Weekend Project: Wine Rack

Last weekend I made a 60 bottle wine rack from some 1″ pine.  I sized it to fit on a counter top in my basement, under the upper cabinets. I was pretty happy with the design of a somewhat smaller Belgian beer rack I made in the past, so I copied some of its basic style. I really like the strong vertical lines of this design, as it contrasts with the strong horizontals of most wine racks.Wine_Rack_Assembled4

With the compound miter saw and table saw, I transformed three 6′ long pine 1″ x 12″ boards into the necessary 150 pieces! The rack holds 60 bottles, so I cut 120 10″ x 9/16″ x 3/4″ pieces. These are connected to 26 uprights that measure 18.1″ x 3/4″ x 1.5″, which are connected to 4 horizontals that are 52″ x 3/4″ x 1.5″.  Note that a spacing of 3.1″ is sufficient for wine bottles, but 3.35″ is the minimum for most champagne bottles.  The 3.35″ width also holds half bottles and just barely holds 12 oz beer bottles.  Also note that for strength reasons, the 10″ long pieces need to be cut along the grain, not across it.  Here are all the pieces, just before I nailed them together:

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It took about 1.5 hours to cut the pieces, and 1.5 hours to assemble them. Note that I used a nail gun and 1″ long, 18 gauge nails for most connections, except the uprights to horizontals, where I used 2″ long nails.  Check out the completed wine rack, made from $25 of wood and nails, in use!

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