I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

Geoff Schultz writes:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

Use seomthing they don't have to ship across the country. Perhaps cedar
or SYP?

scott

"Geoff Schultz" wrote in message
.. .
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

It's a sad but true commentary that building it yourself is not cheaper than
buying premade. Those companies get the wood for *pennies*/board ft where we
pay *dollars*/board ft. If you want the joy of crafting it yourself, you
will pay for that pleasure.

Good luck,

Vic

Geoff Schultz wrote:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

I used poplar and shellac to get the result below. 'May- or may not be
to your liking (I realize you are building something rather different)
but it's worth a look:

http://www.tundraware.com/Woodworking/WineRack/


--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Daneliuk
PGP Key: http://www.tundraware.com/PGP/

In article ,
says...

I used poplar and shellac to get the result below. 'May- or may not be
to your liking (I realize you are building something rather different)
but it's worth a look:

http://www.tundraware.com/Woodworking/WineRack/



Looks nice Tim. There really is no stain on that rack? It's a very
nice color for the normally bland poplar, and I'm surprised you could
get that color with just shellac and wax. If the color is all from the
shellac, what color shellac did you use, and how many coats?

Thanks,
Mark

Mark Blum wrote:
In article ,
says...
I used poplar and shellac to get the result below. 'May- or may not be
to your liking (I realize you are building something rather different)
but it's worth a look:

http://www.tundraware.com/Woodworking/WineRack/



Looks nice Tim. There really is no stain on that rack? It's a very
nice color for the normally bland poplar, and I'm surprised you could
get that color with just shellac and wax. If the color is all from the
shellac, what color shellac did you use, and how many coats?

Thanks,
Mark

I think I may have oiled it prior to the shellac - I cannot recall -
and that may account for the color. I used Orange shellac, probably
2 or 3 coats.


--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Daneliuk
PGP Key: http://www.tundraware.com/PGP/

Tim Daneliuk wrote:

Looks nice Tim.**There*really*is*no*stain*on*that*rack?**It's *a*very
nice color for the normally bland poplar, and I'm surprised you could
get that color with just shellac and wax.**If*the*color*is*all*from*the
shellac, what color shellac did you use, and how many coats?


I think I may have oiled it prior to the shellac - I cannot recall -
and that may account for the color.**I*used*Orange*shellac,*probably
2 or 3 coats.

Some people don't realize how many different shades of shellac there are.
Super blonde, blonde, lemon, orange, and garnet, and probably one or two I
don't know about. And Ron Hock now has the orange and garnet in dewaxed, as
well as the more common dewaxed blonde.

I've never found oiling poplar to add much color, unless you used a tinted
oil. In fact, I've tried shellac with and without oiling first and my eyes
can't tell the difference.

And yes Tim, it looks great.


--
It's turtles, all the way down

Mark Blum wrote:

Looks nice Tim. There really is no stain on that rack? It's a very
nice color for the normally bland poplar

I second that. That is an EXCELLENT finish on poplar. It really
doesn't look like poplar.

On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:23:29 -0600, Geoff Schultz
wrote:

I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

A successful gentleman told me in my youth that "ya gets what ya pays
fer." I've found that to be consistently true.

There are a lot of racking "systems" out there and I'm sure we are all
familiar with the catalog offerings of IWA. They span the gamut from
pine and redwood pre-fab units to exotic home construction projects
and the price is from ultimate budget to Bill Gates' lone heir.

I've used some of their redwood pre-fab offerings in the basement
(hardly a true temp/humidity controlled "cellar--but it was mine,) and
now in a back bedroom closet since I've no longer got the subterranean
option in Texas.

The cheapie redwood stuff is functional, but no more. The wood is
nominally redwood, but don't think of beauty or grain or even
strength. It is generally egg-crate design and consists of 3/4 x 3/4
stringers joining 1" x 1/2" uprights. The whole business is pre-cut
for spacing of pieces and then held together with finishing nails
which are virtually guaranteed to split the dry, cheap wood in 25% of
the insertions. Overall it is a system to hold your bottles off the
floor and stable but not one to be admired.

I'd suggest you look at some catalogs and magazines, then get to work
with a design program to draw out what you want, then get that new
dado, mitre saw and table saw along with some quality wood to get to
work. Maybe even some nice stone or brick work on corner pilasters?

Cedar, walnut, teak, cherry come to mind.

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:23:29 -0600, Geoff Schultz wrote:

I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even
buy the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any
new tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the
relative humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option.
Any suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

The humidity shouldn't be an issue as long as it's more or less
constant--it's changes in humidity that are bad. On the other hand, if
the floor is damp you might want to consider elevating the cabinet base a
bit--Ikea sells plastic cabinet supports that hold up something like a
half a ton a set for 6 bucks IIRC, complete with skirt clips.

As for choice of wood, if redwood is too steep that lets out most of the
tropicals. Locally cypress and white oak are listing for around
$3.75/board foot. Either of those should hold up fine.

-- Geoff

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Tue, Jan 9, 2007, 10:23am (EST-1)
(Geoff*Schultz) doth toast us and sayeth:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. snip in
New England. snip I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will
withstand the relative humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not
an option. Any suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

If you don't have any wine racks yet, is it still a wine cellar?
Does Nighttrain, MD 20/20, and Thunderbird, count? Everclear and
Kool-Aid?

I'd say check some old cellars, then use a local wood (to you) that
holds up well.



JOAT
To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears
also.
- Igor Stravinsky

"J T" wrote in message

Everclear and Kool-Aid?

LOL!

IIRC, put some sugar in it and that was Boudreaux's favorite "wine", cher
.... I guarantee!

(Well, it might not be all the +good+ .... but it would knock you on your
butt and make you wish you were dead the next morning.)

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/06/07

Tue, Jan 9, 2007, 3:43pm (EST-1) (Swingman) doth recall:
snip (Well, it might not be all the +good+ .... but it would knock you
on your butt and make you wish you were dead the next morning.)

Not even close to a Jagermeister hangover - probably close to 40
years now, and even the memory makes me sudder.



JOAT
To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears
also.
- Igor Stravinsky

Geoff Schultz wrote:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar.

Got money? Purpleheart!

http://www.liwoodworkers.org/gallery/gallery_member_project.asp?p_id=74&i_name=Mike+Dau m

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
Geoff Schultz wrote:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar.

Got money? Purpleheart!

http://www.liwoodworkers.org/gallery...sp?p_id=74&i_n
ame=Mike+Daum

Well, if one can afford to stock a wine rack of that size, they've likely
got all the money they need for purpleheart.

Upscale wrote:

Well, if one can afford to stock a wine rack of that size, they've likely
got all the money they need for purpleheart.

I like the wood pile in the first photo. G

"Geoff Schultz" wrote in message
I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England.

So that works out to about $6.50 a board foot. What do you figure to pay?
Most "better" woods are $4.50 and up. If you want cheap, you are limited to
MDF. Check out Downes & Reader in Stoughton MA or Connecticut Hardwood
Group in Enfield CT for prices. There is a sawmill in MA that has pine
boards for as little as $100 a bd. ft.

You can do what I did. I have my son's old entertainment center and just lay
the cardboard boxes on their side in it. Right now I've got about 200
bottles stored that way. Not pretty, but certainly cost effective.

Most of us do woodworking for the fun of it. You can buy most things cheaper
(but not better).

Geoff Schultz wrote:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?


If you live near a sawmill, you might be able to buy nearly any wood
they process at a much lower price if the wood has flaws. If you can
select what you buy, you might be able to pick out some lumber that
would have a flaw near the end of the board that can be sawed off, etc.
Of course I doubt if there are any redwood sawmills in New England :-).

The best choice I can think of is teak. Garden furniture made from it
can last a very long time without rot in even very moist climates.
England is full of very old teak garden furniture on private estates
and in parks. The teak slowly turns gray as it ages outdoors and often
is not treated. There is a less expensive wood than teak now being used
for outdoor garden furniture. I do not recall the name - it may be from
South America.

On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:37:36 -0800, cwdjrxyz wrote:

Geoff Schultz wrote:
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so
construction isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools!
:-) The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's
running $3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I
look at the pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I
can't even buy the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone
justify any new tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the
relative humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option.
Any suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?


If you live near a sawmill, you might be able to buy nearly any wood
they process at a much lower price if the wood has flaws. If you can
select what you buy, you might be able to pick out some lumber that
would have a flaw near the end of the board that can be sawed off, etc.
Of course I doubt if there are any redwood sawmills in New England :-).

No redwood, but eastern white cedar, white oak, etc are available.

The best choice I can think of is teak. Garden furniture made from it
can last a very long time without rot in even very moist climates.
England is full of very old teak garden furniture on private estates and
in parks. The teak slowly turns gray as it ages outdoors and often is
not treated. There is a less expensive wood than teak now being used for
outdoor garden furniture. I do not recall the name - it may be from
South America.

While teak is durable in outdoor furniture, it's not the only wood for
which that is the case. Ipe, osage orange (while most Americans think of
this as more or less a shrub, in the tropics it grows to a good size),
jarrah (if you can find it), purpleheart, and a few others are
exceptionally decay resistant, but they'd be overkill for this application
unless one was using them for the appearance.

In practice, anything from the first column of table 3-10 of the FPL "Wood
Handbook" (a standard engineering reference, and it's free besides
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm) or
that comes up on the list when you select "decay reistance high" in
woodpicker http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/wdpick.htm should be more than
adequate in a basement. That includes most of the more popular US cabinet
woods--white oak, black cherry, and black walnut are all reasonably decay
resistant.

The trouble is that the OP was objecting to paying something like $7 a
board foot for redwood, and any of the tropicals will cost more than that,
and the more popular cabinet woods aren't a whole lot cheaper.

Personally for me if price was no object I'd go with black mesquite--it's
one of the most stable woods around, has good decay resistance, has good
mechanical properties, and it looks very nice.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good.

The just ignore the humidity issue. Basement humidity is not nasty enough to
rot just about any wood with a little finish to seal the grain. Wood
movement is not really an issue with a skelletal wine rack design.

As others have said, contain the cost by finding a locally available
(harvested), common species. In the NE USA, that would be Oak/Maple, Cherry
or Walnut if you want to move up-market. Poplar would not be my choice as
It's a bit on the soft side.

Pine is not an option.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the look and you would have to up-size the
components a bit to accomodate all that weight. IMO, good plan; avoid pine.

suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

Where are you?

_Steve



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

First off I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I've been
spending a lot of time talking to hardwood vendors and considering my
options. My original design required 300 board feet of lumber and I've
gone back and modified the design so that I'm down to about 200 board feet.
As a result of this need, I am very sensitive to the price of the material.

To construct this I need 72 vertical supports, 48 horizontal supports and
1254 cross bars. Being an engineer at heart, I spent a couple of hours
yeasterday developing a spread sheet that would calculate how many pieces I
could construct out of varying sizes of wood. For example, for each
2"x6"x8' piece of stock I can make: 2 risers and 8 cross bars; or 6
horizontals and 8 cross bars; or 64 cross bars. Calculatiing this by hand
while varying the dimensions of the design and the stock was getting to be
too much. Hence the spread sheet.

Anyhow, after looking at my options I think that I may be setteling back to
the redwood. I'll keep you posted on my final decisions.

-- Geoff

To construct this I need 72 vertical supports, 48 horizontal supports and
1254 cross bars...

I've seen many designs that support the neck and the base; I wonder
though when removing a bottle with less than ideal care, if the bottles
under it are vulnerable to impact.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose wrote:
To construct this I need 72 vertical supports, 48 horizontal supports
and 1254 cross bars...

I've seen many designs that support the neck and the base; I wonder
though when removing a bottle with less than ideal care, if the bottles
under it are vulnerable to impact.

It takes a pretty forceful impact to break a filled bottle of wine,
Jose. I've dropped a few filled bottles over the years onto concrete
floors and (knock wood) only one has ever broken. Most just bounce. Of
course, I would not recommend trying that trick with any bottle you
valued, but the point is that just a casual impact from another bottle
won't do much of anything to a filled bottle of wine.

Mark Lipton

Jose wrote in
. net:

To construct this I need 72 vertical supports, 48 horizontal supports
and 1254 cross bars...

I've seen many designs that support the neck and the base; I wonder
though when removing a bottle with less than ideal care, if the
bottles under it are vulnerable to impact.

Jose

The crossbars run parallel to the wine bottle, so there's no way to bang
one against one another. The horizontals space the verticals such that
they all have the same spacing, which in my case is 3.5"

-- Geoff

I did this about 4 years ago and used Western Red Cedar. Then I read an
article on wine rack construction that said DON'T USE AN AROMATIC WOOD...
get's into the wine, etc. Well after 6 months the "aroma" was gone and no
wine has been ruined. Not that I have a lot of expensive wine anyway...
maybe a mixed case of some "keepers".

I have room for about 17 cases of wine... all racked. I did the
11-horizontal, one-on-an angle thingee for display.

Cost.... maybe $100.

"Geoff Schultz" wrote in message
.. .
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

The magazine "The Wood Spectator" did a long piece on the best woods to use
for home storage, They preferred wood from organically raised trees which
were free range too. Even more preferable were trees bred in a pure oxygen
environment, infused with free range chicken fat.
"Don Sforza" wrote in message
et...
I did this about 4 years ago and used Western Red Cedar. Then I read an
article on wine rack construction that said DON'T USE AN AROMATIC WOOD...
get's into the wine, etc. Well after 6 months the "aroma" was gone and no
wine has been ruined. Not that I have a lot of expensive wine anyway...
maybe a mixed case of some "keepers".

I have room for about 17 cases of wine... all racked. I did the
11-horizontal, one-on-an angle thingee for display.

Cost.... maybe $100.

"Geoff Schultz" wrote in message
.. .
I've been planning on building wine racks for my wine cellar. The rack
length will be about 14' and each column will hold 18 bottles with 2
display bins. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice shop, so construction
isn't an issue.

I had assumed that I would be able to build it for cheaper than I could
purchase a unit. I also hoped that it would justify some new tools! :-)
The problem that I just priced out red wood and found that it's running
$3.29-$3.79 per linear foot for 1x6 in New England. When I look at the
pricing for pre-fabbed wine racks built out of red wood, I can't even
buy
the wood for what they're selling them for, let alone justify any new
tools! :-(

I'm not fixed on red wood. I want a wood that will withstand the
relative
humidity of a cellar and look good. Pine is not an option. Any
suggestions for a nice wood to build this out of?

-- Geoff

Joe "Beppe"Rosenberg wrote:
The magazine "The Wood Spectator" did a long piece on the best woods to use
for home storage, They preferred wood from organically raised trees which
were free range too. Even more preferable were trees bred in a pure oxygen
environment, infused with free range chicken fat.
snip

Joe, you are nuts, but that's one of your endearing qualities. :-)
Dick R.