brewing table

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1,456
Location
Central (upstate) NY
I'm hoping to build / rebuild a table for my brewing hobby over the winter.

I had put one together earlier, but am not happy with it - also, I now have a jointer and planer that I did not have when I put the existing table together.

Here it is (pretend that the clutter of stuff isn't there):

front.JPG

side.JPG

Currently, the table height is too high - as is, I need to use the space between joists to properly operate one of my siphon hand pump devices - another winter project is to put white paneling on the basement as a ceiling. Half of the space under table will be used to house a dishwasher that I rescued from a coworker's parents (literally, they had been trying to sell it and the day it came up in conversation was the day they were taking it to the dump) to be used as a bottle and equipment washer.

If I were to rebuild the existing table, I would take some quick measurements to determine if using lap joints with the 2 by 4 frame would get me low enough. As I recall, I think that 1 1/2" would be just about right. I'd also square up the dimensional lumber so that everything fit nicer, and would likely assemble only the bottom (casters, botoom frame and bottom plywood shelf) first, put the dishwasher in place and then build the rest of the table around the in-place dishwasher. I might also make a rabbet for the plywood bottom to rest in - that will give me another 1/2" of height reduction.

When in use, the table will be supporting a goodly amount of weight, so I don't know if I would be able to place the casters any differently height wise.

The other option is to just start over from scratch. I'm still in the initial thinking stages for this and would like to hear some ideas while I mull this project over in the back of my mind while working on a couple other things before the ice dragon arrives.
 
I'll be watching this with interest.

I put my brewing equipment away a couple of years ago due to space/time limitations, but I am seriously considering firing things up again pretty soon.

When I last brewed, I was doing 10 gallon full grain mash brews. I had put together an ENORMOUS brewing cabinet on wheels. I think it was about 5 feet high, by 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep. I used it to contain much of brewing paraphenalia. The height was key, as I used a pump to move the hot water from the kettle up to the hot liquor tank and then from the hot liquor tank to the mash tun. It was gravity from there to the kettle, and from the kettle to the fermenting vessels... But I did have to get up on a step stool to stir the mash tun...

All in all, A bunch of fun, and a bunch of space. I really liked the concept of the brewing cabinet, but in retrospect, I made it much too large.
 
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