Building Wooden Wine Racks

Types of Wood

Pine wood is the inexpensive way to go. More elegant wine racks are achieved by using cedar, maple, cherry or oak wood. In the manufacturing industry, the process of building wine racks that will last is ensured by assembling tough lasting woods such as spruce, fir or birch. Whichever type of wood is used for building a wine rack, the builder must ensure that the wood purchased has a moisture content of no more than 10 or 12 percent (otherwise the wood can warp). Wine rack builders will choose wood that does not have a distinct odor in order to preserve the natural flavor of the wine, as wine is often stored for many years for better flavor.

Tools and Accessories

The tools necessary for assembling a typical wine rack are an Allen wrench and some Allen bolts. Boards are purchased from a sawmill or crafts supply store. Drill bits need to match the radius of the Allen bolts used to hold the wine rack together. A sander or sandpaper is used for smoothing out drilled holes, rough edges and splintered wood. Wood polish is added after assembling the racks.

Wine Rack Design

The number of rows per rack and the number of upright boards must be considered before building the wine rack. Size and quantity of the wine bottles are also taken into account when planning the width of the wine rack. Four vertical boards are paired with each column intended for the wine rack. A column can contain any number of rows for wine bottles, depending on the number of vertical boards used to support a set of rows on the rack.

Assembling

Assembling the wine rack begins with the base connected to the vertical boards. Holes are drilled through both sides of the vertical boards and through the baseboards of the rack. With the rack's vertical boards lying on their sides, screws are inserted through the vertical boards and through the baseboards and bolted securely with an Allen wrench. Each section of rows is lined up between the vertical boards, then secured in place with Allen bolts using an Allen wrench. After all of the rows have been securely fastened with bolts, the rack is lifted from its side to a standing position.