No Products in Your Cart
Under-Cabinet Wine Glass Rack[4/4 · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 glass racks
Shop Black Walnut 4/4 · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak (QS)
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
Hang your stemware under a kitchen or bar cabinet and free up a whole shelf. Each rack is five T-shaped rails: a wide bottom strip with a narrow spacer glued on top. The glass foot slides into the channel and the bowl hangs below. One 2ft pack makes two racks, each with 4 rows.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom strips | 10 | Boards 1–5, two each | 11" × 3⅛" × ¾" | 11" × 2⅝" × ⅞" |
| Spacers | 10 | Boards 1–5, two each | 11" × ¾" × ¾" | 11" × ¾" × ⅞" |
| Rails, after glue-up (5 per rack) | 10 | 1 bottom + 1 spacer each | 11" × 3⅛" × 1½" tall | 11" × 2⅝" × 1¾" tall |
Rails: a ¾" spacer glued on top of each bottom strip — centred on the 3 middle rails, flush with the outside edge on the 2 outside rails. Long grain to long grain.
Mounting: 3 #8 × 1¼" screws per rail up through counterbores into the cabinet bottom, pre-drilled.
Spacing: 1" stem slot between bottom strips, set with scrap spacer blocks.
Finished size: Each rack, S4S: 19⅝" W × 11" D × 1½" tall, rows 4⅛" apart, foot channel 3⅜" wide · S2S: 17⅛" W × 11" D × 1¾" tall, rows 3⅝" apart, foot channel 2⅞" wide.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 2ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 30 × #8 × 1¼" flat-head screws (15 per rack)
- ⅜" wood plugs (optional, for the counterbores)
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square) — with a stop block
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- ⅜" brad-point or Forstner bit (counterbores)
- ⅛" roundover bit or sanding block
- 4–6 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first, and finish ⅞" thick instead of ¾". No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 23½"/47½" long with ¼" to square an end, 4" wide, ¾" thick · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean), ⅞" 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
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Check the cabinet. Each rack is 11" deep and 19⅝" wide. Measure the cabinet bottom: it should be at least ⅝" thick solid wood or plywood. Thinner or particleboard? See the FAQ.
- 2 Rip the boards. Rip a ¾" spacer strip off one edge of every board with a push stick. The rest of the board, 3⅛" wide, is the bottom strip.
- 3 Crosscut. Cut every strip into two pieces at 11", using a stop block — 10 bottoms and 10 spacers. Five of each make one rack.
- 4 Glue up the rails. Six rails get the spacer centred on the bottom strip, 1 3/16" in from each edge. Four get the spacer flush with one edge — these are the outside rails, one left and one right per rack. Glue and clamp, ends flush. Long grain to long grain, so the joint is strong. Leave overnight.
- 5 Ease the edges. Round over the long edges of each bottom strip with sandpaper or a ⅛" roundover bit so stems slide in easily. Sand 120 → 180 → 220.
- 6 Drill the rails. From the bottom face, drill three ⅜" counterbores on the centre line of each spacer — 1" from each end and one in the middle — ¾" deep. That leaves ¾" of wood under each screw head. Drill a pilot through the rest.
- 7 Finish. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or water-based poly before you mount the rails. Let it cure.
- 8 Mount the outside rail. Hold one outside rail under the cabinet, spacer at the outside, front ends flush with the cabinet front. Pre-drill into the cabinet bottom (tape a depth stop on the bit at ½") and drive three #8 × 1¼" screws.
- 9 Mount the rest. Set the next rail with two 1" scrap spacers between the bottom strips and screw it up. Repeat across: three centre rails, then the other outside rail. Each rack gets 4 rows; slide the glasses in from the front, foot up.
S2S Lumber Pack
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). S2S boards finish ⅞" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Check the cabinet. Each rack is 11" deep and 17⅛" wide. Measure the cabinet bottom: it should be at least ⅝" thick solid wood or plywood. Thinner or particleboard? See the FAQ.
- 3 Rip the boards. Rip a ¾" spacer strip off one edge of every board with a push stick. The rest of the board, 2⅝" wide, is the bottom strip.
- 4 Crosscut. Cut every strip into two pieces at 11", using a stop block — 10 bottoms and 10 spacers. Five of each make one rack.
- 5 Glue up the rails. Six rails get the spacer centred on the bottom strip, 15/16" in from each edge. Four get the spacer flush with one edge — these are the outside rails, one left and one right per rack. Glue and clamp, ends flush. Long grain to long grain, so the joint is strong. Leave overnight.
- 6 Ease the edges. Round over the long edges of each bottom strip with sandpaper or a ⅛" roundover bit so stems slide in easily. Sand 120 → 180 → 220.
- 7 Drill the rails. From the bottom face, drill three ⅜" counterbores on the centre line of each spacer — 1" from each end and one in the middle — 1" deep. That leaves ¾" of wood under each screw head. Drill a pilot through the rest.
- 8 Finish. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or water-based poly before you mount the rails. Let it cure.
- 9 Mount the outside rail. Hold one outside rail under the cabinet, spacer at the outside, front ends flush with the cabinet front. Pre-drill into the cabinet bottom (tape a depth stop on the bit at ½") and drive three #8 × 1¼" screws.
- 10 Mount the rest. Set the next rail with two 1" scrap spacers between the bottom strips and screw it up. Repeat across: three centre rails, then the other outside rail. Each rack gets 4 rows; slide the glasses in from the front, foot up.
Why glue the spacer to the bottom strip? Both pieces run grain the same way, so the glue line is long grain to long grain and as strong as the wood. Each rail goes up as one solid T.
Why the counterbores? A 1¼" screw can't reach through both layers of a rail. The counterbore sinks the head so the screw holds ¾" of spacer and bites ½" into the cabinet bottom — without poking through into the cabinet.
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
- Bar caddy: make a 2-rail rack for a single row of glasses under an open shelf or a bar cart.
- Front stop: glue a thin strip across the back ends of the slots so glasses can't slide off the back on a cabinet with no back wall.
- Match the cabinets: paint the rails the cabinet colour and oil only the bottom faces.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Rip the ¾" spacers with a push stick or on a bandsaw. Never feed a narrow strip by hand.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Hold each rail with a helper or a prop stick while you screw it up. Check every screw is tight before you load glass, and keep heavy glassware and decanters off the rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
The foot slides into a 3⅜" channel on the S4S rack and a 2⅞" channel on the S2S rack, so check your glass foot. Rows are 4⅛" (S4S) or 3⅝" (S2S) apart. Bowls wider than that clear each other if you stagger them front to back. Expect about 12 wine glasses per rack, or 16 flutes.
Drive the screws down from inside the cabinet instead: pre-drill through the cabinet bottom into the centre of each spacer and use #8 × 1¼" screws. They bite into solid hardwood, not the cabinet.
It is built for glasses only — about 4 lb per rack when full. Fifteen screws per rack carry that with plenty to spare.
Planned offcuts only: about 1" off the end of every strip. All 5 boards go into the racks.
Yes. A 4ft pack makes four racks: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice. Or cut the rails at 22" for two deep racks under a peninsula or open shelf.
