Walnut Wine Rack

This wine rack is a very easy project and will only take you a couple of days if you have access to a drill press and band saw. Difficulty: Beginner

Step 1: Creating the Design Template

The paper template I made was 8" across and just shy of 2' long. I created mine on CorelDraw and just laser cut it out. There are many ways to create a paper template and you can easily do it by hand. The design can be modified as you wish to accommodate more or less wine bottles.

Step 2:

I traced the template onto three 2" thick pieces of walnut. Each piece cost $38. You can obviously go with any type of hardwood.

Step 3: Drill Press

I used a Grizzly 3.5" forstner bit which is perfect for wine bottles. I clamped each piece of walnut separately to the drill press plate with enough scrap wood underneath it. You'll need scrap wood so you don't cut into the steel plate and ruin your bit. It also gives a cleaner cut.

Step 4: Making a Mess

Step 5: Bandsaw Time!

Once the holes are cut, band saw just outside the outline on each piece of walnut. As a rule of thumb- try to get really close to the outline without riding the line just in case you accidentally run the blade through the inside of the outline. Be careful with this part! Go slow so as not to burden the blade or lose your fingers.

Step 6: Glue Up

So now you have three nearly identical pieces of walnut. Don't worry about cleaning up the edges yet. First you're going to want to line up the holes on all three pieces and glue each piece of walnut to each other in one go with Titebond III wood glue and a lot of clamps. This will complete Day 1. Leave it in clamps overnight while the glue cures.

Step 7: Sanding

This little belt sander did the trick in no time. 60 or 80 grit, move moderately fast and don’t stay in one spot for too long. You can also use an orbital sander. Move up the grits from coarse to fine: 120, 150 or 180, 220, and 320 (optional).

Step 8: Finished Product

I skipped the finishing bit because you can really use anything from Danish oil to poly or varnish. As always follow the instructions on the back of the can for best results. I used Danish oil on this one, but my favorite finish of all time is Tried & True varnish which offers better protection from UV, moisture, and temperature.

Good luck!