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Wine Bottle Tote[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 wine totes + 1 opener plaque
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A solid hardwood carrier for four bottles of wine, with a dowel handle on top. Two wide boards glue up into the bases, two more make the tapered uprights, and the last board gives the centre dividers plus a matching bottle-opener plaque. Each bottle sits in a shallow pocket so nothing rattles. One pack makes two totes: keep one, gift one with a bottle in every slot.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base pieces | 4 | Boards 1–2, two each | 11" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Bases (glued pairs) | 2 | Two pieces each | 11" × 11" × 1¾" |
| Uprights (tapered, round top) | 4 | Boards 3–4, two each | 11" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Dividers | 2 | Board 5, 4" strip | 7½" × 4" × 1¾" |
| Bottle-opener plaque | 1 | Board 5, 4" strip | 7½" × 4" × 1¾" |
| Handles (1" dowel) | 2 | Bought dowel | 12½" long |
Bases: two 11" pieces edge-glued → 11" × 11" × 1¾", with four 3½" bottle pockets ¼" deep.
Uprights to base: end grain on the base face → two ⅜" dowels (glued in their holes) and two #10 × 3" screws up from below, counterbored. No glue on the end grain.
Divider: 7½" × 4" between the uprights, two ⅜" dowels into each upright, bottom edge glued to the base (long grain to long grain) and screwed from below.
Handle: 1" hardwood dowel through 1" holes in the round tops, glued in, ¾" proud each end.
Finished size: Each tote 12½" long over the handle × 11" wide × 12¾" high. Holds four standard 750 ml bottles up to 3½" across. Weighs about 9 lb empty in walnut.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- One 36" length of 1" hardwood dowel (two 12½" handles)
- 16 × ⅜" × 2" fluted dowels
- 12 × #10 × 3" flat-head wood screws (2 per upright, 2 per divider)
- 1 cast-iron bottle opener with screws, for the plaque
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil or hardwax oil
- Felt pads
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Bandsaw or jigsaw
- Drill press with 1" and 3½" Forstner bits (or a router and pocket template)
- ⅜" brad-point bit and ⅜" dowel centres
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ½" counterbore
- 4 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Cut the parts. Square one end of each board. Cut boards 1 and 2 into two 11" base pieces each, and boards 3 and 4 into two 11" uprights each. Rip a 4" strip off board 5 and crosscut it into three 7½" pieces: two dividers and a plaque.
- 3 Glue up the bases. Edge-glue the base pieces in pairs, long grain to long grain, into two 11" × 11" bases. Use cauls, clamp and leave overnight. Scrape the glue, flatten the faces and trim the ends square.
- 4 Shape the uprights. Stack the four uprights and tape them together. Mark the centre of the top end. Draw a 1½" radius circle centred 1½" down from the top, then draw straight lines from the circle to the bottom corners. Saw outside the lines and sand the stack to the lines so all four match.
- 5 Drill the handle holes. Drill a 1" hole straight through each upright at the circle's centre, 9½" up from the bottom. Use a drill press and a backer board so the far side doesn't blow out. Check that the dowel slides in snugly.
- 6 Drill the bottle pockets. Draw a centreline down the length of each base. Mark four pocket centres: 3⅝" and 7⅜" from one end, and 2¾" each side of the centreline. Drill 3½" pockets ¼" deep with a Forstner bit in the drill press, or rout them with a template and a pattern bit. The bottles sit in these so they can't slide.
- 7 Drill for dowels and screws. Each upright stands on the base, so its end grain meets the base face. Drill two ⅜" dowel holes 1" deep in the bottom of each upright, 2" each side of centre, and transfer them to the base with dowel centres. Do the same for two dowels in each end of the divider, into the uprights. Drill two clearance holes up through the base under each upright and two under the divider, each with a ½" counterbore underneath.
- 8 Assemble. Glue goes in the dowel holes and along the divider's bottom edge, which is long grain on long grain with the base. Fit the divider between the uprights, then set all three on the base and clamp. Pilot into the upright ends and the divider, then drive #10 × 3" screws up from below — two into each part. Slide in the 12½" handle dowel, centre it, and glue it in the holes.
- 9 Sand and finish. Round over the outside edges about ⅛" and sand 120 → 180 → 220. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or hardwax oil. Stick felt pads under the base corners and in the bottom of each pocket if you like.
- 10 The plaque. Round the corners of the plaque, sand and finish it to match. Screw a cast-iron bottle opener to the face. Hang it from two keyhole slots routed in the back, or screw it to a stud through two plugged counterbores.
Why dowels and screws on the uprights? Each upright stands on its end grain, and glue won't hold end grain. The dowels are glued into their holes and stop the uprights from racking. The screws pull them down tight to the base.
Why pockets for the bottles? Four bottles in a box will knock together on every step. A ¼" pocket under each one keeps the bottoms apart, and the divider keeps the necks apart.
Why taper the uprights? A full-width 11" upright is heavy and looks blocky. The taper takes off weight where you don't need it and leaves full width at the bottom where the dowels and screws go.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Name it: burn or carve a name or a date into the upright for a wedding or housewarming gift.
- Lighter tote: plane the bases and uprights down to 1¼" before you shape them. The tote drops to about 6 lb.
- Contrast handle: use a walnut dowel in a maple tote, or the other way round.
- Second plaque: skip the opener and add a magnet behind the plaque to catch the caps.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Clamp the uprights and bases to the drill-press table for the big Forstner bits. A 3½" bit grabs hard — use the slowest speed.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Carry the tote by the handle with one hand under the base when it's full. Four bottles and the tote weigh about 20 lb.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Standard 750 ml wine bottles up to 3½" across — Bordeaux, Burgundy and most Rieslings. Champagne bottles are a bit wider; drill 3¾" pockets if you want to carry bubbly.
It's solid, about 9 lb empty in walnut. That weight keeps it from tipping when you set it down. If you want it lighter, plane the parts to 1¼" first and the sizes all still work.
Yes. Skip the pockets and it holds a four-pack of bottles or cans on each side of the divider. Add a ¼" lip strip along the base edges so they can't slide off.
Planned offcuts: about ¾" off the end of boards 1–4, and on board 5 a 1⅜" strip beside the 4" strip plus a short end. All 5 boards go into the totes and the plaque.
Yes. A 4ft wide pack makes four totes and two plaques: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice.
