Wood covered kegerator build

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BigPatBrewer

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After finally getting a kegerator off craigslist, I have decided to spruce(or rather pine) it up with some wood. The plan is to build a new tap tower and side panels out of wood. I am using pine since I'm on a budget. For the top, I plan on using 1x4 pine for the border with a piece of penny covered plywood for the center. After it is all done I will float in some epoxy over the pennies. For the side panels, I am going to use 1x4 for the border with tongue and groove in the center. I'm still up in the air about what to do for a drip tray. The goal is to have no unfinished edges. Ill keep updating with pictures as I go.

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That will look great! Just started a keezer conversion and am thinking about putting wood ply on the sides to spruce it up. Stained redwood ply, liquid nails right to side of the freezer. Only started the collar today

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subscribed. I'm interested to see this one come together. theres plenty of keezer build threads, but not many people putting a nice dress on a kegerator (which im considering doing myself)
 
More pics of the tap tower. I'm on the fence about staining the main section darker. I am also thinking about putting a 2" section between the tap section and the top. Maybe with another band of molding. What do you guys think? The clamp on top is for weight to hold the parts together. The sections aren't glued yet.

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I think I like it.

I definitely like the contrasting light and dark sections. IMHO, I'd stain the lighter woods an oak or maybe even maple color and try to get them to match as close as you can.

Only thing I don't care for, and please take this in the friendly constructive manner in which I intend it, is the dark colored piece on top needs to be shaped to look more like it's part of the design. Being square like that it just sorta looks slapped on. I don't know what sort of woodworking equipment you have access to, but with a table saw and a router it wouldn't be much work to custom cut a piece that would really match the shape of that top section really well.

I like the direction you're going, but I would suggest that one tweak.
 
Thanks for the input. I am doing this with a handsaw and a circular saw. I am a pretty crappy carpenter by admission. As far as the top piece, I know what you mean. That is why I had thought of putting another small section above the taps to break it up. It is the same as the bottom piece and I though some symmetry would be nice to kinda frame it. In any case, I'm gonna play around with a few more things and see what I come up with. The main section already has 2 coats of stain on it. I think I need to go with something darker as well. We will see. Cheers!
 
Do you guys think this makes it look more fluid and less slapped on? If not I am going to make a spacer section. This thing is starting to get pretty tall though.

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it looks like an owl when the faucets aren't on there

It does...

There's an idea... Go with that. Throw something that looks like wings on the side. Get a couple tap handles made to represent the pointy ears.... :)

It definitely looks much better the way you have it now.

And the cool thing about a DIY project is that you know exactly what it takes to change it up later. If you happen to get a different idea, more funds, better tools, or whatever down the road, you can always tweak it.

As far as I'm concerned as long as it's capable of pouring a cold, tasty double IPA it's awesome in my book. Hell, my kegerator is still in the "shopping for cheap parts" stage, so I'm a bit envious of what you already have put together.
 
I don't know about putting wings on it haha. It looks a lot less owl-like with the faucets installed. I think I'm gonna go with it this way so I can continue on. Thanks for all the input!
 
Well, I made a little more progress. I got all of the side border pieces cut and have one side panel almost done. It just needs a little more sanding and wood putty before I stain it.

I went to price out the copper tubing for the tap tower and was blown away. The only box of soft copper I could find at home depot was over $100. So maybe I'll try the blower fan option. For now I'm just gonna use some pipe insulation around the lines.

Here is an update pic of the side panel:

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I went to price out the copper tubing for the tap tower and was blown away. The only box of soft copper I could find at home depot was over $100. So maybe I'll try the blower fan option. For now I'm just gonna use some pipe insulation around the lines.

Check out Naughton's plumbing. Cheapest source of soft copper I've found in town.
 
I'll definitely have to check out Naughton's for the copper.

Here are some new pics. It is coming along well. The side and front panels are done. I drilled pilot holes to attach the top panel to the side panels. I drilled some 3/8" holes halfway through and am using wood plugs to cover the screws. For the drip tray, I just bent the tray out of a 8x12 shingle from Home Depot for $0.98. The best part is that it is thin enough to cut with scissors. I am using a register cover for the tray cover. My custom drip tray cost a total of $15!

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Here are some pics of the stained panels, the one with the trim piece came out too light. I plan on staining it darker. I might even stain it ebony. I used pre-stain conditioner so the stain isn't getting as dark as I'd hoped. The last pic is the rack I made to sit at the bottom of the kegerator to protect it's finish.

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The last post has an older date but I added pics just a couple days ago. I should have more pics to upload this weekend.
 
Here are a couple update pics. I test fitted everything and now I just need to sand a couple parts to fit and stain the top border piece. Then I can move forward with assembly.

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A few update pics. I just have a few things left:
-Install all the wood inlay plugs
-Polyurethane the whole thing
-Finish tops of tap handles
-Pour epoxy over pennies on the top part
-Install front door latches
-Finish installing the rest of the beverage lines and plumb tap tower
-Drink beer!

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How did you join the corners for your panel frames? Did you use a biscuit joiner? Also, how did you attach the insides of your panels to the panel frames?
 
very nice look. I hope to start my own wood cover soon out of scrap dock wood from this last hurricane. +1 for the pennies too. I was raised to hunt wheat backs.
 
How did you join the corners for your panel frames? Did you use a biscuit joiner? Also, how did you attach the insides of your panels to the panel frames?

Since I only had very simple tools and no biscuit joiner,I joined the frame pieces with liquid nails. The inner panel was screwed to the frame which really helped tie it all together.
 
:mug:
Wondering if you have any finished pictures yet ..I'm starting an upright conversion ..and I'm wondering if putting wood sides on is easy or hard. I might just use some appliance paint on it ..and give is a "custom" look that way. Anyone have any good Ideas (I might use them ..if I have your permission)
 
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