How to Make a Wooden Wine Rack

Marc Bartolomeo: Wow! This wine rack came out awesome. And I'm going to show you how to build your own custom wine rack for your kitchen. We're in a really tight row home, so the best place to work on this project is in the courtyard, at the back of the house. We're going to be building this wine rack out of one by poplar material. We're using poplar because poplar sands up and paints beautifully. After you determine the dimensions of your wine rack, your first step is going to be to cut the top, the bottom and the sides of the wine rack. In order for the center divider to fit into the wine rack we can notch the top and bottom pieces. So your step-2 would be cutting out what we call a rabbit joint and that's essentially a U-shaped groove in the wood that will accept another piece of wood, locking in it securely. And we're going to do this by using a router. It's very important; make sure the surface that you're routering out is secured, then we're going to clamp it down by using some of these U-clamps, as well as the guide or the fence that you're using and the router is going to slide across. One very important thing to keep in mind, a router is a very, very high velocity tool; the slightest slip of the hand can ruin the piece. So you may want to have some extra pieces on it. Step 3: You're ready to assemble the perimeter of the unit; using wood glue first on all joints and then securing with nails. You know, it's the glue that holds this unit together. The nails and screws are there as temporary support to the glue bonds and units fully forever. So, make sure you do not skip this step. You're also going to cut a two inch strip, that two inch strip is going to be used later on to secure the wine rack onto the wall. This is going to support the weight of the unit plus all the wine bottles that are in it. Step 4: will be to measure and cut the center piece for the wine rack, which will add stability and keep the wine rack aligned. Step 5: Now it's going to get a little tricky. We're ready to create the X-shaped inserts that are going to support the wine bottles. We're going to do this by measuring on the diagonal, the length of the first cross section. Then, with the pivot, the miter saw to the 45 degree angle. We're going to make two 45 degree angle cuts. Alright, as you can see, this cut should be snugged, so measure three times and cut once. The most detail oriented task in the construction of this wine rack is at the center of the X. The key is to rabbit the center joints so that the X fits together snuggly. The last step in completing the construction of this wine rack is installing the X shaped inserts by using glue and nail. Okay! The wine rack is complete. I need to let it set overnight so that the glue could harden and now we would get it ready for sanding and painting. Behind the rack you'll need to screw it right into the studs. Now don't forget the last step and the most important one, when you want to cork your first bottle of wine, be sure and cheers to yourself for job well done.