Pallet Wine Rack

This week’s project was a rustic pallet wine rack. My aunt just recently had a birthday and also is getting married soon so I figured this gift would serve two purposes. She has wanted one of these ever since I built one for my mom a while back.

The wood actually came from the pallet that my planer was shipped on. The runners for the pallet were in too rough of shape to use but the slats had great looking rustic character. I made new vertical supports by cutting three pieces of 2×4 at 9 inches.

To recreate the look of typical pallet runners I measured in 1 1/2 from the sides and three inches from the top and cut the notches put with the bandsaw.

Next I subtracted the width of the three 2×4’s from one of the slats and then cut it into two equal pieces to make up both shelves that would hold the wine bottles.

Using the Kreg jig I drilled pocket holes into the bottom of the slats and attached them to the three vertical supports with 1 1/4″ Kreg screws. I spaced each of them about 1 1/2″ from the bottom.

I took time to pre-sand all my boards being sure to remove any splinters, also being careful to maintain the character of the boards. Next, I found two of the boards that were in the best shape to use as the back slats. I pre-drilled holes and counter sunk two inch drywall screws to hold them on. For the front I tried to find the board with the most character in it and I nailed it on with two inch nails.

For the bottom board that would hold the wine glasses I drilled 5/8″ holes with a spade bit. I made a mark 2 1/4 inches from the vertical supports and then spaced the holes about every 4 inches. I then used my combo square to draw a line from the outside edge of the holes to the front of the board. Then I cut the slots out using my jigsaw.

I found the vintage label online through a simple google search. I printed it in reverse on a piece of label paper with all the labels removed. The slick surface of the label paper allows the image to be printed without sticking to the paper. Be careful not to smear the image as it’s basically just wet ink on the paper. I cut around the image with scissors to get as close as possibly to the image size for placement. Using two inch tape on each end I tape the image down and pressed it into the wood, being careful not to drag the image. Then peal the paper back and you have your image, now it’s time to finish.

I had some old spar varnish lying around the shop and decided to use it for this project. I went ahead and applied the finish to the bottom and the top of the wine glass holder before attaching the board with two inch nails. Then I preceded to apply the finish to the rest of the wine rack. the oil finish really brings out the color in the wood and makes the look really pop.

These type of projects are a lot of fun to build and look great once you fill them with bottles and glasses.