How to Build a Home Wine Cellar Rack

Elegant wine racks will add to the decor of your wine cellar.

Every wine cellar needs a durable and functional area to store and organize wine bottles. Wine racks come in a variety of designs; however, most designs involve several cuts and a lot of measuring. The time spent on these cuts can be saved by implementing an innovative design that requires few cuts, fewer pieces of wood and less measuring. Building your own wine rack will not only provide the satisfaction of adding something functional to your cellar, but it will also save a lot of money, as wine racks in stores can be fairly expensive.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• 2 Oak boards, 1-inch-by-10-inch-by-33 7/8-inch
• 2 Oak boards, 1-inch-by-10-inch-by-24-inch
• 2 Oak boards, 1-inch-by-10-inch-by-26-inch
• Oak plywood, 1/4-inch, 26-inch-by-26-inch
• Compound miter saw
• Hand Saw
• Chisel
• Hammer
• Drill
• Drill bit, 3/32-inch
• Counter-sink, 3/8-inch
• Screw gun
• 20 Wood screws, 2-inch
• Wood putty
• Sand paper, medium grade, fine grade
• Wood stain

Instructions

1. Lay your 33 7/8-inch board flat and horizontal. Find the center of the board which measures 16 15/16-inches from each end. Draw a 5-inch line at this point, perpendicular to the 33 7/8-inch edge. The line should start at the edge of the board and reach towards the center. Perform two 5-inch cuts with your hand saw, one on each side, 1/2-inch away from the line. Use your chisel and hammer to remove the 1-inch-by-5-inch wood. Repeat this process with the other 33 7/8-inch piece.

2. Cut the ends of both 33 7/8-inch boards at a 45-degree angle. The original length of the boards should not be altered, and the boards should have a parallelogram shape when they are laying flat and you are looking at the 1-inch-by-33 7/8-inch edge.

3. Position your 26-inch boards so they are on their 26-inch edge, parallel, and 24 inches apart. Position your 24-inch boards between them so they are on edge, perpendicular to the 26-inch boards and 24-inches apart. Before you screw the 26-inch boards to the 24-inch boards and complete your 26-inch-by-26-inch wine rack frame, pre-drill 3/32-inch holes through the 26-inch boards and into the 24-inch boards. Then counter-sink a 3/8-inch hole that is a 1/4-inch deep in each 3/32-inch hole. There should be 3 holes for each corner of your frame. Screw through the holes and complete your frame.

4. Lay your plywood over the frame and position it so all of the edges are flush. Screw the plywood to the frame.

5. Apply your wood putty to the holes surrounding the screw heads and let it dry according to instructions. Sand the frame, and both 33 7/8-inch boards with medium and fine grade sandpaper. Apply wood stain and let it dry according to instructions.

6. Position one of your 33 7/8-inch boards on edge so the 1-inch notch is on top. Place the other 33 7/8-inch board perpendicularly over the first so the notches fit into each other. These two boards are the shelves for your wine bottles. Place the boards inside your frame, so the ends of the boards flush with the inside corners of the frame. Your wine rack is ready to store your wine. The boards that are fitted together with the notches do not need to be screwed to the frame because they will not tip or slide out whether or not they are storing wine bottles.

References

• Dempsey Woodworking: wine rack instructions