# Slippery wine rack



## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

I built this wine rack from an older (70's?) woodworking book:










I love it … except.

The plans called for the REAR support to be higher than the FRONT support.

But that angle causes/allows the bottles to SLIP, and … the way the plans were designed … there IS enough room for the back of the bottle to actually FALL if it does slip.

Not good. Very noisy. Very expensive. Ruins the party.

Temporarily, I've cut strips of old bicycle inner tubes and SET them into the rear cradles. But I don't like this, as a long-term solution.

No real interest in re-building the thing-either to make it shallower, front to back OR to level the supports, front and back.

I'm thinking about options that simply give better grip:

- 3M traction tape ?
- Friction tape ?
- Anti-slip paint additive, mixed into shellac, applied to the cradles ?
- A bead of silicon caulk that would dry tacky and stay tacky ?

*Humorous options:*

- Bubble gum, already chewed ?
- [with credit to George Carlin] Snot-the Universal Rubber Cement ???

Any thoughts ?

For now, the thing sits empty, because I can't trust it.

TIA!


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## Rustic (Jul 21, 2008)

I would try a lower angle for the back or shorten the hole in the front piece


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Do you have to be able to see the cork all the time? If not, cut 4 thin pieces the same width (the full width) and length of the front rails and glue them onto the fronts of each rail. This will act as a stop to keep the bottles from sliding forward. It doesn't HAVE to be the full width, but it will look less "added-on" if it is.

Or,

Rout a half-round groove about 1/4" wide along the rails, right through U-shaped cutouts, and glue in a dowel to act as a stop. Or rout a rabbet along the top edge and use a stop piece with a square cross section. Or just slap the stop right on the surface of the rail without letting it in.

Or,

Deepen all the rear cradles to reduce the angle (last resort).


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I would empty the rack… the fun way!!! Drink it all and beg for refills from friends!
Actually, I'd make it a tad narrower from front to back so that the bottle will rest on the collar.
Or… dress up the back rail inserts with decorative cork.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

My first thought is - go back in time and talk to the editor of that book!

second though - snot dries and won't work very well

third though - cheers!

unless you want to redo this - I'd glue drawer liners to the back hollows:









But if it were me - I'd just redo the rack, or try to take it apart and fix the angle issue. the angle in the book is probably unreal. the reason for the angle is to keep the air bubble in the bottle away from the cork. during storage, the cork should be kept in full contact with the liquid so that it is kept from drying and cracking.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Just add a thin strip of wood to the front where the cork end of the bottles protrude, to keep them from protruding too far, and going boom.

Half way covering the cork should do, then you can still see some of the foil from the front.

Steve

Edit: I see JJohnston already posted this idea as I was typing. I need to learn to type faster.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I like JJohnston's suggestion of a stop in front of the bottles.

It seems like a rather odd design. I understand the point of a slight forward slope to ensure that the cork stays wet, but it seems like the front support should have been closer to the point where the bottle becomes wider. That way the shape of the bottle itself would have prevented it from sliding forward.


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## Bovine (Apr 15, 2009)

I don't think the friction tape or addative would work with the glass bottles. The first thing I thought of was a small lip on the front that partially covered the holes where the bottle top sits. That would keep it from sliding forward, but might not work as well with odd-shaped bottles.

You could also just epoxy the bottles to the rack which would also help any potential drinking problems.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Or, you could just trash the whole thing and stick to that good wine that comes in a box.


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Dumb idea: if it doesn't absolutely need to be plumb, how about lop some off the back legs so it leans back?


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

Neil
consider this to bee a lesson learned and make a new one after you have 
read , seen how they are soported/build in the real fancy winecellers 
this design look somehow werd to me

Dennis


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

One option that might require a bit of control to make it look decent is to apply some liquid latex to the areas where the bottles are seated. I would definitely test brush strokes on scrap first. Of course, if your collection consists of Mad Dog 20/20 and Boones, just throw them in the fridge and turn it into a shoe rack 

David


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

I think Ellen's idea to keep emptying it sounds great. You can try taking a little off the back legs to correct the angle. It might be easiest to add some floor glides/levelers to the front legs though. Then all you have to do is drill two holes, put in some t-nuts and screw the levelers in. I've seen low profile ones, so only you and us LJs would know : 0


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

i like the drawer liner idea…very easy fix and with a good color it would look great..or do as ellen suggests..or quit drinking wine and put some wooden extenders in there and fill the thing with bottles of mountain dew…lol…what…...hey the dew is good stuff..that fizz sure pack a whollup…


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

I think Ellen has the best idea so far lol.

Perhaps though you can just tweak it and still make it look nice and no one would think anything of it. If you don't care to show the bottle corks or top wrappers, you could just glue 4 strips of wood(without any grooves cut to same size as front rails) that would be glued to the outward face of each front rail, preventing the bottles from sliding forward at all. I think this wont take much away from the look at all since you can still see those grooves from a standing view.

[EDIT]: I should have read ALL the other posts first. It looks like Steve and JJohnston already suggests this.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

You need to shorten the distance between the front and rear. This type of storage rack is supposed to be able to set the start of the neck of the bottle against the inside edge of the front piece. It just ahs too much of a gap. Should be very easy to do.


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## traupmann (Oct 8, 2010)

I'd stop drinking the white wine and go to red ;-)


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Nice wine rack!


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I'd either shorten the stretches so the shoulder of the bottle rested against the cutout for the neck or put a stop in front of the cork as previously suggested. Or- You could put a wrap of duct tape around each level to stop the bottles from sliding forward. I think it would work better than universal Carlin glue ;-))


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Many good ideas but I think I would add another piece of oak in back of the bottles acting as a stop and add one About 3/4" in back of the front section to lesson the span but just high enough to hit the bottom of the "U" shape in the front,then you could put a strip of shelf liner on the front backer piece to help prevent bottle movement.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

Thank you all … as always 

I'm leaning toward the "rip the thing apart and do it right" model-you know: the one I asked not to do.

For the moment, though, I'm going to try *Sharon*'s sticky drawer liner idea. I know that product. I *have* that product. It's what I use to keep stock from moving when I sand or use the router, freehand. Cheap, and readily available.

If that works, and I can get away with building new stuff … instead of fixing old stuff … I'd rather.

*beewood*: GOOD eyes. I notice that in the picture, too. Luckily, the piece has long since been sanded and finished. I think it was a combo of feed rate and stock Bosch blade. The Forrester WWII knows better than to do that.

Incidentally:

a) Thank you to all you drinkers for so willingly identifying yourselves 

b) The wine rack IS almost always empty … er … due to consumption issues. Oddly, our friends never take the hint, and buy us more.

So … yeah … if I can get away with the stopgap fix, I'm gonna'. If it doesn't work, I slice the thing down the long dimension, take out a chunk, and half-lap it back together.

Promise 

Thanks again. Regardless of the occasional dust-ups around here, it really IS a great community !


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## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

Don't know if anyone above mentioned but, you are supposed to keep the cork moist (at least that was the wisdom of the day back in the day especially with reds) . That's why the design was like that probably. Maybe some no slip material would help though…


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## Bothus (Sep 14, 2009)

Hey Neil,

I like how you dressed your wine rack up for Halloween!

Jerry


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## PeteJacobsen (Feb 11, 2008)

The front-to-back distance is too great. Shorten the four side pieces, and the bottles will not be able to slip through.


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Just so you're aware, shortening the front-to-back distance will make that angle even steeper.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

*JJohnston*: it's too early for geometry, but … of course, you're right.

If I shorten the distance, it surely doesn't mean I won't still need the sticky stuff or the front-mounted stop rail.

I should just donate the darned thing to the Salvation Army, let somebody else monkey with it, and add a better design to my "to-build" list.

As Fred Flintstone used to say: Muss'n fuss'n, brick'n brack'n ….. :-/


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

you can also remove ~1" off of the *bottom* of the *back feet*, and ~1" off of the *top* of the *front legs* to remove that tilt in the bottles and make it a tilted wine rack (Against the wall) - then after a bottle or 2 I swear it'll look straight!


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## rivergirl (Aug 18, 2010)

Actually Purples photo insertion above gave me an idea. The non skid stuff that is for placemats and under carpets is well NON slip. It comes in a million colors and is very easy to cut and apply. I have used that stuff for all kinds of things. I bet you could just cut thin slivers of that stuff, in a neutral color and put it in those cradles (instead of inner tube rubber). The bottles cover it up anyway. It is cheap, and easy to cut and apply.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

*Sharon*: LOL !

I actually did consider the cut-down method, but … that's really getting ghetto ;-)

*rivergirl*: yup. That was the idea behind that sticky mat stuff. I think that IS the short-term solution. If it works, then it automatically becomes the long-term solution, too.

I can only imagine if I had built this when I lived in San Diego-you know-earthquake territory :-O


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

I would just creat a narrower piece like the neck sits into and turn it upside down and attach it to the existing neck rest to creat a hole for the bottle neck rather than a slot.


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

if your going to start getting ghetto here, LOL how about laying a bead of silicone caulking spread to form a thin layer and let cure no slip grip.


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## traupmann (Oct 8, 2010)

If you cut the sides perpendicular to the line of the center of the bottles, then spline them back together, you can 'enhance' the sides with this 'z' pattern and a wine bottle inlay, thereby shortening and beautifying the structure in one fell swoop.


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## traupmann (Oct 8, 2010)

OOPs I forgot to add that you'd have to shorten the back legs, or put a foot pad under the front. Someone along here said the it is not a mistake, it is an enhancement…


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## joseph05 (Oct 30, 2012)

Hi everyone
Thanks for sharing information.Wood wine racks provide best storage media for storing and displaying wine bottles cheaply. Wood wine racks are very easy to assemble, sturdy in nature and look very attractive. The racks also double up as table top for keeping all wine accessories.


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## Christophret (Dec 2, 2012)

*"I would just creat a narrower piece like the neck sits into and turn it upside down and attach it to the existing neck rest to creat a hole for the bottle neck rather than a slot."

-Wayne - Plymouth MN*

Honestly, the best solution I've read yet.

Or… A few well placed dowels. 2 under each bottle to act as a support if the bottles slip out of the cradles.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Super glue the bottles in place. I think John Ormsby has the best solution, shorten the side rails so the front grooves catch the neck before the rear of the bottle clears the back support.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Was this designed by the same aerospace engineers who sent the Mars ship with calculations done in feet and inches instead of metric?


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## knockknock (Jun 13, 2012)

Maybe runswithscissors has a point, 1970 was before the US beverage industry went metric


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## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Use the next size of bottle..go from one litre/quart to 2 litre size


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I think the bottles are all either 750 ml or 1.5 liter now.

BTW, anybody notice this is a TWO YEAR OLD thread.


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## Christophret (Dec 2, 2012)

I blame the wine….


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

crank…old thread indeed…happens here I guess (I blame google since people doing a search for design might actually find that old post…or if you are a Democrat, blame George Bush).

I built one out of scraps a few weeks ago. standard bottles are about 2 3/4 in diameter, magnums add an inch.

As long as part of the cork stays wet, it all stays wet (from what I read) so that decline is a little "harsh" (forget that cork is going the way of the dinosaur on wines).

Without tearing the piece apart, I would preserve the front but add stretchers a few inches from the back to catch the bottles if they want to slide forward


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