Thread: help with wine rack - wood + galvanised wire mesh

I would be interesting to see if you gt replies to this question at this time of night.

I guess this is keeping you awake?

Just a quick thought...
what about building it like a floating panel door, with holes every 100mm to stick the wire in, holding wire in the hole with epoxy? Hope that makes sense...it did in my head!

Pellcorp - I have made several wine racks using mesh, and tried a few ways of fixing the mesh in place, including the above suggestion of leaving a few ends sticking out (not every one, every 2nd or 3rd will do) which mate with holes in the frame. Advantage is a simple & solid fixing. Disadavntages are, you need to be deadly accurate with your holes, and assembly can be a real challenge if you want to use any fancy joinery methods like sliding dovetails.

For a visible rack like the one shown in pics 1 &2, I used trenches in the vertical sides that the mesh slides into. It's only 6 wide x 5 high and plenty stiff enough without any further fixings.

For a strictly utilitarian rack like inside a cupboard (or a fridge??) (pics 3 &4), I just build the frame to fit the mesh neatly and fix it in place with a staple (the fencing kind, not the gun-fired variety!) in every third space or so. They are not very obtrusive & don't cause any bother if kept close to a vertical wire....

I've found a front to back spacing of about 180mm between the mesh sheets accomodates most sizes of bottles nicely.

Cheers,

Have you thought about just folding the mesh into a shape to suit the size of the fridge.

Originally Posted by IanW

Pellcorp - I have made several wine racks using mesh, and tried a few ways of fixing the mesh in place, including the above suggestion of leaving a few ends sticking out (not every one, every 2nd or 3rd will do) which mate with holes in the frame. Advantage is a simple & solid fixing. Disadavntages are, you need to be deadly accurate with your holes, and assembly can be a real challenge if you want to use any fancy joinery methods like sliding dovetails.

For a visible rack like the one shown in pics 1 &2, I used trenches in the vertical sides that the mesh slides into. It's only 6 wide x 5 high and plenty stiff enough without any further fixings.

For a strictly utilitarian rack like inside a cupboard (or a fridge??) (pics 3 &4), I just build the frame to fit the mesh neatly and fix it in place with a staple (the fencing kind, not the gun-fired variety!) in every third space or so. They are not very obtrusive & don't cause any bother if kept close to a vertical wire....

I've found a front to back spacing of about 180mm between the mesh sheets accomodates most sizes of bottles nicely.

Cheers,

hi,

thanks heaps for these ideas really cool and I will probably make use of a couple of them. no fancy joints as they wont be very visible, probably just dados screws and glue. thinking I might use marine plywood and titebond II

Originally Posted by BobL

Have you thought about just folding the mesh into a shape to suit the size of the fridge.

Good idea, Bob - I meant to suggest that too. Great minds & all that!

It should work well enough as a simple "L" shape, for your application, Pellcorp. Bending the mesh at home might be a bit of fun, and tax your ingenuity, depending on what gauge mesh you have.......

You won't be able to make it all that huge if it's to fit in a fridge, I guess, but if you use bent mesh alone it might need to be tied together with a couple of dowel spacers to prevent spreading under load. That was my main worry when I made the first couple of racks, so I started out with pretty heavy-gauge mesh. I've since used a lighter gauge (about 5mm thick - easy to cut & cheaper!). My storage racks are modular, each being 6 spaces high by up to 8 wide. At that size, they are as solid as you could wish. What I need most is more opportunities to reduce the load regularly...

Cheers,

I think I will use wood frame, a little easier for my taste ) I think it will look better too

First prototype - some of the sizing is off and I will adjust but it works and fits nicely



Attachment 193866

Revised prototype nice fit - now for the real thing )



Attachment 193870

Nice work PC.

Nice job, nice simple design. Keep us informed.

My stacked dado is becoming one of my favourite tools, makes achieving a square box easy, especially in concert with the stop block on the mitre station

Before I get into my final effort, can anyone suggest how much space I need to leave for the expansion and contraction of the mesh. I have 5 x 8 slots in my rack, and my prototype leaves no floating space.

Originally Posted by pellcorp

Before I get into my final effort, can anyone suggest how much space I need to leave for the expansion and contraction of the mesh. I have 5 x 8 slots in my rack, and my prototype leaves no floating space.

?? You are being too careful, PC. I made all mine to fit snugly, & there have been no problems. I think any changes in the dimensions of your box will be neglible.
Cheers,