How to: DIY Wooden Bottle Openers From Scrap

I've had a small piece of scrap black walnut in the shop for a while. It was perfect to make a few simple bottle openers. Take a look.   I can't seem to ever find a bottle opener when I want one. Sure, i could buy a few more but why not make them? I took a little slice of walnut and made a set of four so I could scatter them around the backyard and always have one close.

Here are the steps:

Walnut

1. Pick the wood – The right wood should be hard enough to take some abuse, shy away from pine or similar soft woods.Bandsaw Cuts

2. Make the cuts – I cut the pieces wide enough to be able to shape later on the band saw, so rough cuts were about 1″x1.5″ and about 5″ long.Cut off pieces

3. Sketch out the design – You could make the design more accurate, but I free-handed the cuts to make them organic then took them to the band saw. Tip: I use the cut-off from one side to sketch out the opposite side for symmetry.Bandsaw Pieces

4. Cut the pieces – At the band saw, I cut the pieces to shape. With such small pieces, be careful to keep hands from in front of the blade. Use push sticks whenever possible.Sanding

5.  Sand smooth – After the openers are done at the band saw, they are smoothed out with a sander. This can be done by hand, but it will take a bit longer. Once they are smooth, it's time to drill.Drilling Holes

6. Drill the holes – Drill the opening for the bottle with a Forsner bit, about halfway to make an opening for the bottle cap top.

Finishing Bottle Openers

7. Finish and add washers – The wood finish on my pieces is a simple beeswax polish, which adds a bit of character to the wood grain. after a quick polish, I added washers to the underside to finish off the openers.

Now all that's left is to open a cold one and enjoy having a few more openers within reach!