Cedar Bar/Keezer Build

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csamson

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
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Location
Omaha
After browsing all of the keezer and bar builds on the site for the past year or so I’ve decided to pull the trigger and finally build one. My favorite so far is definitely Hoppopotomus’s knotty pine keezer build https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/knotty-pine-cedar-log-keezer-build-223902/. The look of the cedar is absolutely amazing and the live edge on his bar is super cool. I decided to blend the 2 together.

Originally the plan was to build a straight keezer with a live edge slab of cedar and cedar siding as well. I found an 8’ slab for $250 on Craigslist that I’m going to book match to achieve the desired width. The slab is going to overhang the freezer by a few feet and I hate to ruin such a nice cut of cedar so I will be building a bar now with a space for the freezer to fit into. Scored a freezer off Craigslist for $50, it is 55.5” long x 27.5” deep and holds 9 kegs, a 20# CO2 tank, and room on the hump for bottles or a cask down the road for a beer engine. The slab will have hinges attached to the frame of the bar instead of using the freezer hinges. I figured it will be easier to move if we move out of our current house.

The draft towers are giving me the most trouble as far as design goes. I know what I want but I don’t know how to build it yet. I would like to use 1’ diameter cedar logs, maybe 2’ tall as the draft towers. 2 towers with 4 taps each. Hollow them out somehow and run the lines through the inside of the log. Then attach the log to the top of the cedar slab. I can’t figure out how to access the back of the shanks inside the log. It shouldn’t be hard to attach them before securing the tower to the slab but what if I need access to them down the road for repairs, changing beer line, etc? My only ideas so far are building a trap door on the back of the tower but would like something more hidden. I thought about cutting the top like a pumpkin but not sure how I would make that cut. It would also need to seal so my cold air isn’t escaping.

If anyone has a better idea I’m open to suggestions. Going to pick up the slab, siding and logs on Friday and want to have a more permanent design down by then. I’ll try and post pictures after work tonight as well.
 
Here's a few pictures of the cedar that I plan to use for the top slab and siding...

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I went out and bought supplies on Friday to build the tap tower, bar top and siding. I bought the book matched cedar slab for the top. It’s 8’4” (going to cut it down to 8’ after attaching the slabs) 33” wide at the thinnest point and 47” wide at the widest point. The log is 20” tall and I’m hoping I can put all 8 taps on the one log. The cedar siding is book matched as well and should add a cool effect to the side of the bar. Still not sure about what I’m going to do for the lid of the tap tower. I considered a huge band saw box. That would be ideal but have 0 woodworking tools and don’t want to spend $1k+ on a saw. Making a trip out next weekend to my uncle’s who has a ton of woodworking tools. Hopefully he has some better ideas.
I spent most of the day Saturday chiseling off the bark and sapwood for the tap tower. I want that beautiful red heartwood to stand out. There has to be a better way to do this but I’m almost done with it either way. Here are a few pictures. I also included one of the inside of the freezer and a ghetto rigged tap tower to get me through this beast of a project.

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Been busy doing work around the house and brewing on the weekends but had some time this weekend to work on the bar. Got a lot done on the tap tower. May not look like much but had to make due with a chainsaw, jigsaw, drill and orbital sander.

I used an orbital sander and 80 grit sand paper to smooth it out. Then sketched out where the taps would go on the tower to make sure that they would fit. In order to fit all 8 taps on the face of the log I needed to put 2 taps above the others. It actually turned out pretty cool. I’ll probably reserve those taps for imperial stouts or sours.

Next, I leveled out the bottom with the chainsaw and cut about 1½ inches off the top of the log for a lid. Then I started drilling down the center of the log to hollow out enough space to fit the shanks in. Used the jigsaw to clean it up a bit but it still needs some work.
The lid of the tap tower lid will swing open on a pivot made with a wooden dowel.

This week I hope to sand it up real nice and seal it with Arm-R-Seal oil and urethane topcoat.
 
Wow looks like alot of work, tower is looking sweet can't wait to see it when its finished! Keep up the good work!
 
It's been a lot more work than I originally anticipated. Probably have around 30 hours invested so far. The majority of the hard labor is done, a ton of sanding ahead of me though. If it turns out half as cool as the picture in my head it will be worth it!
 
Finished sanding with the orbital sander 80 grit, 150, then 220. Wiped it down with a tack cloth. Rubbed on Arm-R-Seal Gloss an oil/urethane mixture thinned down by about 20% with mineral spirits. Will probably do one coat per night for the next 5 or 6 nights to get a glossy finish and protection from spills on the bar. Time to start on the live edge bar top.

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I started on the frame last night. The base is finished with an insert for the chest freezer and storage space on the side which will be used for glasses or a mini fridge I’m not sure yet. I attached 6 heavy duty casters to the bottom to allow me to move it.

I need to figure out exactly how I’m going to attach the slab before building up. My best idea so far is to use a 1/2” piece of plywood to cover the entire frame like a lid, and then use door hinges to attach it to the frame. Door hinges will allow me to remove the slab if I ever need to move it. The plywood will sit flush with the top of the freezer without attaching anything to the freezer. In case the freezer craps out I’ll be able to switch it out fairly easy. When the slab is finished I will position it how I want it on top of the plywood and attach it from the bottom.

The last picture is the 2 slabs lying next to each other. Going to join them this weekend if the weather is nice.

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Thanks for the comments guys. Its going to be a work in progress for a while. I really want to get to the point where it's functional then take my time on finishing it.

Got the slabs jointed this weekend but the bisket joiner wasn't working so hopefully we can get to that some time this week. I also need to move the casters out to the edge of the frame. I found out this weekend that it will tip pretty easily when standing on the front or the back. The freezer full of kegs should have enough weight to keep it from tipping but I want to be absolutely sure before attaching the top. Way too much work to have it come crashing down when a few guys are leaning on the edge.
 
Tested the shanks and taps last night to make sure they fit. I had to cut out a bit more room in the tower but it looks like its going to work. Decided not to go with the black flanges and i think it make it look a lot cleaner as long as I can keep them tight enough it should work.

I wanted to make my own tap handles but didn't have much room to work with so I went with heavy weight chrome taps. The taps are all stainless steel perlicks; 6 of the regular 525 stainless and 2 of the 575 creamer. The shanks are the stainless 1/4" bore. I needed different lengths for the different angles on the inside of the tower in order to make it work; 2 - 5", 5 - 4" and 1 - 3". I bought all of this from kegworks.com.

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Green with envy here! Dude, that is fantastic. Brilliant! Totally going to copy this if I ever get out of school!
 
Moved the casters out as far towards the edges as possible to help with a tipping issue and built up the walls of the frame. Still need to add a cross bar on each end to add additional support and a middle wall to separate the freezer and storage sections.

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This weekend I was able to get both pieces planed down to the same height and flat. I took them out to a guy who had a 36” drum sander and it worked out pretty well. I used a hand plane to get the edges flat and matched up. Then I joined the 2 pieces together with oak dowels and wood glue. The guy at the woodworking shop had a bit that you clamp to the side of the slab basically creating a drill press for a hand drill to make holes for the dowels. I used a ton of pipe clamps to pull the 2 slabs together and will let that sit for a few days to dry.

I also got some work done on the side boards. I used a thickness planer to take each board from 5/8” to ½”. Then I sanded them down to get them smooth. I should be able to get them put on the frame sometime this week.

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I bought some heavy duty 10” hinges from HD to attach to the frame and a ply wood top that will be screwed into the cedar slab. Got the plywood top cut and hinges installed. Also, put in the middle wall but you can’t see it in the pictures. I think I’m going to go with the mini fridge in that section and hang glasses on my back wall.

I put up the side boards and they came out pretty close after doing some pushing and pulling to get them straightened out. Really happy with how they look and they should stand out even more after a coat of oil and sealer. I still need to cut off the ends to make them flush with the side.

I built the frame so that it will be able to fit out of my basement door if I ever need to move it. However, this means that the front of the freezer will overhang by about 3”. This shouldn’t be a huge problem as the top will hide it for the most part and it will be on the back of the bar. I still wanted to cover up the burn mark (got too close while making an IPA a few weeks ago!) so I used an oil rubbed bronze spray paint from HD to cover the front, about a foot on each side and the top. Finished the night with my last zombie dust from a trip to 3 Floyds.

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