DIY :: Sonoma-Cutrer Wine Crate Shelving

I was visiting my friend and client Ben Roberts, owner of The Undercurrent Restaurant in Greensboro, NC, last week and we were discussing the big screen TV he has since installed in the Wagner Room and the fact that he needed to find a storage unit for the AV equipment.

He mentioned that he needed a something that could hold all of the AV components but would fit the decor of the restaurant . . . so I suggested using wine crates. Yep, big ole wood wine crates.

Needless to say Ben LOVED the idea and provided me with 4 Sonoma-Cutrer wine crates. You KNOW I was excited at the opportunity to re-purpose the materials and build it! So off to my favorite home improvement store I went! (I couldn't have done it with out you Lowes!)

Skill level for this project is beginner.

Let's look at the list of materials you will need ::

Black & Decker Cordless Drill
1 1/4" finish nails
4 2 1/2" Corner brackets
Gorilla Wood Glue
Durham's Water Putty
1 1/4" dia. wood hole saw
4 furniture feet (the size I used is not listed on Lowes website)
4 Waddell Straight Top Plates
Flathead screwdriver
Pliers
Tape measure
Pencil
1/2" wood chisle
4 Sonoma-Cutrer wine crates

These wine crates measure 24" wide x 13 3/4" deep x nearly 9" high

First order of business is to dig out the staples along the front panel of 3 of the 4 crates. This is where you will spend the majority of your time.

Once you have dug out the staples and pulled them free with the pliers - the front panels are easy to free from the sides and bottom as there is no glue used in the construction.

I have taken the sliding shelf from the bottom crate, scored it and glued it to the bottom of the
crate for added thickness for the screw plates.

The added thickness will also add stability for weight of the rest of the boxes we will stack on top.


Score the tops and bottom edges of the crates and apply wood glue. Once the crates are nestled one on top of the other use your finish nails at an angle to secure crates together.

Take out the sliding tops to the middle two crates and set aside for a future project. Use your corner brackets to connect the tops & bottoms of crates.
*you will need 3/4" screws for the top brackets to keep them from punching through the bottom.


Be sure to measure at least 1" from the bottom of the crate up.

Because Ben will use this for housing AV equipment I have drilled holes not only for the plugs but also to vent heat created.

Mix up your water putty and mix in the saw dust from your drilling.

Cover up your gouges with your watter putty and let dry thoroughly before sanding.

And voila! I great way to re-purpose wine crates from your favorite winery!

Find the Undercurrent and Sonoma-Cutrer and Lowes on Facebook.

So . . . what fun DIY projects have you done lately?

The Writer

"A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood." -Leo Rosten

Why do you write? What motivates you to share?


-- Post From My iPhone

Positive Possee

I've been mulling over a blog post on having and maintaining a positive attitude for days now. . . and this morning it feels like it all is coming together.

Like many technophiles the first thing I do in the morning before I get my coffee is reach for my iphone and check in on the world through my social networks. Squinting at the glow of apps, twitter is always first.

It's the water cooler. The break room. The place where my friends gather to share quotes, talk about their travels and children or that favorite restaurant they love to visit. It's where I get my tech news, have a laugh and read the latest and greatest from the Oatmeal.

As I mentioned before - this morning it all came together. @tkpleslie RT'd a touching post from @BostonWriter (read the full post here) which reminded me of just how important attitude is.

Often we get overwhelmed by circumstances and get sidelined from living and enjoying the moment. If we are lamenting how things are not going this way or that way : all too often we miss the way things ARE going and the tremendous experiences and people we are encountering along the way.

Yesterday I read a post by Seth Godin : Amplifying the Lizard Brain, which briefly touches on self-sabotaging behavior. How easy it is for us to focus on that one mis-step instead of the dozens of triumphs when we roll over the days events in our mind. How frequently do we spotlight and obsess over the flaws versus the benefits. Either way you look at it your attitude is contagious.

I am a firm believer that who you are is a reflection of how you treat yourself and who you surround yourself with - so if I am going to be influenced by people . . . thank goodness for the #postivepossee that I wake up to everyday on twitter, my partner @brandonpierce, my family and of course my pup Charlie whose happiness is always contagious. :)

Abraham Lincoln once said "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Well, my mind is made up.

Did You Know 4.0

Social Networking the Night Away

Catching up with the morning tech news and I come across this statistic ::

Average Time Spent by Social Network Visitors Increases 100% to 6 Hours+ in March

Big surprise right? . . . Wrong.

as Bill Little Said in response to this article by Neilsen : The increase in usage of social media is like a tidal wave. You have to be part of it or drown.

Check out this video by Relevant Social Media full of statistics that highlight how social media is changing the way people connect.