Introduction: High Capacity Wine Rack

About: I am Dapper Hippo. I am a secondary science teacher currently working on my masters in curriculum and instruction. I love projects of all kinds, but particularly those that I think I can do better or make mor…
Hi internet!
This is my first instructable, so let me know if you have any questions of if I should change something.  This wine rack will hold more than 100 wine bottles (750ml bottles). This wine rack won't cost too much to build, especially if you have the wood lying around or can get some scraps from a construction site or something.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for death, dismemberment, new appendages, etc. that result from undertaking this project.  This thing is solid and very sturdy- each shelf supported my 200lbs- still I'm not responsible if yours isn't as good and your wine collection dies from your lack of craftsmanship.

Materials:
-  2x2 Furing Strips (45x 11" boards)
-  2x4 Studs (10x 30" boards, 4x60" boards, 2x11" boards)
-  #8x2" screws (90x)
-  #10x3" screws (40x)
-  Stain if you want it.

Tools:
-  Saw (I used a table saw)
-  Power drill (or screw driver with forearms like Popeye)
-  Sanding implement (I used a palm sander)
-  Clamps (I used 3" clams)
-  Tape measure
-  Level
-  Small awl (optional)

Step 1: Cut and Sand Everything

Cut and sand all your pieces of wood.  The better job you do sanding, the better it will look when it's done.  I cannot stress the sanding enough.  The picture shows more wood than you need as I made a second, smaller wine rack too.

Step 2: Build Shelves

Assemble all your shelves (there are 5 if following my instructions exactly- but feel free to make more and make a taller wine rack) from the 2x2 boards and the 30" 2x4's.  Each shelf has 9x [11" 2x2] pieces and 2x [30" 2x4] pieces.

I drilled small pilot holes and then used the 2" screws.  In order to space the boards evenly I used a scrap piece of wood cut to 2" so I didn't have to measure each and every space (as seen in the second picture).

I used the small awl to keep the pilot hole lined up  while I clamped the boards before I fastened them down.

The shelves should look like those in the last picture.

Step 3: Assemble Wine Rack

I used a scrap piece of wood to roughly measure the distance from the bottom of the bottom shelf to the ground (a little over 2") and a level for fine tuning.

After I put one 3" screw in each 60" pieces to attach the bottom shelf, I screwed the tops of the 60" vertical boards to the 11" 2x4's to keep the vertical beams parallel.  You can omit that last bit if you're a better carpenter than myself.  Then I add another screw to each corner, making 8 screws per shelf.

I spaced the shelves 13" apart, measuring from the bottom of one shelf to where the bottom of the next one starts.  Use your level!

When storing bottles on the wine rack you can stack them at least 3 high per shelf in an 8, 9, 8 configuration (maybe you shouldn't on the top shelf due to the sides not enclosing more than 2 rows. You can probably get a 4th row of 9 on the lower shelves if you so desire)

Enjoy your new wine rack.
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