Scavenger Chic

Railroad Spike Wine Rack diy

• By Joan
• September 21, 2015
• 11 Comments

Back in March I shared with you my coat rack made from old railroad spikes. At the time, I wanted to make another project from the railroad spikes and I eventually settled on a wine rack.   Back to  the salvage yard to get 2 very old pieces of wood, 2 inches thick, 8 inches wide, and over 8 feet tall.  They weren’t quite the same, the top one was much heavier and had a darker finish, but since they were the same width and thickness, they would do just fine.

If you don’t have a supply of railroad spikes check out the listings on Ebay, most of the railroad spikes go for about a dollar or less.

Now to decide the spacing and the placement of the wood and the spikes.

Before just drilling holes and nailing spikes, I did a test board, the same width as my backing.  This was a test to see if the wine bottle would just fly off the rack if the spikes were not level.  While the bottle didn’t just fly off, it wasn’t secure enough that I would trust it. 

Next test, the spikes are level and the bottle seems much more secure.  Can still have the bottle slightly tilting down by placing the spike in the neck of the bottle.

The boards were cut the total measurement of floor to ceiling.  Why not stop at the baseboard?…you ask.  I’m so glad you asked, ok, maybe you didn’t…but this is how the wine rack would just stick out from the wall 2 inches. Kind of odd.

If you went over top of the baseboard then the wine rack would not sit flush with the wall.

In order to go to the floor and sit flush, you’re going to have to notch out the wine rack on the back.

These cut lines were made by just running a circular saw back and forth adjusted for the depth of the baseboard.

Once the lines are cut, it’s extremely easy to knock out the excess wood with a hammer and chisel.

Back on the front, the boards were kind of rough, so went over them quickly with my hand sander…

…followed by a coat of dark wax, painted on and rubbed off and the boards are now closer to the same color.

Now for placing the wine bottles…with chalk, I marked a line the length of the boards 1  1/2″ from the sides.  This will be the line that the spikes are nailed.

When the spikes are 7 inches apart, this is how close the bottles will be.  They fit, but Kevin would need an awful lot of bottles to fill the rack…not that he would mind (The sideways spikes are just there to keep the bottles from rolling away while I do my testing)

This is how close the bottles would be at 10 inches apart. Ten inches it is!

With a L-square, marked where each of the holes will go.  The L-square keeps the holes level.

A 5/8″ drillbit is perfect for predrilling the spike holes.  Don’t drill all the way through or the spike could get loose, you want it to be tight when hammering.

For in between the boards I decided to use a rusty sheet of iron.  This is the first look you’re getting at one of two tools my sons gave me for my birthday, an angle grinder. It may seem like an odd present, but I had a few pieces of odd shaped metal around and no way to cut them. The other tool was a mini kreg jig.  My sons love me. 😉 

Actually the piece of rusty metal is another present but that’s another story.  If you would like to read about that scavenging adventure, you can find it here.

Just start hammering your spikes. The inside spike is tilted in slightly to match the neck of the bottle.

Didn’t have a car big enough this weekend to haul it down to son #2’s house. Hopefully next weekend.  I’m sure he’ll love it! Of course he’d love it even more if we stocked it. Pretty sure that’s not going to happen.

If I ever get there I’ll be sure to take pictures.

I almost forgot…for attaching to the wall, I have 8 bolts, 2 for each top and bottom and construction adhesive for the metal. Now you’re ready to go and make that wine cellar.

For one more railroad spike project, check out the coat rack.  Super simple project with lots of impact!

Update: As promised this is how the wine rack looks in my sons dining room today. 

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