Want to build a home bar

jtvang125

Diamond Member
Nov 10, 2004
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Ok, I've been thinking about building a bar. Nothing too fancy, maybe 8 ft long and a few shelves underneath. There are a few problems though. First I don't have a truck nor does anybody I know have one so getting the wood back to my place might pose a problem. Of course I can still rent a truck for a few hours but that leads me to the next problem. I live in an apartment. Just a small 4 unit complex and we do have a car port in the back so I can use this area to put this thing together. Neighbors are all teens so more than likely they won't mind the racket. I'm not so sure about the landlord though but if I pursue this I'll ask him before starting to see if it's ok.

I already have a jigsaw and drill but I will pickup a circular saw if I go through with this. I wouldn't say my woodworking skills are on par of a carpenter but should be sufficient to accomplish a semi easy job like this.

What do you guys think?
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
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Check the landlord first and agree to do the loud noise during the daytime only. Heck, that is probably a city ordanance anyways that you can't make loud noise after dark. If the landlord won't agree to it, find a friend/relative and build it at his/her house.

Transporting wood isn't too bad if your car back seat folds down. I've been known to carry MANY things in my Civic that people thought couldn't fit. 8' or even 9' 2x4s aren't a problem. Heck, I even got 800 sq ft of flooring in there even though my car was nearly scraping the ground as I drove.
 

TheoPetro

Banned
Nov 30, 2004
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build it in pieces and carry each piece in then do the final assembly inside. make sure you can take it apart again though (aka use nuts & bolts). You can normally rent a truck from home depot or w/e. Draw everything out and have it planned exactly before you start building (saves $ and headache). Other than that just measure twice and cut once and have fun. I love building stuff.
 

serox

Senior member
Jul 11, 2004
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You could have a very simple bar box. the difficulty comes when you do inlay designs and stuff. Pick up a Dremel if you want to do that, actually better yet a router.

btw beautiful GS400, I drive an '01 GS300 with the spoiler :)
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,284
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Right off the bat I can tell you that a drill, jigsaw and a circular saw are not the right tools for quality woodwork. You have what it takes to build a bench or picknick table, not a bar. It's almost certain that you'll be let down with the results.
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
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Make sure that you will be able to get it in once the bar is built. You might be in for a suprise when you try to carry it through narrow hallways and doors.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
24,998
3,326
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Originally posted by: Greenman
Right off the bat I can tell you that a drill, jigsaw and a circular saw are not the right tools for quality woodwork. You have what it takes to build a bench or picknick table, not a bar. It's almost certain that you'll be let down with the results.
Probably correct there. A decent chop saw would at least be a must, and a table saw would help if he has paneling to cut. But there isn't much more that he'll need to get a bar made. Bars aren't typically fine craftsmanship.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,563
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A chopsaw is nice, but a cheap mitre box would do the trick for just cutting a few pieces of trim.

Personally, I wouldn't do anything like build an 8 foot bar in an apartment (how large is this place anyway?) but that's just me. Building things is a messy business, and you can probably kiss your deposit goodbye, if not get charged for new carpeting, etc. All it takes is a bit of spilled stain to require new carpet and you know they'll want to do the whole place.
 

jtvang125

Diamond Member
Nov 10, 2004
5,399
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Originally posted by: Greenman
Right off the bat I can tell you that a drill, jigsaw and a circular saw are not the right tools for quality woodwork. You have what it takes to build a bench or picknick table, not a bar. It's almost certain that you'll be let down with the results.

Well I'm not looking for anything fancy like mouldings or rised panels. Just a solid frame, panels to cover the front and sides, and the table top.

A table saw would be ideal but a circular saw can do the job if you take your time.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
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Originally posted by: jtvang125
Originally posted by: Greenman
Right off the bat I can tell you that a drill, jigsaw and a circular saw are not the right tools for quality woodwork. You have what it takes to build a bench or picknick table, not a bar. It's almost certain that you'll be let down with the results.

Well I'm not looking for anything fancy like mouldings or rised panels. Just a solid frame, panels to cover the front and sides, and the table top.

A table saw would be ideal but a circular saw can do the job if you take your time.

Sounds easy enough. Are the panels that cover the front and sides going to be solid lumber or plywood? If it's solid lumber you need some way to glue all the boards together, and a way to sand them smooth. If you use plywood (a LOT cheaper) how are you going to deal with the exposed ends? You have to band them, trim them, or miter them. It's extremely difficult to do a good field miter on plywood.

I'm not trying to ruin your plans, I just want you to think through all the steps before you start. It's a bummer having a couple hundred bucks and a couple days in something that ends up looking like it belongs in a kids backyard fort.

Edit: Planing is everything, I'm a contractor with every woodworking tool you can think of (and a few you've never heard of), and I wouldn't just dive in without a pretty good drawing of what I want. It's just to easy to end up with a mess that can't be finished. With limited tools, edges are the problem, everywhere two pieces of material come together you have to deal with that edge, if the work is to be painted you can just fill and sand, if it's stain grade work it has to be perfect.
 

Soapy Bones

Senior member
Dec 4, 2003
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I built a simple bar for my apartment that I've been in for the last 2 years. Basically the exact same plan as you have. I probably have around 80-100 invested in it, not including tools because I already had everything I needed. If you are prepared and have drawings/dimensions figured out most lumber places will cut wood to the exact size you need if you pay them or find someone willing.

My bar was simple, a 2x4 framework with 2 MDF board shelves which spanned across and supported by 2x4s anchoring on the side and middle. The shelves are removeable so that a person could move the thing when empty. The top was the most expensive part, i actually went to a building supply place and bought a bar countertop that was the size i wanted for my project. This made it easy to finish and looks very nice. Be sure to research and get your countertop piece BEFORE you cut and make your framework because the size may not be available that you want. To close it all in all I did was simply screw on some paneling that had a nice finish on the outside. I have always had plans of putting some moldings around the corners to finish it but I've never gotten motivated to do that. All in all though, it looks decently well for a college apartment and I get comments on it pretty often. I did put a couple of outlets on the back side of it and a simple plug into the wall so that I'd have electricity up there too, which may not be up to code but for its purpose it works well.

I could probably get some pictures if you're interested...

One final note, I would be careful about making something so big. Mine is 30" deep by i think 4 or 5 feet long and it is just about all I can handle moving fully built. Anything bigger than that is going to be tough to move. As mentioned before, make sure it can be dismantled fairly easily as well.

I built it with a power drill, circular saw and a jig saw with sawhorses. I think you'll be fine with what you have.