Wine rack idea?

Jeff Horton

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Working on the wine cabinet for my sis. I hope to have the case glued up today. That got me to thinking about how to make the wine rack itself. She wants a traditional diamond shaped grid to store the bottles in. I would really like to do ship lap joints so that the parts or flush with each other. But this really looks like a daunting task on the surface. It would be simpler to just lay them on top of each other, glue and screw from the back side. But I hate taking shortcuts.

Anyone built one like this? I haven't put much thought it in but I seeing a jig being a requirement to keep the spacing of the dados right. Then probably a lot of hand trimming to make it all fit and then fit in the cabinet.
 
jeff, it's not as bad as you think. first make sure all parts are exactly the same thickness. i know they should be anyway...but it really matters here. then you can make a jig on a miter gauge with a sacrificial fence attached, or use a cross cut sled if you have one. you need to establish how far apart the dadoes need to be, the you can set up a small piece of stock the width of the dado exactly the distance away from the blade that the next dado should be. kinda like a jig some people use for making box joints. then make several test cuts till you get the depth right. if you're using a dado set with shims you may be able to get the joint tighter than you think without too much trimming.

after all the cuts are made, assemble the piece in the diamond pattern and make another jig to be able to square the ends up so that they can fit inside the cabinet. i don't remember how i did this...sorry

hope that was simple enough. if not maybe someone else has a better method.

any questions...just ask

good luck
chris
 
Had not given this a lot of thought but that is along the lines of my first thoughts. Something like a box joint jig. I would really like to make a frame around the outside of it, dadoing the grids in there too. But it might be simpler to just fit a frame inside and attach the rack from the back. That way I wouldn't have to have an exact fit on the racks. Because I know the box will end up not being perfectly square. They never are. Then again, if the sides are square with the base, I could put the center divider in with the rack and fit them then...... hummm.

I have the case almost done, so I guess I better think some more on this.
 
There is a "Woodworks" episode where David Marks does exactly this. He made the grid from edgebanded plywood and used biscuits line up the dividers. There were what I would call primary dividers that ran all the way, then secondary dividers perpendicular to the primary ones that spanned just the width of one space.

I did something very similar, but in a horizontal pattern, on a buffet I built my brother and SIL a couple years ago. I used solid wood, but kept the grain all oriented the same direction to avoid a cross grain situation. It was very straightforward, solid, and easy to layout. It does take considerable time for all the glueups though since I had 3 biscuits per joint to glue. To avoid squeezout, I only glued the biscuits. The way the whole thing assembled, in the end everything what physically interlocked together. Sorry I don't have any pictures of it going together.
 

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Thats to easy! :D My sister wants two separate racks. Like a lattice panel. That way the bottles stay top down and I understand. Even a partial bottle will keep the cork wet that way.

I will just mill some walnut down to 7/8 and cut it strips. but I have to make two. I think that might be easier than what you did actually. We have one in our kitchen I can get my sizes off of. My wife loves to cook with all kinds of wines and there is one bottle that is just a little to big. So I am going to size the opening around that. If it is still here?
 
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