Metal & Leather Wine Rack

We honestly have tons of wine storage in our apartment, but once in a while, I love having a bottle on deck for family parties or dinner events. I also feel like everything I make is based around lumber (it’s not like I’m a woodworker or anything), and I wanted to challenge myself! So, I put a lot of faith in my newbie metalworking skills and decided to try my hand at brazing together this metal and leather wine rack!

Directions

1. Secure your benchtop vice clamp to your work station. You will need this vice to help you bend your aluminum rods.
   
2. Using the vice and human strength, carefully bend your aluminum rod to create two side pieces. Check to make sure all angles are at 90 degrees with a speed square. I bent my rods so that each side piece had two 7″ legs and a 10″ center bar.
   
3. Use a miter saw to trim the rest of your rod into two 6 1/2″ cross pieces.
   
   
4. Once all of your pieces are cut, use a file to file down the sharp edges of the 6 1/2″ cross pieces and to create a groove for the brazing compound to sit.
   
5. Next, use a wire brush to clean away any residue.
   
6. Once everything has been prepped, clamp your first cross piece to the inside, bottom edge of the side piece.
   
   
7. Next, use your Bernzomatic TS4000 Torch Kit to heat the joint. As you heat the joint, rub the aluminum brazing rod alongside the two pieces. You will want the brazing rods to melt with the heat of the larger aluminum rods, not the flame. So, don’t apply the flame directly to the brazing rod. And make sure to allow the metal to cool for a while before removing it from the clamp!
   
   
8. After the first joint is brazed, repeat this step three more times until the cross piece is fully brazed to both side pieces.
   
9. After everything cools, use acetone and a rag to wipe down the aluminum.
   
10. After cleaning the metal, it’s time to create your straps! Use a scissor to trim your two leather straps to size. I cut mine to 16″ long.
    
11. Next, drill the holes for your screws to go through. I started by lining up the two ends of the leather strap, and then folded a piece over on each end and drilled through that as well.
    
     
12. Next, I threaded the Chicago screws to make sure they fit.
    
13. Once everything was aligned, I attached the leather straps to the rack.
    
    

All that was left was to add a bottle of wine and call it a day!