultimately chose to use 1×6’s that were pre-cut in 6′ and 4′ lengths. I certainly could have used longer lumber but I also factored in that it would be easier to move to the basement as well as haul in my short bed Nissan Frontier. It is also more difficult to find the longer lengths with less knots. Yes there are knots. I certainly could have chosen clear Radiata Pine but at more than 3 times the cost. If there were more visible surfaces than there are I would have at a minimum purchased a few select boards for the presentation side. As it stands I will get plenty of clear pieces to use on the front from the wood I have.
I will set up a production shop today to cut the pieces to size on my table and mitre saws. Follow that up with sanding…. a lot of sanding. Once the pieces are sanded I will assemble using glue and my brad nailer. I will set up jig to ensure consistency in the finished ladder assemblies. I have yet to make a decision on finishing. I might stain a nice cherry or paint or I could just go naked.
This design will require the following pieces:
(54) 3/4″ x 1-1/2″ x 64″
(18) 3/4″ x 1-1/2″x 9″
(18) 3/4″x 1-1/2″ x 36-1/4″”
(672) 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 9″
I chose to use common White Wood Pine as it is more than capable as a material choice for this. Commercially available rack kits that are unfinished would easily exceed $1000. The lumber for the racks only cost me $120. I optimized the sizes based on the pieces I was cutting and ultimately chose to use 1×6’s that were pre-cut in 6′ and 4′ lengths. I certainly could have used longer lumber but I also factored in that it would be easier to move to the basement as well as haul in my short bed Nissan Frontier. It is also more difficult to find the longer lengths with less knots. Yes there are knots. I certainly could have chosen clear Radiata Pine but at more than 3 times the cost. If there were more visible surfaces than there are I would have at a minimum purchased a few select boards for the presentation side. As it stands I will get plenty of clear pieces to use on the front from the wood I have.
I will set up a production shop today to cut the pieces to size on my table and mitre saws. Follow that up with sanding…. a lot of sanding. Once the pieces are sanded I will assemble using glue and my brad nailer. I will set up jig to ensure consistency in the finished ladder assemblies. I have yet to make a decision on finishing. I might stain a nice cherry or paint or I could just go naked.
Looking good and promising!
I vote (not that I have a vote! ) a nice, light stain. Cherry would indeed be a good choice, or fruitwood or the like.
I vote (not that I have a vote! ) a nice, light stain. Cherry would indeed be a good choice, or fruitwood or the like.
If you could detail your jig setup to make the racks would be helpful for others like us wanting to make some racks.
Thanks
TXWineDuo
Here is a progress video...
https://youtu.be/kFgdgL6LJDA
https://youtu.be/kFgdgL6LJDA
Last edited:
I am ready to start routing all of my pieces for the racks. I needed a router table but didn't want to shuck out $150 for a cheap table. So I splurged and spent about $18 bucks and built one with an adjustable fence and dust collection.
Nicely done!
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
- Messages
- 10,069
- Reaction score
- 5,947
Impressive!
Not clear on why you need to router all of your wine rack pieces?
Not clear on why you need to router all of your wine rack pieces?
Doing a 1/4" round over on the verticals and horizontal braces and doing a 1/8" chamfer on the bottle rungs. All comes down to 18+ years as a finish carpenter. I have 690 of these bottle rungs to finish. Sure one could just sit there with a sander and ease the edges but I approach wood working with the same mentality as a drywall finisher. The better the job up front the less sanding there will be.
I now have everything set up in production mode. two quick passes on the table for the bottle rungs and one quick cut on the Miter Saw which is set up at the proper length with a stop block. I will have 690 identical pieces.
So to answer your question of why it is needed - it's not 'needed'. The chamfer on the rungs just gives a cleaner look and less apt to tear a label. If the cellar was not a focal point of a room I would do a less elaborate design for sure but I tend to dwell on the small details because I think they make all of the difference.
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
- Messages
- 10,069
- Reaction score
- 5,947
Thanks for explaining. I did not know if there was a functional reason for it.
It looks great! It will look even better when assembled..
It looks great! It will look even better when assembled..
HEHe even better when it is stocked!
bkisel
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
- Messages
- 3,681
- Reaction score
- 1,808
Mike, I was disappointed to read that you do not make wine but that in no way distracts from how impressed I am with your exhibited carpentry skills.
Besides wine making another hobby of mine is woodworking... I really liked the design of your router/shaper table with what looks like a very effective dust collection setup. As I look back over my woodworking hobby I wish I had invested a lot more time in making jigs.
Besides wine making another hobby of mine is woodworking... I really liked the design of your router/shaper table with what looks like a very effective dust collection setup. As I look back over my woodworking hobby I wish I had invested a lot more time in making jigs.
Thanks Bill. I made wine once.... it was a gift from my wife when I got my original wine cooler. That didn't turn out so well LOL. I wish I had the space to actually set up a full wood shop.
The dust collection port is working out very well. I have been trying very hard to keep the dust to a minimum on this project. I will be making an assembly jig for the racking that I will keep since I have already been approached by some friends about the wine racks.
Its funny I thought the same thing at first and then I realized sometimes you really like just the "product" and not necessarily the creation or the "getting" of the "product".
I love making great wines. I also love Salmon. Found out I do not love fishing for the "product" in this instance. We went to a fishing lodge in AK for a week a few years back and while the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful I did not care so much for getting up at the crack of dawn to fish along with the cold and rain that comes with it all. I would much rather just go down to the market and pay some big $$$ for a nice filet than catch my own.
LOL
I love making great wines. I also love Salmon. Found out I do not love fishing for the "product" in this instance. We went to a fishing lodge in AK for a week a few years back and while the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful I did not care so much for getting up at the crack of dawn to fish along with the cold and rain that comes with it all. I would much rather just go down to the market and pay some big $$$ for a nice filet than catch my own.
LOL
bkisel
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
- Messages
- 3,681
- Reaction score
- 1,808
My woodworking shop back in CT was in our small basement. Since moving to PA I've not done any woodworking but that will change soon. We'll have a 12x20 storage shed delivered tomorrow which will then allow me to start clearing out one bay of the garage. Basically, with my car out of the garage, I'll have a 12x20 garage work shop. Early projects will be shelving, benches and such for the shed and garage. Will probably put my radial arm saw and band saw on rollers. Table saw, drill press a a few other tools/accessories roll around already as part of my Shopsmith.
I've considered a Shopsmith but I would still have to build a shop. I would have to add on to my house to get a 12x20 ish space. But that's a project for another day.
