Beer Bottle Opener W Magnetic Cap Catcher

I wanted to make about 20 beer bottle openers with a magnetic cap catches for a bunch of my Bocce club members but without breaking the bank. My thought was they would be for hanging outside in the weather so they didn't have to be beautiful but rather functional. I had a large amount of pine boards from an old bed which proved to be perfect for my project. I ordered 25 chrome beer bottle openers for $25 including free shipping on Ebay. Magnets I found can be very expensive so I went to Home Depot and bought packages of 2 magnets for $2.90 including sales tax. This brought my total investment per piece to $3.90. The pine wood was given to me, I had the existing shellac, I purchased 100 mounting screws for $5.00 and labor.

Step 1: Cutting the Wood "blanks"

The first step is to rip each piece (blank) of 3/4" pine wood to 3 1/2 inches wide on a table saw. I then cut each piece to 12" long using my miter saw. Based upon research I felt this length and width would work best for what I wanted to produce. The 3 1/2" width fits perfectly on a 4" x 4" deck post (which is exactly 3 1/2 by 3 1/2).

Step 2: Cutting Key Holes for Eventual Hanging

As I stated, my intention was for these to be used outdoors and hung from a 4"x4" deck post or some other solid object. Therefore I used a 3/8" key hole cutter on my router table. I set the fence to allow for the keyhole to be centered down the center of the blank. I used tape on the fence to mark my starting and ending points for cutting the key holes since this is a blind cut because you cant see what your doing. Pictured is the result of these key hole cuts, top and bottom on the back side of the blank.

Step 3: Cutting Corners Off of the Wood Blanks

I should state that before I cut the keyholes, I first cut each corner off of the wood blanks at a 45 degree angle. (These cuts can be made before or after you cut the keyholes). I used a set stop on the miter saw to allow for quickly cutting of all four cuts by simply flipping the wood over and placing against the stop to make the angled cuts from all 4 corners. I initially eyeballed what I thought should be cut off to provide a pleasing look to the blanks. Pictured is the back of the wood with completed cuts and with the keyholes cut (and after I put magnets in but I missed a picture of just the 45 and keyhole cuts).

Step 4: Rounding Off the Edges on the Front of the Blanks

Instead of just backing off the hard edges using sandpaper, I decided to round them over using a round over bit on the router table. It just provides a larger rounded edge all along the front of the wood blanks. The picture shows a whiter edge where the edges were rounded. This is because the wood itself is old. It will be a uniform color when sanded for the eventual finishing.

Step 5: Magnet Placement

I eyeballed on the front where I wanted to mount the bottle opener. I then went to the back and measured approximately 4" down from the opener for placement of the first magnet. Magnets can be expensive. I bought these from HD, two for about $2.90 taxes included. I outlined where I wanted the magnets to be leaving a 1/4" space between them. I then used a 1" forstner bit to drill out the space for the magnets. I set the drill press stop to prevent drilling through the piece. I drilled approximately 1/2" deep leaving approximately 1/4" of wood for the magnet to allow sufficient magnetic pull through the wood. I then fitted the magnet in place and hot glued them in place.

Step 6: Sanding and Finishing

The next step I did was sanding the face and sides of the wood using a random orbital sander. When I was happy with the smoothness, I finished with 3 coats of shellac. I used 3 disposable brushes, so the shellac application was quick and simple with no cleanup concerns. ( I was making 20 of these so it really saves time!)

Step 7: Mounting the Opener

Because I was making 20 of these at once, I made a template to drill the properly spaced two holes for the mounting of the bottle opener. By doing it via template, it allowed for the openers to be properly centered and placed on the face of the wood blank instead of doing it 20 separate times. I had to make certain that the top mounting screw didn't interfere or break into the key hole hanger cut already on the back of the blank.

Step 8: The Finished Bottle Opener

I hung mine on a post holding up my overhang. The mounting screw holes were measured from the center of the top keyhole hole to the center of the bottom keyhole hole. I pre-drilled into the post and used a screw gun to put in the mounting screws. I used a hand held screwdriver to tighten or loosen just enough to allow the opener to be slid down firmly and tight against the pole. I had purchased 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" vinyl stickers with our club logo and put them in place as the final step in the process. Now all that's left is to hand them out and to buy some beer (preferable bottles!!) and test them out.