Melanie Heinrich Artist
Melanie Heinrich, Artist
Fine Art Crafts

Wine Stopper Rack

My travels have taken me all over the world. During those travels I have purchased several wine stoppers. I wanted to display them in an attractive way, so I built this rack for that purpose. My original design went through many changes. I wanted the piece to showcase the stoppers and at the same time not dominate the counter top. In the end I designed the piece to sit on top of the wine cooler.

Step system, all made from oak before
other woods are attached


Close-up

Using solid 1.5-inch oak boards, I cut each piece to 18 inches long and bored 7 holes in each board. The side boards are cut from a 12-inch piece of oak lumber and have the evenly spaced step-down pattern that holds the smaller boards. I also added five posts on the bottom shelf for the several drip rings that I own.


White paper template and cocobolo
1/4-inch lumber


Close-up of side with inlay banding,
Bolivian Rosewood, and Purple Heart lumber

I wanted to bring greater interest to this piece, so I added sections of exotic woods to the edges of the rack. The 2nd row left image shows a 1/8-inch piece of Bolivian Rosewood with a step pattern template taped to it. Using a fine scroll saw, I cut each piece a little large for error. I will sand that down later. I attached the two pieces to the edges of the rack and sanded them down to be level with the oak rack.


Details


Purple Heart sits on the top ends
of the steps. Bolivian Rosewood is
attached to the ends of the steps.

Purple Heart adorns the tops of the steps. Under the Bolivian Rosewood I attached two strips of inlay banding. Finally, where the Purple Heart and Bolivian Rosewood meet, I finished the piece with two different types of 1/4-inch inlay banding.


Right side view

 

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