d.i.why not? amazing mod wine rack

So, some of you may have been wondering if the guest blog post a day at curbly was too much for me as I haven't linked to a post there for the last 2 days.... well, I survived my guest blogging but I think my bad technology karma transferred to them! My last diy for the week has been in some sort of Curbly server limbo/ purgatory for the last 2 days so you haven't been able to see it yet! And it is so very awesome that I can't wait to share it with you! The above photo is a teaser. All the supplies were purchased at Home Depot! And the main supply is 20 feet of drainage pipe! Yep, awesome, right? Personally, I think it looks like something that would be sold in a museum store!

And, it is not just a wine rack but a table too! And the options are endless, you can make it larger, wider, taller.... for a coffee table, console, art piece... you name it! Anyhow, my friend jimmy was the inventor of this beauty so i can't take credit for the creation of it.  He's a crafty prop master in Hollywood and he doesn't blog so I felt it was my duty to share it! And let me say he was super patient and awesome explaining the how to (because I had lots of questions!)!

Supplies:

• Drainage pipe (4" diameter measuring 20 feet long)
• 26 feet of vinyl coated wire rope (cost at my Home Depot store is $.36 a foot)
• 4 turnbuckles (you can pony up for steel or use the less expensive zinc plated)
• 8 cable clamps
• 1 stainless steel clamp (this is to use as your guide when cutting the pipe)
• a strong utility knife (for cutting the drainage pipe)
• heavy duty wire cutters (for cutting the rope)

*note that a lot of these turnbuckles, clamps and wire rope come in varying materials with different prices attached to them so you can go super cheap or more expensive in your shopping.

How to make it:
Jimmy drew up the awesome illustration to accompany the directions below (love him!!)

1.  Cut the drainage pipe into 18 - foot long tubes (if you don't have a power saw, this is where you use that industrial utility knife and the stainless steel clamp as your guide to cut against for a straight line)
2. Cut the 26 feet of rope in half (two 13 feet pieces)
3. Stand the 12" pipe sections on a table in the formation just like the above diagram
4. Use 13 feet of the rope and thread it around the tubes as indicated in the RED color on the diagram. the rope should be placed about 3 inches from the end of the tubes
5. Pull it tightly for a snug fit and make loops through the turnbuckle eyes and add the cable clamps
6. Cut the excess rope (note you will be using this excess rope from the first 13 foot section for the next step) 
7. Now wrap and attach the remaining bit of rope as indicated in the BLUE part of the diagram
8. Tighten the turnbuckles to make it slightly snug
9. Flip the formation of tubes upside down in order to repeat the process (again, laying the rope 3" from the end of the tubes) with your remaining 13 foot piece of rope
10. Now that you are done, tighten all of the turnbuckles until the tubes are held together tightly

Now, ooh and ahh and remark in wonder at your fab creation!

You can add a thick glass or even a wood top to this to use it as a side table like Jimmy did....I love a two-fer! Anything that has double or triple duty in my book is a good thing, especially since I live in a small space. And, you can make it different sizes too.. it could be a wine rack coffee table, console, or even just a tall piece of modern art... the options are endless!

Interning this week was pretty cool.  I got to play with some scraps of brass cuttings in varying shapes to help create the design for the front of a piece of furniture. A really fun project! It almost felt like I was in my metal smithing class (which is always a good time)...

So I was back at the 99 cents store to buy more crystal picks to make more starburst urchin sculptures for friends. The ladies in my check out line were all asking me what they were and why I was buying so many (I may have gone overboard but I thought they might run out and they are only 99 cents a pack....). I showed them a photo on my phone and explained how to make them and two of the ladies jumped out of line to get some! Awesome!

Oh, and I don't know about you all but I made lots of wishes at 11:11 this morning. I figured since it was 11:11 on 11/11/11 that had to be super lucky.  I plan on doing the same thing tonight by the way!

So, for those of you just tuning in and wanting to know more about me you can by going here... and if you didn't already know... I created a facebook page... check it out and "like" it! And follow me on twitter!

until next time...

the (formerly almost) 40 year old intern