Pallet Wine Rack

I don't like wine, which is most likely due to my unsophisticated palate, and I'm ok with that. I also don't like working with pallets, but I acquire five of them every winter since I burn wood pellets.

The Warden likes wine and wants a pallet wine rack ... even without the picture and title above, I'm sure you can predict how this is going to end up.

A majority of the images I found online were the pallet as is, with a section added to the bottom for the glasses. I wanted a cleaner design ... I needed to start from scratch.

There are several different methods or schools of thought when it comes to the harvesting of pallets. I personally have a short pallet attention span and don't like dealing with all the nails, so I cut the sides free using either a circular saw or reciprocating saw. It only takes one nail to damage circular saw blade, so I went with the reciprocating saw ... I have no regard for those blades.

Once the sides are free, I just use a hammer and pry bar to liberate the board from the middle support. I back the nails out with a hammer and then remove them using concrete nippers ... because they are great and removing nails and they are mine, so I can use them how I choose.

Any boards with missing sections, were ripped to their largest possible width on the table saw. Bad sections were removed and parts cut to length using the miter saw. Be mindful of any broken off nails hiding in the board, which might wreak havok on your saw blades and endanger your life.

The sides of the wine rack are made from the pallet stringers. Using a table saw sled for safety, I cut a dadeo into each side, which will accept the internal shelf. I cut mine about 1/2" deep and just snuck up on the width until my desired board fit.

After marking the center of my board, I laid out the hole spacing along the length by eye, using actual wine glasses ... then my OCD took over and I made the spacing match with the aid of a tape measure. A 3/4" hole was drilled at each location ... you guessed it ... Forstner bit.

I extended my lines to one edge using a combination square, and then cut out the material using the bandsaw.

Depending on your glasses, these holes/slots might have to be larger/wider.

I like beer ... so this thing is getting my $0.05 bottle opener. 1 1/2" Forstner for the bottle hole, 1 1/4" hole for the washer, a washer, and a screw - simple.

Since I was designing on the fly, I didn't cut any final lengths until I was ready to assemble. I used an empty bottle to determine a height by eye. I wanted the top of the stringer to flair back out in order to support a top shelf. Some designs leave the top open, but I wanted a shelf.

The bottle I had was 3" in diameter. I wanted room for 4 bottles, so I went with a 13" internal dimension, which determined the lengths of the captive shelf, the glass rack, and all off the slats. Depending on the depth of your dadoes and width of the stringers, your measurements might differ. I have listed my dimensions at the end of this instructable.

Assembly is done with glue and brad nails. Insert the captive shelf, attach the glass rack to the bottom, attach slats on front and back, attach top. I notched my bottom slat around the space for the wine glass bases because I liked that look, but it isn't necessary.

This project is very scalable. I made a 4 bottle and an 8 bottle version.

For finish, I went with one coat of 50/50 boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits. Once dry, I installed my bottle opener.

This isn't going in my house, so I hung it up in my workshop for the glamour shots. The shelf probably won't be used for a drill, but it should be!

Dimensions:
Top: 5" x 18"
Sides: Length of 16"
Shelf: Width of your sides x 13" + depth of your dadoes
Front and Back Slats: Varied widths x 16 1/8"
Glass Holder: Width to match your sides x 16 1/8"
Glass Holder Holes: 3/4" Forstner bit. 3 1/8" and 6 5/16" in from each end.