This is a guest post by Ethan Hagan from One Project Closer.
You can make a bottle opener out of just about anything. I’ve seen lighters, rings, shell casings, hats, sandals, and I’m sure you can add to the list. All those openers probably work just fine. However, making your own bottle opener is a fun project, and a handmade one is sure to impress your family and friends every time. In this guide, I’ll show you how to make an elegant bottle opener similar to ones that I’ve seen pictured online.
The mechanics of this opener are nothing new. In fact, I’ve seen some pretty rudimentary ones that follow the same basic design of this nail and stick combo.
Rustic, yes. But nothing to write home about.
But no one is going to be impressed by a stick with a nail through it. Instead, I’ll show you how to make a nicer model from a small piece of wood and a nail. It will even catch your bottle cap as you remove it and stick to your fridge for easy access when you need it.
Materials & Tools Needed
- Small block of hard wood (I chose Walnut)
- 3″ common-head nail
- (2) 8mm diameter magnets
- Jigsaw (or a coping saw)
- Dremel with sanding drum (or just regular sandpaper)
- Drill/driver
- 5/16″ and 5/32″ drill bits
- Glue gun
How to Make Your Own Bottle Opener
I chose a hard wood for this project because that’s what I had lying around (spare Walnut from installing hardwood floors). I expect this opener to get a lot of use, and Walnut should hold up well. The only downside is that hardwoods are tougher to cut and drill, and you have to be careful not to scorch the wood.
The dimensions are flexible. However, I’d suggest keeping it close to what I’ve laid out here. My bottle opener is 5″ long by 1″ wide and 3/4″ deep. I wrapped everything in masking tape to protect from tear out when making cuts, and to sketch an outline.
To cut out the shape, I used a miter saw, table saw, and jigsaw. Many of you may not have those tools handy. A coping saw will get the job done too, albeit much slower.
Next I sanded each side using a combination of a cordless grinder with sanding pad and a Dremel with a sanding drum. I also rounded all the edges just enough to make it more comfortable to hold.
I purchased some small, inexpensive magnets, but you can harvest refrigerator magnets in a pinch. My magnets are listed at 8mm in diameter, which translates into 5/16″.
Carefully, I drilled holes on the front and back of the bottle opener. The magnet on the face of the bottle opener is for catching the bottle cap, so I positioned it pretty close to the top. The second magnet is to store the opener on the fridge, and I placed that a little lower.
I also drilled a 5/32″ hole on the top for the nail. A drill press would have been ideal for this step; however, I used a drill/driver and still had good results.
To secure the magnets, I put a dab of hot glue behind each.
For the nail, I chose a 3″ common nail, and you can see in the picture how the nail head is flat on both sides (as opposed to a more convex underside).
I didn’t want to bend the nail with a hammer so instead I used a clamp and a vise to slowly bend the nail into a right angle.
Just like with the magnets, I added a dab of hot glue before pushing the nail in place.
That’s it! This is a great bottle opener and a fun project. I’ve already made three and given away two as presents. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Below are the plans for the opener in PDF format. Thanks to Robert Heffern for providing them.
Bottle Opener – Measurements
Bottle Opener – Final w/Color
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Ethan Hagan is the primary editor at One Project Closer. Ethan spends most of his days shadowing real contractors on actual job sites and most of his nights writing about the experience. If learning and interacting with pro contractors sounds like something you’d enjoy, sign up for OPC email updates. OPC also provides coupon information to home improvement centers like this Lowe’s Coupons page. See their site for full details.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
what a handsom piece of man machinery
And to think, a few minutes ago I didn’t have any plans for the weekend…
this was on huckberry.
I made one of these a couple months ago after seeing one just like it for $30 in a fancy design store. I take it everywhere and show off my beautiful “Nail on a Stick”. They all laugh until they realize it works. I’ll have to upgrade with the magnet trick though.
Plans for the weekend just got awesome!
Very rustic indeed, love it
This is a great idea.
@David H.
Yes, for $31
AND you can’t stick it to the fridge.
I should make a bunch of these and sell them around the student housing at school on the weekends
You are a genius! Thumbs up!
Now I won’t have to worry about losing bottle openers or flinging caps in people’s eyes!
There is no hotglue in man projects.
Gonna have to build one of these with my boys!
An excellent source for magnets is an old Sonic Care toothbrush (head). Remove the plastic shroud (where you thread the brush onto the base) and it will reveal two very powerful magnets which connect to rods and produce the vibration in the brush. I use them for all sorts of projects. Good luck.
I’d be concerned the nail would spin in the hole…make sure the hole is small enough and perhaps use some epoxy instead of hot glue.
Support the artist who’s design this copies:
http://www.brendanravenhill.com/bottle-opener/
http://www.areaware.com/proddetail.asp?prod=brbow
Who needs a bottle opener? I just use the end of a lighter. Or the back of a knife. Or the edge of a table. Or a spoon. Or the top edge of a road sign. In desperate times I’ve used my teeth, but it’s rare the you can’t find something inanimate to pry the top off a beer bottle with.
I just learned that the original design for this bottle opener can be attributed to Brendan Ravenhill from Areaware, and the article has been updated with a link.
Too much work :p…I just open them with the handle of a spoon or fork levered against my index or thumb.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, real men use the church key their father passed down to them. Or the one they bought on eBay because they lost Dad’s old church key.
I think you guys might get some more visitors today. Lifehacker linked to this article.
awesome bottle opener!!!
also if you got any kids, (or just feel like it)
flatten out the bottle cap with a hammer, puncture two small holes on the center, and put some strong tread thread through the holes. center the cap,put your thumbs through the ends of the string and spin it and pull, will spin for hours. makes an amusing toy
…Useful, easy, interesting!
In Australia most of our local beers have twist tops. For those times I drink beer with pop tops I have a bottle opener on all my sets of keys, my leatherman has a bottle opener and I have a multitool card in my wallet that also has a bottle opener built into it.
I love seeing useful posts like this that we can try for ourselves. The magnets are a clever idea. Don’t care so much about the one to catch the bottle cap, but I really like the idea of being able to just throw it back onto the fridge when I’m done.
That is a fine looking bottle opener. I love the extra detail of adding in the magnets!
I needed something new for the camp. This oughta be sweet and keep the guys talking while they open me another beer.
Just made this guy yesterday, and it works great. Best part is you get to test your work by cracking open a few beers.
I just made a bunch of these this weekend. The hot glue didn’t work out so well for both the magnets and the nail. Any suggestions on another type of glue? Someone said epoxy. What about titebond? That works well with wood, but this is wood and metal combined.
I feel like I saw one of these for sale at a store recently… At first I said, “Wow, this is so awesome and manly, I must own one!” Then I saw it was $30. Now I’ll just make my own. Hands FTW
This is how you open a bottle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-slvv_ZT4
The nail is upside down!
Wouldn’t it be more ‘manly’ to use a little ingenuity to find a new way to open a beer.
For instance, I usually open a fresh beer with an empty beer. All it takes is a little leverage (+1 physics). That way I don’t even have to find a bottle opener. Lighters, knives, some carbiners, and just about anything with an edge will work too.
Did anyone have to use a heavier magnet on the back to hold it to the fridge? Also I used Red Oak and when I stained it, it turned out almost cherry in color.
Thanks for the idea
Max – I used rare earth magnets. They worked great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065O60V8/ref=ox_ya_os_product
Incidentally for glue I ended up using Loctite’s Super Glue Gel Control. It’s been months and so far the bottle openers have been working in tip-top shape.