Wine Bars get improved wall bracket

I have been installing more Wine Bars in the past few weeks, and I'm happy to report that all of the installations are doing fine, and they look great!  I have made one design improvement, however: I added a 1/16" thick sheet of fine cork to the back of the wall bracket, where the bracket meets the wall.

This improvement is part of an ongoing pursuit of "heirloom quality" for all of Wine on Deck's products.  While I have seen plenty of wall-mounted products, from mirrors to wine racks to shelves, I haven't seen many products that combine good looks with long-lasting mounting systems.  I'm proud that the Wine Bar has achieved this difficult balance.  But there is always more room for improvement.  After all, heirloom quality might mean a product life of 150 years.  But it could also mean a product that lasts for 1,000 years, or more.  I strive for my creations to last as long as possible.

could hollow wood tubes be a part of the next product from Wine on Deck?

One great thing about plywood and veneer is bendability.  Veneers are easy to bend, relative to steam bending solid wood, and the finished piece can be very strong.  Another great thing about plywood?  Manufacturers are beginning to make pre-fab shapes for builders, eliminating the bending step of a project altogether.  One such shape is the hollow wood tube.  Made en masse in a plywood factory, pre-fab wood tubes are perfectly round, have strong seams, and have clean veneered surfaces. 

Since I make wine racks, and I'm looking for a good design for a counter-top wine rack, I took a special interest when I became aware of the existence of wooden tubes. 

One maker is R.J. Woodworking.  Another is Lenderink.  Both suppliers make tubes from very narrow to very wide, so you can make anything from a soda straw to a Greek column. 

Obviously, working with veneered wooden tubes will present challenges.  One challenge in particular jumps out at me: drilling through a tube at an angle, or off-center.  Once my samples arrive, I will begin exploring milling techniques, and I will report my findings here on the blog. 

New Video: the Wine Bar Video Tour

I am so happy about my new Wine Bars, I want to tell the world!  But I'll settle for a YouTube video...

Here is my second YouTube video - the Wine Bar Video Tour.  It's another narrated slideshow, telling all about how I make Wine Bars, their design, and how they can be used to solve all sorts of wine-related challenges in your home or business. 

It's available on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/rN_Skx1jx3A

and also embedded in this post, here: