How to make Beer Caddy | by NT

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NT Currie Published on 04/23/2017, viewed by 2887 , 2 Comments

Red oak sides, base and dowel, poplar dividers between bottles and cast iron bottle opener. Lots of good design options playing with different woods and styles of bottle openers. Fun and easy project that makes a great, one-of-a-kind gift for any beer drinker. Found various designs online that I didn't care for mostly due to design of the sides.

What you will need

3/4" Red Oak 2( 14"x 6-1/2"),1( 9"x61/2")

1/2" Red Oak 2( 9"x5")

1/4" Poplar 1(9" x 2.5"), 2( 5-3/8" x 2.5")

3/4" Red Oak dowel (l= 10-5/8")

How to do this project

Cut all boards to proper dimensions with table saw. If so inclined to plan cuts to showcase the grain patterns for assembly, remember that 14" boards will stand vertical with top left and right corners cut as waste,the remaining 3/4" board will serve as the base only seeing the long edges and the 1/2" boards will have the length lying sideways.

On 14" boards mark the sides 9" from what will be the bottom edge and find the middle of the top edge. I am sure there are better ways to do this (please share if you have ideas) but I just use the 3/4" dowel to trace the rounded tip in the middle of the top edge, use my scroll saw to cut the corners off and get the rounded tip and use my router with a 1/4" round over bit to dress up the edge (I just used to sand away the sharp edges until I got my router).

Test out where exactly you want your handle to be, I typically go for about 3/4" down from the rounded tip, trace your dowel and cut out the hole (though I could do this with my router now I am in the habit of using my scroll saw). Make sure placement is the same on both sides. Be careful when cutting (especially if you trace the dowel like I do) to ensure that the holes will fit the 3/4" dowel snugly, sometimes I go a bit wide and though you can get away with it keeping it snug looks better.

I like to pause here for a dry fit and then do most of my sanding before doing the glue up. Glue the boards so that the bottom edge of 14" boards and the base contact the ground and the 1/2" thick boards bottom edges are on the top face of the base. Obviously the dowel goes through the holes.

I install the bottle opener (careful if drilling pilot holes and in screw selection not to go through the board completely) and start my finishing on the caddy once the glue dries and I scrape the excess and get another good sand session. Then, while waiting For the first coat of my chosen finish to dry, I cut slots about 2/3 of the way through the divider pieces. The two dividers get cut evenly in the middle and the long divider gets cut at 3" and 6" from one end. the slots should be 1/4" wide to accomodate piecing together and like to use painters' tape to mark where I want to stop my cut, it also helps prevent chip out. These don't need to fit super tight, they're only to separate the beer bottles.

Continue with finishing the wood however you choose and add in the dividers, sanding if necessary to allow them to fit easily. I've made them super snug and fairly loose and I prefer loose (easy to pull out if needed to clean interior). If you didn't put on the bottle opener before the finish now is the time to do it.