Wooden 6-Pack Gifts

Erik Post!

This year for Christmas I decided to build wooden 6-pack holders for the guys in our family. The initial plan was to build just 3, but quickly the Christmas Spirit took over and that number quickly grew to 7 (6 gifts, 1 for me).

I found a plan online and made a couple small modifications to increase the durability and style.  These 6-pack holders are made of hickory with a poplar handle.  I ordered the hickory from an online company and the project started with 7 boards each measuring 5-6 inches wide, 4 feet long and 13/16 inches thick.

 

The most challenging part of this process was milling down the 1 inch thick boards to 1/4 inch thickness to make the side rails and the inserts.  It took a lot of time on the jointer and planner to make all the different pieces.

 

After milling, cutting and sanding, I was left with 7 bottoms, 14 sides, 28 side pieces, 21 inserts and 7 handles.  I felt like I was sanding for a week!  Before assembly I had names and wings laser engraved to personalize each 6-pack.  Thanks for "Sea Fog" Greunke in my squadron for the amazing job.

  

After a sample stain on my 6-pack I decided to finish the rest of the 6-packs with a couple coats of a simple tung oil finish to display the natural beauty of the hickory.

 

And here you have the final product.  I only have pictures of these 2 since the other 5 are in the mail and/or under Christmas trees as we speak.  I hope everyone enjoys these as much as I did making them.  Merry Christmas everyone!