Yuri's Keezer

[aaronq123]

First post here and thanks for all of the wonderful information so far. I have a similar design in mind for my first keezer I am building for my new house. Here is a pic of the sketchup draft.

The top will extend about six inches on all sides (sans the back) to accomodate four people sitting. This can also be used as a countertop for entertaining. The chest freezer I will be converting is the 8.8 c/ft one from lowes.
Thanks in advance for all of the assitance I'm sure I will need. I also plan to take plenty of photos and might even put my "flip video recorder" to use in hopes that by the time im finished I can help give back some of the knowledge that I have received.

 

[buffalobrewer]

How about rotating the tap box 90 degrees and having taps on both sides?

 

[Maltose]

any pics of your system?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Work has finally begun on this thing! It always takes me forever to bring my ideas to fruition...family, work, etc come first.

I'm going to start by just building and attaching the coffin. The bar top and sides will likely wait for a while...potentially another year or two

For now, here's a test piece with a CNC routed mural (the stain is intentionally still wet - hopefully to show some contrast). The design will go on the vertical sides of the coffin.

I hope to have all of the pieces ready for assembly today.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

This wreath will surround each tap:

 

[thewurzel]

wow love the routed cnc designs on the kezzer

great idea

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Engraved, drilled, and mocked up:

 

[Whut]

Sheesh, I'm glad I'm not the only one around here that has family, work, etc. get in the way of brewing projects. Looks good though!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Not as much progress as I'd hoped, but the barley/hops design turned out well. I still have one side to engrave before I can assemble things.

 

[Ravenshead]

I love the engraving. Does the contrast stand out better after the stain/finish dries? It would be a shame for all that detail to fade into the backgound.

 

[509inc]

Does that plastic T in the pic of post 22 really work to distribute CO2 to two kegs? If so that is much cheaper than than the manifolds and splitters I've been shopping for.

 

[Beernip]

Engraved, drilled, and mocked up:

Very nice! Do you plan on staining the wreaths a darker color so they stand out or just let them blend?

 

[wyzazz]

Does that plastic T in the pic of post 22 really work to distribute CO2 to two kegs? If so that is much cheaper than than the manifolds and splitters I've been shopping for.

They work just fine, why wouldn't they?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Very nice! Do you plan on staining the wreaths a darker color so they stand out or just let them blend?

I'm not going to use a different color, but I'm going to apply stain liberally to the engraved detail, allowing it to soak before wiping it clean. Allowing some stain to "pool" and soak into the design will provide some contrast.

Does that plastic T in the pic of post 22 really work to distribute CO2 to two kegs? If so that is much cheaper than than the manifolds and splitters I've been shopping for.

Works great for two kegs. For a system with more than two kegs, some check valves would be nice but not completely necessary, so long as its well maintained.

 

[sanch]

You might try burning the routed area with a micro torch and then runing it through a planer or sanding off the surface material I have had great results with this method the resessed areas are very defined and you can kind of shadow with the torch.

Just an idea you might try out on a scrap piece to see how you like it.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I like the idea sanch. I may try it.

Here's the progress today (sorry for the bad lighting):

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Here it is, mostly assembled along with one of the granite tiles I'm going to use on the front. I still need to make the top/lid, but that's a piece of cake.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

lookin good yuri!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Got the tile cut tonight after work:

 

[sanch]

Just qurious what machine did you use for the engraving?

 

[sanch]

Also glaze works wonders for creating contrast in carvings and defanitions. Just be sure to seal the wood well post stain, then apply the glaze and then top coat, or it will take more like stain. most home improvement store stains are designed to penatrate, they will penatrate outwards as well as downwards and kind of make the carving fuzzy looking especially on oak as it has a stranded pourous fiber structure. I like sherwin williams glaze it has a longer open time than the home improvement store brands I've tried. You might have to go to a commercial branch to find it.

After you stain and seal the piece flood the surface with the glaze, work it in to the cracks and crevasses. then with a clean rag buff the glaze off the surface and leave it behind in the carvings. The better the piece is sealed the less the glaze will change the base color.

 

[chapa]

Subscribed!! Looking great!!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I used a CNC mill with a router attached. Good tip on the glaze.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

There's plenty more work to be done, but it's in working order at last! I used some RGB LED strip lights under the taps. They came with a remote that has a pretty broad selection of colors and effects. What you can't see is the piece of 1/2" plywood bolted directly underneath the sheet metal of the freezer lid to reduce the flexing that happens under the weight of the tower.

Mmm...smoked porter...

 

[bob1852]

Love the detailed engraving!

It's taken me months just to do a basic collar for a freezer - I can't imagine doing the tower, lights, etc...

Nice work!

 

[LakewoodBrew]

Looks pretty awesome. The link for the CNC didn't work for me. I'd like to check out that build.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Link's fixed.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

sweet.

 

[Jester369]

Niiiize!

 

[Huff360]

Yuri,

How has it been pulling a pint from the peninsula configuration? I'm looking to do the same thing and had this concern. Hopefully you have found it to be acceptable.

Thanks