The centerpiece of my living room - Classy Ass Keezer

So I set out to build my new keezer. This is the first large scale project I have undertaken within the hobby and pretty much in my life. Cut me some slack, I'm in college.

So I am building a nice keezer. I have always had an attraction for antique looking pieces and what not. So for my collar I knew it had to be made of distressed or salvaged wood.

I got really lucky. When I went to the lumber yard, I picked up some really nice salvaged maple! What a find in Philly?! Not the cheapest, but not out of budget either. Now I just have to sand it down and trim it up to begin construction!

Stay posted for future progress.

here is a picture of the unfinished maple!

good luck.

So already ran into my first problem! I want to do this right, being in philly and college, it is proving troublesome to find a table saw.

The salvaged pieces of maple are not straight and rectangular. So I am looking for somewhere that I can do this/get it down for free/beer trade. Fingers crossed.

Southern_Junior said:

So already ran into my first problem! I want to do this right, being in philly and college, it is proving troublesome to find a table saw.

The salvaged pieces of maple are not straight and rectangular. So I am looking for somewhere that I can do this/get it down for free/beer trade. Fingers crossed.

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Table saw and planer, if you really want to have some straight pieces of wood.

If you are in West Philly, there is a tool library you can become a member in that will allow you to borrow many of the tools they have (they have several table saws) http://www.westphillytools.org/toolsListing.php#toc3

If you aren't in the neighborhood, you can at least contact them and ask if there isn't something similar in your neighborhood they can put you in contact with

I've done woodworking for a lot of years. Maple is some hard stuff and sanding it is an exercise in patience. That said, that's some good looking wood.

jungatheart said:

I've done woodworking for a lot of years. Maple is some hard stuff and sanding it is an exercise in patience. That said, that's some good looking wood.

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luckily the wood is in pretty decent condition. I have already started sanding it down.

Thanks for the suggestion on the tool library. I'll definitely check them out.

LandoLincoln said:

Table saw and planer, if you really want to have some straight pieces of wood.

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Add a jointer to that mix and you are really working. :rockin:

maida7 said:

Add a jointer to that mix and you are really working. :rockin:

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please elaborate? I was planning on using a planer and a table saw to get the board where I need them. Then a miter to cut my angled corners. what would the jointer be for?

if you don't use the jointer the edges will be flat but not square or parallel to each other.

Planer will get consistent thickness on your boards, a joiner will fix the edges so you can get the boards to fit together tightly.

There are ways to make a thickness planer do some of the things a jointer can do but it involves shims and some real skilzzz.

If you are starting with rough sawn lumber, it's jointer, saw, planer...

Since you're just making a collar out of this, a jointer is not necessary. If you were gluing the boards together side by side to make a really wide piece of wood, then you might be concerned about it.

I would think a straight guide board and a circular say would be adequate for this project. I dont see a need for a planer either, especially if you want a distressed look.

GenIke said:

I would think a straight guide board and a circular say would be adequate for this project. I dont see a need for a planer either, especially if you want a distressed look.

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thats what I was thinking originally, but now that I have access to a planer. So there isn't a reason not to do it right.


Now, looking for some opinions. I don't know how much of the other black keezers yall have looked at, but people tend to stain their wood collars very dark. Due to the beauty of the wood, I was thinking about just using a clear satin finish. Thoughts?

will you have some scrap pieces after you cut it into the collar? If so, try a clear finish on one piece, light stain on another and dark on a third so you can see what you like.

so i know i havent posted in a while, but school got in the way. all the wood is trimmed and sanded! today i will assemble the collar.

i have decided i am simply going to wax the wood!

everything is going to happen this weekend. i am applying the wood finish now, and the grain is really popping.

Putting finish on wood is like shooting a hole in one in golf.

It instantly addicts you.

Beautiful wood.

Thank you for not ruining this beautiful wood with stain. Too often I look on these threads and see people staining woods with wonderful grain character because they want a specific color... I stained the wood of my keezer black but then it was only plain jane pine.

anyway.. This looks very nice and very well done.. Love the way the wood pops in contrast to the freezer.

with the exception of the drip tray(magnets coming tomorrow) the beauty is done!

I work in the cabinet industry and a lot of clients don't like to use the heartwood part of the maple. They want it all to be uniform in color. I like the contrast and think it looks great. Nice job.

No insulation on the inside of the collar?

Soldevi said:

I work in the cabinet industry and a lot of clients don't like to use the heartwood part of the maple. They want it all to be uniform in color. I like the contrast and think it looks great. Nice job.

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i absolutely love the contrast. ESPECIALLY THE KNOT! my buddy was asking if i was going to try and hide the knot on the back. i laughed.

TIPA0303 said:

No insulation on the inside of the collar?

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after looking at various reports, posts, and online data, i just dont see the use. a ton of hassle for little benefit.

What kind of magnets are you using for you drip tray? I'm looking for some to epoxy to mine, and want to make sure they're strong enough.

Fordzilla said:

What kind of magnets are you using for you drip tray? I'm looking for some to epoxy to mine, and want to make sure they're strong enough.

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I'll report back after they are delivered and test them out. But i ordered these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KV3Q0Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

mainly because every magnet on McMasterCARR were extremely overprices, IMO. They were cheap, shipped prime, and if they don't work out I'll return them. My other option is getting my roommate to build my hanger brackets at his steel mill job.

Thanks. I was thinking about doing a hanger bracket but magnets would look so much better.

Southern_Junior said:

after looking at various reports, posts, and online data, i just dont see the use. a ton of hassle for little benefit.

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R-value of most hard woods is about .71 per inch. That's a really poor insulator.

the wood will sweat if the temperature differential is too great..... just saying...

i understand all of this. but adding panels of insulator board is not going to make a huge improvement.

Nice work. Wish I had seen the post earlier, as I have all the tools you would have needed to straighten out your lumber and would have been happy to help.

no worries! i made it work.


happy to be finished so i can start focusing on brewing again. tackling the incorporation of a pump has proven to be tricky.