This project was built using only three hardwood pallet slats. The project spanned two days but only required about 4-5 hours of preparation and construction. The remaining time was waiting for the glue to dry. I planned the pallet slats and then sanded them relatively smooth. I then cut them to 15 inches in length and glued them together to form a single piece that measured about 9 1/2 inches by 15 inches. The pieces were clamped and allowed to dry overnight. I used pieces of wax paper to prevent the wood strips I used during the gluing/clamping process from sticking to the project part. When the piece was dry, I used a small bench hand planer to remove any glue on the front and back of the project piece. I then sanded the piece smooth with 220 grit sandpaper.
While the back of the project was drying, I used, this time, to cut and sand the remaing pieces needed for the project. The unused portions of the first three slats were used to create the box for collecting the bottle caps, the little roof, and the sign. Once all the pieces were cut, they were sanded smooth. I used a band saw to make all of the cuts required for this project including the miter cuts. The black material on the front of the bottle cap box is landscaping mesh I already had on-hand. Finally, the last thing is the opener itself. I purchased this from homewetbar.com for $4.35, but they can also be picked up at almost any home improvement store such as Home Depot or Lowes.
After I had all of the remaining pieces prepared, the next step was put them all together. I glued and clamped the bottle cap box together and let it dry. While I was waiting on that to dry I did the wood burning for the sign. Next I positioned the opener on the front of the project piece and marked it so I could drill some pilot holes for the screws. (These screws are the only fasteners of any type used in this project). I drilled pilot holes for the scews so the wood wouldn’t split when I set the screws to hold the opener in place.
Now it was time to glue the remaining parts onto the project front. I glued/clamped the box and rod into place and allowed them to dry. When I was able to remove the clamps from the roof, I fixed the sign into place. The final touch for me on this project was to countersink two holes in the main piece so it could be mounted on the wall in my friends home bar.
This was a fairly simple project and didn’t require any nails or screws with the exception of the screws holding the actual opener in place. I was very pleased with the way this turned out. (From a vague idea in my mind of what I wanted the finished project I ended up with. I can’t wait to another variation of this for a friend of mine who is a Chicago Cubs fan. Going to have fun with that one, too.
