Father's Day gift idea - bottle holder

Simple in design, you can easily make this Father's Day gift using pine and leather straps - or repurpose an old leather belt.

 

This is a plain pine box, but what adds character and makes it unique are the leather straps and added accessories. You can find leather and accessories at leather suppliers or larger fabric stores, or see if you have an old leather belt that you can repurpose.

 

YOU WILL NEED:

2 of 140mm x 146mm 20mm pine - top and bottom

2 of 130mm x 300mm 20mm pine - left and right sides

1 of 140mm x 300mm 20mm pine - lid

1 of 98mm x 300mm 20mm pine - back

1 small section to prop the neck of the bottle at an angle

2 of butt hinges, or decorative hinges

Leather straps, buckles and snaps

Leather sewing kit

10 of 12/13mm round-head screws and finishing washers

Hole punch

Stencil, acrylic paint and stencil brush

Woodoc antique wax

TOOLS:

Jigsaw and clean cut blade

Drill / Driver plus assorted bits

Dowels - or preferred choice of joining*

Orbital sander plus 120- and 240-grit sanding pads

*You can also use a Biscuit Joiner or Kreg Pockethole Jig to join the sections. Or use screws in countersunk holes filled with wood filler and sanded smooth. Match the wood filler to the finished colour for the box.

Buy all the tools and materials required for this project at your local Builders Warehouse.

HERE'S HOW:

1. Dowels were used to assemble the box, but there are plenty of other options [see * above]. For this project, the dowels are not only for added strength, but to add detail around the sides of the box as well.

2. After assembling the box has been put together you can add the hinges which are mounted on the outside of the box. DO drill a pilot hole to prevent splitting the wood.

3. Now it's time to sand everything even and smooth and then you can apply any stencil detailing.

4. Using scraps of leather or an old belt to make the straps. Measure the bottle or accessories for the box to give an estimate of the length of straps. Test fit the straps to make sure the straps are the right size. You will need a hole punch to make holes in the straps and buckles and snaps as closures. .

5. Use finishing washers and round-head screws to secure the strap inside and on the outside of the box.

 6. Cut and shape a block to hold the neck of the bottle inside the box. This block is not affixed to the box so that it can be moved up or down for different sized bottles.

This decorative holder can be used for dad's favourite spirit and he will appreciate the sentiment of a lovingly hand crafted gift.

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