Hickory Keezer

The last time I bottled I was almost finished when I noticed mold in the spigot of the bottling bucket between the plastic. The beer turned out fine but while I worried about it I decided to start kegging.

I did some research here and decided on a Kenmore 7.2 cu ft 18702 because it could hold four ball locks and a 5 lb tank. I modified the thermostat to hold 38 degrees and went about deciding on a design.

I searched the internet for weeks coming up with a design I liked and used SketchUp to mock it up. I had never used SketchUp so had to do a bit of internet learning but I really enjoyed the process and was able to work out design issues before cutting any wood.

I settled on Hickory because I like the look of it but had no idea how hard it is. It machines like metal and dulls blades about as fast!

My friend has all the wood working tools we needed and between the two of us we can usually figure out how to do something without screwing it up too badly. This was definitely a team project.

It's not done yet but it's close and I feel confident that it will be done soon so I decided to post. I still have a few questions that someone might be able to answer. I'll post those below.

This is how it stands today. The inlay will be patina copper. If there is enough copper left over the back splash will be patina copper too.

It is on casters so I will be able to roll it away from the wall to change kegs.



Some of the first boards cut. We paid close attention to the grain pattern though we did make one mistake when assembling (I'm not telling you what it was).



The tap board.



One of the sides. The insert is 1/4" hickory plywood. It's floating in a slot in the outside wood. The frame is glued and pocket screwed with biscuit joints to hold the alignment.



Pocket screw joint.



The box coming together. The back is just pine plywood. It will be against the wall.



The top being clamped together. We biscuit jointed the 45 degree joints. It was a serious pain to get those joints exactly flush.



The box on the base with the top and coffin sides. No trim or coffin top yet.



A closer look at the top of the coffin. That was an exercise in patience. There are a lot of angles that had to be exact and it took a whole lot of sanding.



A look at the freezer with three of four kegs.

Here's a SketchUp image. Finally figured out how to take a screenshot.


Attached the copper to the backing board yesterday. Used DAP contact cement. The can says not to use on copper but there were enough testimonials online to give me confidence it would work. It was amazingly easy to work with.



Set the copper on the bar top.

Beautiful workmanship!

One question: Do you have a way worked out to keep the beer lines between the keezer and the taps cold? If not the warm lines could lead to foaming issues.

Brew on

Thanks. I'm planning on running the lines through copper tubes from the cooler to the taps. The copper will be in foam the entire run. I'm hoping there will be enough thermal conductivity in the copper to minimize foaming.

Anyone know how much copper needs to be in the cooler to keep 14" of beer line cool?

Oberon said:

Thanks. I'm planning on running the lines through copper tubes from the cooler to the taps. The copper will be in foam the entire run. I'm hoping there will be enough thermal conductivity in the copper to minimize foaming.

Anyone know how much copper needs to be in the cooler to keep 14" of beer line cool?

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I used type L copper coil (walls are a bit thicker than the cheaper refrigeration coil) in my kegerator. Taps sit about 10" above the fridge and the copper coil starts at about 6-8" inside the fridge and runs up to the shank (fridge temp is mid to high 30s). I ran one beer line through each piece of copper (I believe it was 3/8" ID copper). That got rid of my foaming issues.

A work of art! Your friend has a very clean shop.

I've not seen much hickory furniture, but that is gorgeous.
Did you put any sort of a finish on it?
Based on that, Hickory might just be up there with Walnut as far as my favorite furniture hardwoods.

Looking good!

My plan is to do oil based polyurethane over the entire bar, including the copper. I considered doing epoxy over the copper but want a more natural look. I actually spent the money on the epoxy so I'll have to find another project for it.

Walnut was my second choice. I considered doing a light stain on the hickory to darken it up a bit but the test piece I did lost the contrast between the dark and light wood so I decided to leave it natural with just polyurethane to protect it.

I opted for stainless Perlick faucets and I'll replace the standard black plastic flanges with stainless. The drip tray is 19" stainless.

I'm a little concerned about the MDF that I'm planning on using under the copper. MDF tends to swell when wet. It shouldn't get wet but if there is a spill it's possible. I'm going to do a test with MDF coated in polyurethane; if I can seal it enough to prevent water from getting in I'll go ahead with it otherwise I'll use plywood. Does anyone have experience with MDF on a bar?

Not sure how I'm going to support the top when its open. I have a piano hinge in the back but nothing to stop it from flopping over the top. Maybe a rope?

Oberon said:

Not sure how I'm going to support the top when its open. I have a piano hinge in the back but nothing to stop it from flopping over the top. Maybe a rope?

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You could put a chest lid stay on there. Lots of options there.

http://www.rockler.com/soft-down-lid-supports
http://www.rockler.com/trunk-lid-support-select-finish

Yes, a toy chest lid support like passedpawn mentioned.
They make little pneumatic/gas shocks as well, but those can get expensive.
I suppose the important thing to consider is how much weight they will need to support.

I would stay away from MDF. I hate that stuff with a passion. A single drop of liquid can completely junk out a piece of mdf.

You might consider a wood conditioner on the hickory before you poly.
Sometimes poly direct on wood does weird things. I suppose you've got enough scrap to do some test runs though.

Could you expand more on "weird things"? I've done a few test scraps but I'm all for doing something simple to avoid sanding the whole thing down.

I'm definitely nervous about the MDF. I'll run a test with poly and if anything goes wrong I'll do something else. The rail is 1" thick so I'll have to glue two dds together to get to the right thickness no matter what I do.

Oberon said:

Could you expand more on "weird things"? I've done a few test scraps but I'm all for doing something simple to avoid sanding the whole thing down.

I'm definitely nervous about the MDF. I'll run a test with poly and if anything goes wrong I'll do something else. The rail is 1" thick so I'll have to glue two dds together to get to the right thickness no matter what I do.

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Well, I'd certainly recommend sanding the whole thing down with a 220 before you apply anything to it. You are also going to have to wet sand the poly coat. I feel like on certain wood, when poly gets into the grain of raw wood, it looks funny. I can't explain it, and I've never used Hickory so I don't know how it would effect it. Do consider a wood conditioner though.

As far as the MDF goes, why don't you see if you can find a piece of Walnut to fit in there? That would look very nice.

passedpawn said:

You could put a chest lid stay on there. Lots of options there.

http://www.rockler.com/soft-down-lid-supports
http://www.rockler.com/trunk-lid-support-select-finish

Click to expand...

That looks pretty good but I think I've overbuilt the lid. It is essentially 1 1/2" of plywood plus the box on top and the trim. I attached the trim to the lid in order to create a tight seal on the cooler and to have an air vent but didn't consider the weight. I guess its not important that the lid closes softly only that it doesn't fall over the back.

Oberon said:

I guess its not important that the lid closes softly only that it doesn't fall over the back.

Click to expand...

The second link in my post is what you want then.

Grannyknot said:

Well, I'd certainly recommend sanding the whole thing down with a 220 before you apply anything to it. You are also going to have to wet sand the poly coat. I feel like on certain wood, when poly gets into the grain of raw wood, it looks funny. I can't explain it, and I've never used Hickory so I don't know how it would effect it. Do consider a wood conditioner though.

As far as the MDF goes, why don't you see if you can find a piece of Walnut to fit in there? That would look very nice.

Click to expand...

The MDF is going to be covered in patina copper so I'm really only concerned about any liquid that slips down around the drip tray.



I looked up wood conditioner and don't think it is applicable with hickory. It is apparently used on soft woods to allow them to accept stain uniformly. Hickory is about as hard as wood comes and has a super tight grain.

I've already sanded the whole thing with 220 but will do one final sanding and cleaning before I apply the polyurethane and wet sand between coats.

That is going to be one fine looking keezer! Are you doing anything to prevent it from overheating in the enclosure?

passedpawn said:

The second link in my post is what you want then.

Click to expand...

Agreed, except on a larger scale. I might see if I can find a thin steel cable, like a dog cable. That should be plenty strong. Gas pistons would be pretty nice though...

Oberon said:

The MDF is going to be covered in patina copper so I'm really only concerned about any liquid that slips down around the drip tray.

I looked up wood conditioner and don't think it is applicable with hickory. It is apparently used on soft woods to allow them to accept stain uniformly. Hickory is about as hard as wood comes and has a super tight grain.

I've already sanded the whole thing with 220 but will do one final sanding and cleaning before I apply the polyurethane and wet sand between coats.

Click to expand...

Somehow I missed the entire copper thing. That is going to look awesome. MDF should be fine.

The conditioner isn't critical some like it & some don't bother. Not all conditioners are for soft woods. I have a conditioner that I use on Walnut & Oak, which are relatively hard, but yes Hickory is much harder. The hard wood conditioner I use closes some of the pores on the grain, so it doesn't come out quite so dark.

MDF should be fine. Put a couple layers of Poly on. It should soak right in.

So...I couldn't help myself and I ordered gas springs. I have no clue if they will work but they are 100 lb lifts with an extended length of 19.69" so wish me luck!

Anyone have an idea for tap handles? I'm thinking something simple and elegant. Wish I had a lathe...

Oberon said:

Anyone have an idea for tap handles? I'm thinking something simple and elegant. Wish I had a lathe...

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Do you have access to a drill press?

http://youtu.be/K9vZOI4Af_A

Some scrap Hickory pieces would make sweet handles.

I always love a nice green and blue copper patina.. Like this one I paired with a walnut table.

Grannyknot said:

Do you have access to a drill press?

http://youtu.be/K9vZOI4Af_A

Some scrap Hickory pieces would make sweet handles.

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I do. That's intriguing. I wonder how easily hickory turns? It might be worth a shot.

I believe Ammonia speeds up the patina process. In older days they used horse piss.

I looked into procuring horse piss - race horse piss specifically, I hear they have to piss a lot - but decided to let the pros handle the patina and bought the design I posted above.

Hey, Oberon that is a sweet keezer build; first one I have seen made out of hickory. I like the copper idea too.

I don't know of a calculation for how much copper you will need inside the freezer but I've done it a few different ways in the ones I have built. Each has worked great at reducing first pour foaming. If I remember right there was only a couple degree difference between the freezer temp and the poured beer temp.

Oberon said:

I do. That's intriguing. I wonder how easily hickory turns? It might be worth a shot.

Click to expand...

I can't imagine hickory turning easily. It's brittle and hard as a rock.

I attached the copper to the backing board yesterday. I used 5 mil copper attached to MDF with DAP contact cement. The copper cuts easily with scissors or a razor blade. I outlined where the board was supposed to go with a Sharpie and cut out the corners accordingly. My buddy and I applied the contact cement to both surfaces, waited 15 minutes and carefully set the board in place. We used a laminate roller to set it permanently.

(more pictures on the first page)

I was hoping to have enough copper left over to do the whole backing board behind the taps but there won't be enough. I think we are going to trim it out and put copper in the panels.



Still have to attach the copper board to the bar. There is slight difference between the edge of the copper and the bar rail and I'd like that to be flush so we'll have to figure out how to do that.

Once the backing board behind the taps and the copper is attached I have to polyurethane the whole thing which is proving more problematic than I anticipated. My wife is pregnant and apparently VOCs are bad for the baby so I won't be able to do it in the house. I can probably do it in my Dad's barn but it is an hour drive away and many coats means it will take days not hours.

Oberon said:

[SNIP]
Once the backing board behind the taps and the copper is attached I have to polyurethane the whole thing which is proving more problematic than I anticipated. My wife is pregnant and apparently VOCs are bad for the baby so I won't be able to do it in the house. I can probably do it in my Dad's barn but it is an hour drive away and many coats means it will take days not hours.

Click to expand...

You are aware, are you not, that they make a water-based polyurethane, right? I think it comes as a powder and you mix it up and "paint" it on. Voila...no VOCs.

The finish I'm looking for requires oil based polyurethane so I'm going to have to deal with VOCs. This project has already taken six months what's a few more days.

Oberon said:

The finish I'm looking for requires oil based polyurethane so I'm going to have to deal with VOCs. This project has already taken six months what's a few more days.

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Heh. Shows what I know about wood working. I figured poly was poly.

The wood is very beautiful. Good luck with the finish.

Newsman said:

Heh. Shows what I know about wood working. I figured poly was poly.

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I only know what I've read. It's my understanding water based poly tends to yellow over time more than oil based. I'm not a big fan of oil based because it's more toxic and a pain to clean up but I've spent a lot of time (and money) on this project and don't want to cut corners.

I'm going to thin the poly 50/50 with mineral spirits and rub it on with a cloth. The base coats will be gloss and the final coat(s) will be semi-gloss. I'm going for a natural look. From what I've read when you thin out semi-gloss the particles that make it "semi" tend to settle so if you do multiple coats of semi the finish might become hazy. The copper will be all gloss.



This is the piece that will go behind the taps. It still needs to be sanded and glued together. I'm out of town for nine of the next ten days so hopefully I can do something on my day off otherwise it will be a couple weeks.

I would have a look at Waterlox finishes. They're really well reviewed and will keep your Hickory looking beautiful. The poly will be okay - especially applied like you suggest, but it will always be 'on top' of the wood rather than 'in' the wood.

I've had great success with Danish Oil. That's poly cut with a thinner and with some oil of some sort. You apply it quite heavily (like a stain) and then wipe of all the excess ten minutes later after it has had a chance to seep into the wood. An hour or two later you need to rub hard to remove any finish that had seeped out of the wood. Then every two days (every day if you have ideal drying conditions) rub the finish gently with some fine wire wool and apply another super thin coat of danish oil with a cloth and rub it out 10 minutes later. If you persevere with this, eventually you will have the most gorgeous satin finish (but it's worth keeping going - maybe five or six super thin coats before the dry finish has the same kind of sheen as the wet finish...).

Whatever you do all depends on perfect sanding. If Hickory is really hard, I would sand to 300 or 400 grit - it will be worth it in allowing the wood to really shine. The finish will show any imperfection in the sanding, and if there is anything you have missed it's worth sanding back any area that isn't perfect and refinishing there. You will see it on the first coat you apply.

Done...mostly, I have a little caulking to do but I'll wait until it is in the house to do that. My buddy who helped on this project is having a party on Saturday so we will wheel it across the street for one night before it finds it's final resting place in my basement.

The finishing was technically easy but logistically was a huge pain in the butt. As I mentioned above, VOCs are a concern to my pregnant wife so I took the bar to my parent's house an hour away so I could work on it in my Dad's shop. I did five coats over three days and ended up making four total trips. I'm very happy with the finish but wish I'd have figured out a way to do it closer to home.

I used Minwax oil based polyurethane thinned about 50/50 with mineral spirits and wiped on with an old t-shirt. The first four coats were gloss and the last coat was semi-gloss. Each coat was very thin and I sanded any coat that sat for more than 24 hours. The fumes were pretty terrible. I can't say I recommend oil-based to anyone.


You can see the gas springs in this picture. I didn't get the geometry exactly right; it's a little heavy to lift and would slam shut if l let it drop but I'm not going to bother to fix it since the lid shouldn't be open very often.


I used a piano hinge for the lid.


I didn't use the freezer's lid. Instead, I used two pieces of 1" foam. I used 1/2" copper tube to keep the beer lines cool. There is about 2" exposed in the cooler and it seems to transfer the temperature pretty well. I haven't used it enough to determine if I will have a foaming issue. Hopefully not.


The plumbing is a bit messy but it works! I bought a second regulator so I can run my ciders at a lower pressure or force carb at a higher pressure.


The final product. I'm extremely pleased with the result. It was a lot of work!


You can see the stainless faucet handles here. I found these at Williams Brewing. I like the low key look.

Almost forgot. On tap now. Rauchbier, Sour Barrel Aged Biere de Garde, Arkansas Black/Baldwin Apple Cider, American Barleywine.