Thanksgiving Keezer Build!

[Fid]

So apparently my constant references to having a kegerator finally became annoying enough that SWMBO had to cave and let me go for it. Many thanks to her, and many thanks to the forums for guiding me along (although you guys are burning a hole in my pocket!!)

After over a month of Craigslist searching I was finally able to secure a small Kenmore chest freezer. The search was horribly frustrating... every time I found one, it had already been spoken for. Alas, I found this guy... ~6-7 cu ft or so I guess. Paid $75 for it... comfortably holds 2 cornies on the floor... seems like there might be room for a 3rd in the future on the floor, but if not, with the collar in place the 3rd can live on the hump.

There was a terrifying warning label on the back of the freezer about the possibility "violent jackknifing" occurring when unmounting the hinges... sounded scary. I didn't have the recommended 4" nail to slide into the safety holes that keep this from happening so I used a bunch of finishing nails... sketchy but it worked.

And finally... the guts of my system. Got the equipment from kegconnection.com, really fast (and free) shipping. Cornies have obviously seen some use but they're in great shape inside and came with all new o-rings and fittings. (PS KegConnection is running a Black Friday Sale: Free shipping, 10% off everything AND Ball Lock Kegs for $19.95 each, go check it out http://www.kegconnection.com)

And the Faucets... wanted to go with Perlicks but I'm trying to cut some costs for now... will likely upgrade in the future once I'm tired of cleaning the gunk out of these.

More to come soon! :rockin:

 

[Fid]

So I knew going into this that my woodworking skills were less than impressive... and indeed, I had some issues with the power saw... Luckily I was able to fix my horrible horrible cuts... mostly

YIKES!!!

So its not very clear from this picture but I accidentally made one of my cuts about 1/2 inch short... the joints didn't quite match up...

Liquid Nails totally saved my project. Stuck a scrap piece of wood in the gap and covered the thing in Liquid Nails to bridge the gap that was left... not the prettiest thing but it'll be on the backside.. and a little sanding should help out some too.

 

[HOP-HEAD]

What are you cutting those with? A drunk beaver on the end of a long stick?

All in good fun... I hope it turns out to be everything you're hoping for.

 

[ebeer]

Ummm...build the kegerator first THEN start drinking.

LOL, have fun..I bet it turns out awesome.

 

[Screw991le]

What are you cutting those with? A drunk beaver on the end of a long stick?

All in good fun... I hope it turns out to be everything you're hoping for.

Almost made my spew barley wine on my monitor, lol.

 

[WAORGANY]

What are you cutting those with? A drunk beaver on the end of a long stick?

Might be the funnest thing I have ever read!!! I am sure even with you wood working skills that the build will turn out great and this keggerator will fit the bill juts fine!!! Keep us updated on the progress...you can see the end results of my build in my avatar pic

 

[snowveil]

looks like you're on the right track! I've been slowly piecing my system together...just need the freezer + woodworking to finish the outside and the thermostat. Stop inspiring me to spend more money!

Keep plenty of pictures flowing! It's nice to see that someone else with sub-par woodworking skills can get it done!

 

[TheDom]

What are you cutting those with? A drunk beaver on the end of a long stick?

All in good fun... I hope it turns out to be everything you're hoping for.

Holy crap, glad I set my coffee down before reading that!

Great build man, can't wait to see the final product. Liquid nails is great stuff for we less talented at woodworking, isn't it? I know mine would never have come together without the stuff.

 

[HOP-HEAD]

In all seriousness, if you aren't complete with your cuts yet, get yourself one of these.... the one in the picture might be too small, but you get the idea.

They're a cheap way to make relatively precision cuts for someone who doesn't do it all the time, and therefore, can't justify buying one of these:

Or.... stick with one of these... it was working.

 

[HOP-HEAD]

Deleted double post... slow crappy computer + impatient user.

 

[passedpawn]

What are you cutting those with? A drunk beaver on the end of a long stick?

Bwaahhh haaaaah!

Those cuts are some funny ****. Almost as funny as Beirmunchers infamous keggle cut.

Kudos to the builder for the courage and good sense of humor to post those pics. Gave me a Sunday Morning chuckle. I'm sure your keezer will turn out great, and for the record I'm envious (still bottling here ).

 

[TheDom]

I tried using a miter box to start with, and after about 10mins said f-it! Those things are such a huge PITA!

For $100 I picked up a compound miter saw, and they work great as long as you remember to square the blade to the base, and tighten down all the adjustment screws before using it. Otherwise....liquid nails to the rescue.

 

[Fid]

So things have come together fairly well now... I'm glad that my shoddy craftsmanship has given you all a good chuckle Thanks for all the comments guys, I've been laughing along with you all.

Pieces for collar fitting in place.... mostly....

Plenty O' Liquid Nails

Holes Drilled

I put some corner brackets to add a little extra security though it may actually have been overkill. I honestly can't believe how sturdy the joints became with Liquid Nails alone... But I figured it was better to be safe and have everything well secured so I don't have any troubles down the road

 

[TheDom]

She's really coming together, great job man! If you hadn't posted the original cut pics, I never would have known.

 

[goybar]

Instead of miter joint, why not just go with a butt joint?

Would be a whole lot easier.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Bwaahhh haaaaah!

Those cuts are some funny ****. Almost as funny as Beirmunchers infamous keggle cut.

The famous flesh eating bear trap, that was the "Sawzal Keg Massacre" coming to theatres near you!
That was 4-5 years ago but still fresh in my memory. Heck rock on bro go chill some brew.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Instead of miter joint, why not just go with a butt joint?

Would be a whole lot easier.

That's what she said.

Come on over and use my tool (no pun intended);
Cuts dead nuts (no pun intended again); only $3,100 less shipping.
http://www.midwestframesupply.com/html/frame_square_mitre_saw.html

 

[Fid]

Butt joint totally would have been easier... but wheres the fun in easy? I like pushing the limits of my abilities to the fullest.

 

[Fid]

Also, you shoulda seen the look on my face when I ran the saw through my board to finish a cut and the part I was intending to cut off didn't fall to the floor. I'm pretty sure it was some combination of these two followed by a head scratch and a really big WTF that the neighbors surely heard.

 

[TheDom]

Also, you shoulda seen the look on my face when I ran the saw through my board to finish a cut and the part I was intending to cut off didn't fall to the floor. I'm pretty sure it was some combination of these two followed by a head scratch and a really big WTF that the neighbors surely heard.

LOL I can relate!

 

[Ricand]

Good looking build! Thanks for the humorous thread. First one in a long time that had me snort a Bloody Mary through my nose. Totally worth it. You're going to love drawing that first icy pint at home.

Just noticed this was my 420 post... brb.

 

[Fid]

Used some scraps to keep the collar off the ground while priming/painting.

My assistant... He would have been a much bigger help if he had thumbs... and if he wasn't horrified by all the load noises and by me constantly moving things around while building.

Collar Primed!

 

[gicts]

Awww man! That wood grain had potential!

...well, at least the front side!

 

[jcav]

Nice work on your build, I'm enjoying reading this thread! Your doing a great job and soon you will reap the cold liquid rewards of your labor!

Cheers!

John

 

[Fid]

I know.. the wood grain totally had potential. I spent about a half hour lining up and examining all of the wood 6x1s at Home Depot trying to find the pine that had decent grain patterns too. The problem is that this thing is going in my one bedroom apartment and my kitchen has that weird light wood laminate for counter tops and a dark brown stain for the cabinets, both of which are slightly ugly. They're not terrible I suppose but neither would be a preference for my keezer. I couldn't really come up with another stain that would A.) look good and B.) flow together with all the other wood stuff in my place so painting became the option of choice. Also, perhaps most importantly, SWMBO kept commenting that she didn't like the look of the stained wood on other keezer builds and I'm trying to do everything possible to make sure she doesn't hate me for eating up so much of our floor space with this thing.

The possibility of staining was also part of the reason that I went with miter joints instead of butt joints (that and the fact that I like the more seamless look of miters even though I shanked mine) I probably could have saved myself alot of time and some mild frustration had I known that I was going to paint it off the bat but oh well... Its been a fun project.

Thanks for reading guys! More coming soon...

 

[Fid]

So the design inspiration for this build was this giant file cabinet that I found at Goodwill recently and now use as an entertainment center... as far as I'm concerned it looks like its straight out of IKEA. (anyone ever tried taking a picture of things that they have at home with the flash on? Holy fingerprints Batman!) So the plan is to mimic the black and chrome sorta look that this has going on.

Heres the stuff I've been using...

Z-Prime. This stuff rocks. Covers well and can be sanded smooth 45 minutes after applying

Rustoleum weird chrome stuff. This stuff I was skeptical about... I work at a paint store and and I've never really trusted these faux finishing sorta things but I figured I'd give it a go and see how it turns out... after all, its just paint so if it sucks I can always repaint it.

And here is the infamous drunk beaver on a stick!

Everything is coming together... I apologize for the crappy quality of this one. My camera batter died so I was stuck with using my cell phone. No worries though because honestly... Its slightly ugly looking at this point. Not digging the appliance white look at all. The chrome spray paint idea worked OK but it decided to create some drips in the finish and its not quite as reflective as I was hoping for... I'd guess that if I put like 30 coats on it it'd shine pretty well but I don't have the time or patience to apply that many coats of paint.

Anyone have any suggestions for something I can use to accomplish a chrome/ss kinda look on the cheap?

Better Photos and hopefully a mostly finished project coming tomorrow! Stay tuned

 

[BrewBeemer]

Thin strips of aluminum at Home Depot or a good local hardware store.
See what happened you missed making mitered joints on the "Yankee Workshop" TV with Norm Abram. What the heck happeded he's been off the air for a month now? New guy "Rough Cut" sucks, we want Norm, "Cheers" Norm will do.

 

[Fid]

HAHA! I had no idea miter boxes existed until I had already been through Home Depot and bought all the crap i needed for this thing. Came home, looked at what I had and said "How the F*ck am I going to make this happen?" Found a "This Old House" Video online and the first thing the dude pulls out was a miter box. I considered heading back out and picking one up but had a Tim Taylor moment and figured "more power" was always better. PSSSSTTTTT handsaws.... I'll leave those to the Amish!

 

[BrewBeemer]

Aluminum carpenters square large works great as a guide for you cordless
saw, you'll be surprised the results with the bare minimum of tools at hand.
Those that make no mistakes do nothing.

 

[Fid]

@ HOP-HEAD... I just checked your profile and saw your keezer... HOLY ****!!!!! That thing is beautiful! Looks like it belongs in the entry way to a church or something. Well done sir!

 

[gicts]

Just pick up some premade chrome pieces from walmart or home depot. Maybe use it to frame in a chalkboard on the front?

 

[deezy]

Congrats on the build, well done.

 

[Fid]

Mini update.

No more appliance white!

Here is the stuff I used. Hammerite Rust Cap Smooth Finish.

Did some searching around for the best thing to use for this application. Considered using a black lacquer but I could only find acrylics in rattle cans for some reason and I don't trust acrylics to hold up to having glasses, bottles, ect sitting on top of it without sticking. I also considered using rattle cans of the stuff that's marketed as appliance paint but then I found this instead. As the stuff cures microscopic pieces of glass combine with the resins in the paint to seal out any surface rust and create a hard finish. If you decide to use this stuff for a project, make sure you have enough of it on hand to get the job done. If you don't recoat it within 1 hour you have to wait 10 days for the product to cure before you can apply another coat. I haven't started beating this thing around yet but the finish already seems tough as nails. One of my coworkers told me she painted a wheel barrow with this stuff and it lasted through 5 years of use. The only downfall is that its a bit on the expensive side ~$10/can... I used 3 cans and got 3 coats out of them.

 

[Fid]

I'm liking the idea of framing a chalkboard with some strips of metal on the front... I'll pitch the idea to the wife!

 

[HOP-HEAD]

@ HOP-HEAD... I just checked your profile and saw your keezer... HOLY ****!!!!! That thing is beautiful! Looks like it belongs in the entry way to a church or something. Well done sir!

Thank you sir... I've enjoyed every beer that she's poured me. Even some lesser quality drafts taste good coming from one's own keezer...

I had fun making it, and have considered enough things that I'd change on it since, that I've even considered selling it a few times so I could build a newer one... the problem is, these things have far higher sentimental value than what they'll ever fetch on the street.

Enjoy the remainder of your build... and then... most importantly, enjoy the first tap and the thousands to follow...

 

[MattCA]

Looking good. How's Seattle? I'm thinking about moving there and going to University of Washington.

 

[Fid]

Seattle is great. Moved here from Iowa about a year and a half ago and love it! Plenty to do, great people, and some really great breweries which is a major bonus. Hit me up if you move out here... we can swap some brews.

 

[Fid]

Alright, so last night SWMBO proved why she is in fact SWMBO. As I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I could use to make a chrome sorta appearance she suggested aluminum foil...

"ALUMINUM FOIL!?!?!", I thought "How the hell is aluminum foil going to go on this thing and last more than 30 seconds before it rips apart."

She had an idea so we ran a little "proof of concept" experiment with some scrap wood.

We wadded a sheet of foil up into a ball and then unrolled it to give it some texture, applied a skim coat of Liquid Nails (shocker) to the board and pressed the foil into place. Then I sprayed about 6 coats of Krylon Fusion Clear over the foil in an attempt to protect the surface and add some rigidity to the whole thing.

To my surprise it actually worked! (that weird milky look is from the clear coat drying... it goes away.)

As the thing was drying I would pick at it with my fingernail to try to break pieces off every now and then. After about 4 hours or so the thing was pretty solid. It took a really good amount of effort to break through and rip the foil. I even spent a couple minutes bashing a pint glass against it trying to mimic the wear it would actually take. Held up like a champ.

So at this point I was pretty pumped already that it seemed like this concept was actually practical though I was slightly worried about what would happen when the foil would end up getting ripped as I drunkenly smashed into it while filling a pint. I didn't want my keezer to end up looking like that photo above. The wife came through again as she found out this stuff can pretty much be patched without detection. This photo is that same board with some pieces of foil patching all those holes I made. I was pretty impressed.

 

[Fid]

Now, from proof of concept to the real deal...
After all the time I spent trying to make nice miter joints, priming this thing, and then painting it... It was now time to wrap the hole thing in foil rendering all of that effort absolutely useless.

First we rolled out ~7.5 feet of foil and rolled it into a ball, unfolded it and then began wrapping it around the collar.

Big bead of Liquid Nails across the surface:

Spreading the Liquid Nails into place with a kitchen spatula I borrowed from a friend about 5 months ago and haven't give back to him yet. Thanks Frank!

The best wife ever pressing the foil into place:

We tucked the foil all the way around the collar, wrapped it like a present basically, being super careful not to cause any rips in the corners.

And then I applied about 6 coats of clear to all of this. The inside looks a bit ghetto but I don't really mind. Might wrap some styro-foam insulation around it at some point to clean it up a bit but its fine as is for now:

 

[Fid]

With all of the decorative finishes out of the way it was time to finally put this whole thing together!

I went with the Johnson analog controller. Would have loved to have gone with a digital one but by the time I bought this thing an extra $20 or so seemed like a fortune... getting tired of watching my bank account shrink at this point.

Controller mounted and hinges reattached:

Hole drilled and thermometer thing run into freezer:

Taps put into place: