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Thursday, February 7, 2013

DIY Wine Glass Storage

If you're anything like us, you love wine and have a million glasses of different sizes and shapes and need a cool way to store them.

 
They do sell clear plastic wine glass holders that you screw onto the bottom of a shelf or cabinet that work fine, BUT they are made for glasses of all the same size which makes various sized glasses bang together and sit slanted.

So, one day while surfing for a flooring solution, we tripped across this T Molding for hardwood flooring transitions.

 

Hmmmm....Just flip these over, screw to shelf, and...BAM!



This gives us a color matched solution that we customize to the different widths of the glasses we own.

For example: If you look closely, the first row is actually wider than the others because that is a huge sangria glass and would not fit in a standard space.


Time: 1 hour
Cost: Molding $20 / Fasteners $6
Difficulty: Easy, but cautious

Tools Needed:
Saw
Drill 1/8" bit
Manual Screwdriver
Small Clamps
Wood Glue
Small Level

Materials Needed:
(1) T-Molding in your desired color

(1) Finishing Washers #8 Size
(1) 1" Wood Screws #8 Size (NOT 1-1/4" as in picture)


First remove your shelves and measure the EXACT depth

ours are 10-3/16"

With your saw cut the molding into multiple pieces matching the width of your shelf.

Tip: Do not make all of your measurement markings on the molding at one time. Measure one, mark & cut it, measure the next one, mark & cut it, etc...because when you cut multiple pieces from marks you made with one measurement, you are not taking into account the width of the blade and that will throw your numbers off.


Approximate a layout just to visualize


OK, looks good but what about that wasted space on the end pieces?




Lets solve that by cutting one of the "wings" off of the end pieces



Now we get a much nicer look



Definitely have your glasses on hand for some test measurements to see what works for your inventory. Larger glasses have larger stems and bases, so dont assume that they match smaller ones.

You could actually just wood glue these in place and be done at this point, but we can totally take this a step further by adding some bling and safety backup with some nice fasteners.

Mark a dot no more than 1" from the end and in the center of the thicker base part of the molding (the leg of the T)...the 1" measurement is important, youll see why later.

Remember: on your 1-winged end pieces the dot will be closer to the flat side NOT directly in the center of the whole piece.




Holes will need to be drilled in both the molding and the shelf but its easier to be more exact by doing them in two different steps, and you could also risk drilling a hole straight through your shelf which you dont want to do.

Clamp your first piece onto the shelf and make sure all corners and edges meet


Now drill a hole into the shelf through the molding. You are only drilling starter holes to make sure they are even and so that your drill bit wont dance on the surface. Drill slowly!!! Once you see some wood shavings coming back up through the hole you can stop.


Thread the washer onto the screw and fasten with your MANUAL screwdriver. The screw length is short enough so that it wont puncture the shelf on the clean side, but with particle board you need to be gentle because it will break apart.




Now grab your largest glass and the 2nd piece of molding, test fit insertion and clamp it into place.


Remove the glass, stand the board on its edge and use your level to adjust the other non-clamped side and clamp it when perfectly straight.


Drill and apply screws as above.




Repeat until you reach the other end




Test fit, and this is where the "no more than 1 inch" part comes into play


Notice how you have no clearance for more than 1" from the edge because of the shelf pins





For standard glasses a measurement center-on-center of 3-5/8" seemed to work pretty well. If you have glasses with smaller bases keep them on the right side as the hinges may interfere with insertion/removal of larger ones.

Good luck!

13 comments:

  1. You guys are great! I think you need to take your handy tool-kit selves on the road!

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  2. LOL, thanks guys! I have to admit this one was actually very exciting to stumble upon, and now the glassware cabs look fabulous! He's a keeper :) --Ericka

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  3. i'm gonna manage ur show on HGTV lol....clever clever!

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  4. Love it! I wish I was that handy!

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    1. Just give it a try, thats how we started lol.

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  5. Wow, another impressive project. Creativity and skills in abundence. This is one I am totally going to attempt - what a great solution. It's good to see that drilling (albiet very carefully) did't damage the particle board shelves.

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  6. Great job you guys! We use that cabinet/counter area by the fridge as a beverage center with the coffee maker and syrups - so that's where we store our coffee cups and wine glasses.

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  7. Thanks Tammi! And thank you as well for the PINNING! Weve been getting questions from all these random people and have you to thank :)

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  8. If I ever start drinking wine, I'm doing this.

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