Cheese Board and Wine Rack for Under £15

My wife and I love our wine and cheese. We've seen a couple of boards that were ridiculous prices (£70+). So I decided to have a go at making one. I have to say we are very happy with the result and hope you are too.

2.4m length of 21mm by 21mm pine from B&Q (£4)

2 chopping baord from ikea (£4.95 each)

18 dowel rods (6mm by 30mm)

6mm +15mm wood drill bits (and drill obviously)

orbital sander (or manual operated sand paper :-)

jigsaw

hand saw

ruler / measuring tape

square

pen / pencil

clamps (g-clamps or workmate bench)

wood glue

raw linseed oil

rag

kitchen roll

1. Cut 6 lengths of pine 200mm long - later called pillars
2. Cut 4 lengths of pine 230mm long - later called shelves

I used the mitre saw with a 90 degree cut to make sure of a straight cut.

1. Using the 6mm drill bit make a hole in the end of the pillars.
2. Once you mark the middle ensure you're drilling to the correct depth (20mm).

A handy tip for finding the middle is to draw lines between the diagonals. Also a strip of tape helps but if you have a depth gauge that'd work too.

On two of the 230mm strips (shelves) drill a 6mm hole 10mm deep on the same side at each end.

To do this:

1. Set a strip of pine at right angle to the very end of the 230mm strips
2. Mark the width
3. Mark the centre of the 21mm by 21mm square as shown in the pictures
4. Drill a 10mm deep hole using the 6mm drill bit.

Now on four of the 200mm strips (pillars) drill a 6mm hole 10mm deep half way along one side

To do this:

1. Measure 100mm from the end and make a line
2. Measure 10.5mm (ish) along this line
3. Drill a 10mm deep hole using the 6mm drill bit
4. Cut four of the dowel rods to 20mm and insert these into the newly drilled holes of the 200mm strips.
5. Add wood glue around the dowel
6. Connect the shelves to the pillars as in the pictures
7. Adjust so the pillars and shelves are at right angles
8. Clamp and leave overnight

• Clamp the two chopping boards together. Use a square to make sure they were aligned.
• Mark the 6mm drill bit for a depth to go through one board and half way through the next if you want to hide the pegs but I ended up drilling right through both boards.

Note: if you want to hide the pegs you must drill from the bottom so flip the measurements accordingly.

The wine rack section should be 130mm wide and 230mm long.

Mark the pillars:

• Draw a line 130mm from the left edge the full width of the board
• Draw a line 230mm from the top edge of the board from the left to where it meets the 130mm line
• Place one of the pillars standing in the upper left corner on the board and draw around it. Ensuring it is aligned to the edges of the chopping board. Repeat for each corner of the rectangle just drawn

Two right hand pillars:

• For the other two pillars on the right side draw a line 40mm from the right edge the full width of the board.
• Align a pillar to the top of the bard with this line on its right and draw around it.
• Measure 230mm from the top of the board and place the last pillar there along the 40mm line and draw around .

• Drill a hole in the centre of each pillar making sure to go through both boards (or down to the depth marked on your drill bit if you are hiding the pegs)

1. On the bottom board place a dowel rod in each of the six holes.
2. Place the two pillars on the right in them.
3. Next put in the wine rack pillars.
4. Add a dowel rod to the top of each of the six pillars.
5. It might be helpful to get a second person to hold the pillars in place as you set the top board on top aligning the holes to the dowel rods.
6. Once happy remove any plastic packaging

Note: You may notice in the pictures I have two pine strips at the bottom of the wine rack. I took these out due to lack of height but if you make the pillars slightly longer these can be accommodated.

Handy tip: if the assembly is a bit tight your holes either aren't aligned or straight. Simply widen the pillar holes up to 8mm. NOT the board holes.

• Take the top board off
• Mark the shape as shown in the crudely drawn outline in the pictures.

Note: the slots for the wine glasses to hang are 100mm apart from their centres and not the edges. I'll come to making these later.

• Draw a full length line 130mm from the left edge, 90mm from the top edge and 85mm from the right edge.
• In my pictures you can see I used a full roll of electrical insulating tap as my template for rounding the corners.
• Cut out the middle section using a jigsaw.

On the top board:

1. Mark a point 45mm from the top and 150mm from the right edge.
2. Mark a point 45mm from the top and 250mm from the right edge.
3. Drill a 15mm hole on each marked point
4. Using a square draw a line from each side of the two drilled holes
5. Using a wood saw cut along the lines opening a channel for two wine glassed to slot in to

1. On the bottom board, lift each pillar in turn and add some wood glue to its bottom before placing it back on the dowel rods
2. Add some wood glue to the top of each pillar
3. Now place the top board back on
4. Use a square (or spirit level) to ensure the pillars are vertical
5. Now add clamps or find a creative way to hold the boards in place until the glue dries

Fill in the peg holes

1. insert a dowel rod into each hole
2. mark the length required so that the dowel sits a little proud
3. cut the dowel and insert into each hole with some wood glue
4. leave to dry

• Use the sander with pads graded around 60, and then 210, rub over the entire surface including the pine strips.
• Pay special attention on the cut edges and smooth down the exposed dowel rods.

Note: smoothing around the wine glass slots is easier with sand paper. I found the sander would not fit easily in the narrow gap.

1. Ensure the entire project is dust free
2. Using a clean rag rub on raw linseed oil very sparingly on all surfaces
3. Leave for a couple of hours
4. Rub dry with kitchen roll
5. Enjoy

I made two cheese boards:

• One with 240mm pillars, hidden pegs and rounded corners
• One with 200mm pillars, exposed pegs and straight corners