My Frigidaire Keezer - Birdseye
 

Update: I finished my new chalkboard and included the custom pint glasses that my wife gave me for Father's Day.


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mwinter66/K1.jpg


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mwinter66/C1.jpg


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mwinter66/B1.jpg



Thanks to Quaffer for his build and my inspiration. Thanks to others that have answered various questions and supplied tips. This is built from the black Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft freezer that I bought at Lowe's over the summer. It sat in my basement until about a month ago. I did not realize how much time it would take to build it the way that I envisioned. However, it's been a lot of work and a lot of fun. As a woodworker (hobbyiest), I wanted the wood portions of the build to stand out, so I selected a thin skin (1/8") birdseye maple to wrap the 2x10 (cut down to 8.5") collar. I also turned my own tap handles. Originally, I turned 4 from cocobolo, but then realized that I wanted 1 to stand apart for the single soda line, so I turned another one from figured maple.


Not employing a tap tower, I wanted to get the height of the keezer to a comfort level for pouring, so I built a base and installed 3" casters. I didn't want to see the casters, so I inset them.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Keezerbase.jpg


I wanted to further strengthen the base, so I attached some braces. You can see how I inset the casters so that they could swivel and just clear the maple base trim.

Here is how it stands.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Keezerbase.jpg


Next up, turning my tap handles on my Jet mini lathe.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...66/4Handle.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...6/5-Handle.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...6/6-Handle.jpg


Finished sanding with 400 grit, Used some EEE Ultrashine and Shellawax (thanks Joe). Next, I drilled the handle to insert the chrome ferrule and stud.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...6/7-Handle.jpg



Here's the birdseye maple I bought off Ebay. Beautiful figure. I bought enough to wrap all 4 sides, but I only did the front and sides since the back will be against the wall.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...seye-Maple.jpg

Clamp up with glue.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...seye-Maple.jpg

I wanted to hide the pink foam insulation that I plan to adhere to the inside collar and I still had enough height on the 1/8" birdseye maple veneer, so I added a maple top frame to the exact width of the interior foam board. I then took my trim router and flushed up the edge of the veneer to the maple frame. It will give it more of a finished look in my opinion.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...aple-Frame.jpg



Sanding the surface to prepare for several coats of Minwax Polycrylic Gloss. I choose a water soluble finish to preserve the true color of the maple. I chose gloss to keep the finish clear and then I polished the coats through 600 grit by hand. I needed to put down the power tools once the coats have been applied or I'd run the risk of melting through the polycrylic.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...g-Birdseye.jpg


After making a jig to drill out the tap shank holes (2.25" down and 4" on center) and the opening for the Love TS-13010 temperature controller, I made another clamp jig so I could put downward pressure on the collar after I applied the hi-tech clear caulk to the surface. I just screwed in the screws to apply downward pressure until the caulk dries.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ing-collar.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ing-collar.jpg


While the caulk is drying, I attached my aluminum brackets (hand cut and drilled from .75" aluminum angle iron). This baby is not going to budge! I plan to run another thin clear bead on the outside edge once I've removed the clamps.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ide-collar.jpg


Next up wiring, installing the shanks, regulators, and insulation. Hope you enjoy the build so far.

Updated 4/17/11.

As you can see, I used a high pressure hose line with a separate high pressure regulator separate from my CO2 tank (15 lb.) to save space.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Regulators.jpg


Those secondary regulators made by Micromatic allow me to dial in independent pressure to each keg. I used thin sheet of insulation behind the regulators to further save space.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Regulators.jpg


I used a White Labs yeast vial filled with water for my temperature probe. I drilled a hole in the cap, inserted the probe, and sealed the hole with silicone,

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Temp-probe.jpg


This picture shows how I mounted my temperature probe in the corner in a wooden block. A magnet mounted into the bottom of the wooden block secures it in place. I have a fan mounted also held by a magnet and I can shut it off with the switch (picture above) when I open the keezer. The fan runs when the compressor kicks on. The Eva Dry 500 dessicant unit will help with condensation.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...-dessicant.jpg


The stainless steel drip drip is held by three L brackets which I painted with a crackle finish gloss paint. It looks a little grayish in the picture, but it matches the freezer finish very well.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...-Drip-tray.jpg

Updated 4/17/11.


Front shot. Soda tap on the right.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...ezer-front.jpg


Top shot. I added SS trim bars around the top edge and a thick black rubber drying matt for my glasses.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Keezer-top.jpg


Here's a profile shot that shows the birdseye maple figure pretty well.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...r-close-up.jpg



I have 1 keg conditioning a House Ale. I have 1 keg of root beer under pressure in the keezer. Next up, is an IPA and I plan to rotate a seasonal. This keezer easily fits 4 kegs. I could have done 5, but I need some room for my fan, temperature probe, and Eva Dry unit.

I hope you like it!!!!

Nice build, that maple looks real classy. Quick questions, where did you get the chrome ferrule and stud hardware for your tap handles?

That looks beautiful. But man, I could think of plenty of other projects to have used that birdseye on! I can't imagine what that piece of stock cost!

Not as much as you think. I got three sheets (9x45") for $38.00. I only used a little less than 2 sheets. So, I have one more full sheet and another 9" piece to use on other projects. I think it was well served on this project IMO. :D

well if you're going to throw that out there, at least let me know where you got it! I have a hall table I've been waiting to build, because I hadn't found stock with the figure in it that I wanted!! :D

<---- Jealous