Magnetic Beer Tote

Not the most original thing in the world but here’s my take on a beer tote…

Had some lightly figured maple and a bunch of aromatic cedar in the shop, so I figured I’d give one of these a try. Didn’t have plans so I marked things out by using beers from the fridge.

Sides are maple, bottom and rails are cedar, handle is a piece of scrap I had lying around which I’m thinking is poplar. Magnet and bottle opener are from amazon, the magnet is epoxied in with West Systems. Jigsaw and hand saws for most of the cuts, mortise and tenon on the handle were done on the router table and drill press. Preliminary shaping was done on a spindle sander and refined by hand. It doesn’t actually need the forged nails but I thought they added a nice decorative touch.

The insert was made with a piece of scrap poplar I had, it was the only thing thinner than 3/4 inch I had in the shop :(

Finish was 2 coats of pure tung oil – mineral spirits – poly mix, dried for 2 days, wet sanded 220 (since there was a bit of oil seeping out), then 3 coats of poly – naphtha mix with 320 sanding in between. Last coat of poly was after the nails went in to protect the oxide coating on them.