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g8tor · 06-29-2011, 02:07 PM

First of all thanks to everyone who has shared their builds on this forum. I have read a lot of them and learned a lot. The biggest influence for this build came from Hoppopotomus and his knotty pine build and Jester and his keezer build. And I owe a big thanks to my uncle who owns a cabinet shop in Apache Junction AZ who helped me put all this together. If I were building this myself I would have went with a collar. But since I had the help of a professional I went with the Jester style keezer. I first bought a Kenmore 8.8 cu ft chest freezer from Sears. I had a gift card and with the freezer on sale it ended up costing me about $150. I purchased the Perlick Perl Forward Sealing Faucet (525SS) from Austin Homebrew Supply while they were on sale. I think they were $22. The drip tray came from barproducts.com. The rest of the stuff came from my local brew store, The Home Brewery. We wanted to leave 3 inches of space around the freezer to help keep it cool. Since I didn’t bring the freezer with me to my uncles shop (I live in Missouri) we went with the measurements from the web page which I think took into account the hinges because we had a few extra inches from front to back.

We started out by framing the base to go around the freezer. The bottom is plywood while the front and sides are oak veneered mdf.

We placed a couple of pieces of plywood across the back to give it some more support. Here is picture of one of them going in. Both boards were actually permanently placed after I got home and put the freezer in. These boards also help keep the freezer from sliding or tipping back when I open the lid because of the support lifts I installed. More on that later though.

I installed some coasters I originally purchased for a different project from Lowes or Home Depot a few years back. The extra holes you see for the wheels are where the wheels were originally before I realized the measurements for the freezer weren’t exactly right. When I started looking at the lid in comparison to the base I was building, the base was huge. That’s when I guessed that the measurements on the web page must have included the hinges and I also included 3 inches on the back of the freezer which I don’t need since the back is going to be mostly open. So I trimmed off about 4 inches off the back and repositioned the wheels.

I then framed the front and sides with oak and glued them on. I then added some moulding for the panel detail.

g8tor · 06-29-2011, 02:58 PM

This is the side

I then started working on the lid. I originally wanted to save the lid and construct a completely new lid in case I ever wanted to convert the freezer back to a plain old freezer. But after going through all this work and expense I figured I probably never would want to do that so I went forth with attaching the lid to a piece of plywood. I first opened the lid to see where all the wires were.

I then modified a piece of scrap shelving to fit under the plastic so when I bolted the lid to the plywood it would be more solid. I routed the edges and cut out holes for the wire connections.

I then put everything back together making sure the wires were all out of the way.

I then attached the modified lid to a piece of plywood using four carriage bolts.

**Hoppopotomus** · 06-29-2011, 03:39 PM

Nice work!!!! This thing is going to be awesome. Keep the pics. coming, because I can't wait to see the final product. Good luck with the ramainder of the build and let me know if I can help in any way. The craftmanship is superb....I wish I had a family member that was a cabinet maker. Glad my build provided a little inspiration for your build. Keep us posted!

g8tor · 06-29-2011, 04:37 PM

I've run into a couple of problems that I'm hoping you or someone here can help me with. But I'll get into those after I've posted the rest of the build.

Scott

g8tor · 06-29-2011, 04:47 PM

I next started working on the tower. I first framed the front.

Then I attached the sides.

I then drilled the holes for the taps and attached a front panel recessed in about an inch so I could I my rope light that I'm installing later

g8tor · 06-29-2011, 04:57 PM

More pictures of the tower. The guy on the left with the hat is my uncle and I'm the goofy looking one on the right. I was really happy with the way this was turning out.

The next picture I was wanting to see how the drip tray was going to look.

I then added a panel on the back with a piano hinge so I could easily get access to the taps

I also added some oak trim around the edge of the counter top.

JackCrank · 06-29-2011, 07:52 PM

That's gorgeous man. Beautiful work.

**Hoppopotomus** · 06-29-2011, 08:24 PM

Holy hell....the precision and craftmanship on your build puts mine to shame! I guess that's why I went with the "rustic look", so I could hide my "craftsmanship" with logs & stone. Your coffin set up is looking really familiar.

Nice work and keep the pics. coming. What problems are you running into?

**rekoob** · 06-29-2011, 11:22 PM

very nice build... can't wait to see the finished product.

**Reno_eNVy** · 06-29-2011, 11:28 PM

That's fantastic! Looks excellent.

Even though I'm going to feel like an idiot I have to ask: how did you do those screw wells? Is there a tool to start it or are you just that awesome?