Wine Rack, Part 5

I just checked: the last post on the wine rack project was way back on Nov 6, 2014. In that post, I postulated that the fifth and final post would be in January. Hoo boy - I sort of missed that one! This blog has detailed the four or five other projects that took precedence in the ensuing months. This is part five of, I sincerely hope, six for the wine rack. I won't be so bold as to predict when that sixth post will occur...

In part 4, I had finished the actual bottle racks, prepared almost all the oak stock, and drawn and refined a full-sized drawing of the proposed design. I say "almost" of the stock, because I was just short of having enough wide stock, and had to glue up one shelf out of two pieces. After a bit of scraping and planing, it looked like it came from the tree that way.

The next step was to figure out how to accurately cut the mortises in the cabinet sides. I needed a jig to guide a plunge router in cutting. I used my metalworking mill to cut very accurate slots in a guide, and then securely clamped it to the work. Here it is cutting the actual cabinet sides:

But before I was willing to cut into those expensive quarter-sawn oak boards (almost $100 apiece), I made a test piece using some scrap laminated particleboard. Kelly Williams came by, and after another great meal at Quip's Pub, helped me with the test piece. It all fit!

So, after much delay from other projects (and, I must admit, a little foot-dragging too) I committed to cutting the actual oak. Very accurately laying everything out, it took an afternoon to cut the mortises and slots for biscuit joints. But when I was done, it sure looked like everything was going to line up:

The five shelves needed matching slots for the biscuits, and since I don't have sufficient large clamps to glue up something this big, I also cut pocket holes for screws. I used a little "story pole" to lay those out - it's a common enough layout that I'll keep that for use in the future too. The pencil gives scale - it's for an 11" shelf.

To cut the pocket holes, I used my ancient Kreg jig. They are up to version 5 of that jig now, but this is the original aluminum one. Version 5 actually has a lot of benefits, including tool-free adjustments, dust collection, and the clamp handle on the front, but this old dude just won't wear out, even after almost 20 years. The little holder for the required wrench is a recent addition, and it has already saved some steps!

Finally, it was time to "dry fit" - assemble the cabinet without glue, but with screws, to see if it would go together. It was my first chance to use my new Kreg clamps that fit right in the pocket hole. They allowed me to align the front exactly, and then put the other screws in without the piece squirming out of alignment. Worked great, and solved a very common problem with pocket screws. I wish I had had those clamps for 20 years also.

I didn't think to take a picture, but I spent about a half hour with a file, fine-tuning the tenons on the bottle racks so that they would fit together easily. Once I had it fit together, I added the piece that will eventually be the drawer front, and cut and fitted the back. There will be a toe kick eventually, and I have five wire racks to hold hanging wine glasses . I like it! It will all come back apart for sanding and finishing, and then the final, scary glue up and final finishing. Part 6 of 6, here we come!

Continue on to Wine Rack, Part 6