I have always wanted to make one of these wine barrel tables from the first time I saw them. I wanted my table to be more fine furniture and I wanted to make it personal to me.

 Because I have made a few of these tables I did not always remember to take photos along the way.  So for this tutorial, I will combine all the tables together which should cover all the step on how to build one.  They are all built the same I just made the tops different.  So that is why some of the photos will look like another wine barrel.

How to make a wine barrel table

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How to remove stains and smells from the wine barrel

My wine barrel had been used for red wine and had a very strong smell on the inside.  I fill the barrel up with water and a cup of bleach and let it sit for a day.  This did work to a certain degree but it did still have a slight red wine smell. (this was fixed later). I divided my barrel in half making sure the plug hole is at the bottom of the one half.  It will look silly having a plug hole in the side of your table.  I drilled holes into the bands and added screws to keep the bands in place and to stop the barrel from falling apart once cut. I have learnt there is always a way to divide the barrel in half without cutting any of the wood staves.

Cutting the wine barrel in half

It is a good idea to put some ratchet straps around the wine barrel before you cut the bands. You need the wine barrel to stay together until you have cut the top and the bottom. You can use an angle grinder and a cutting disc to cut the bands.

Once the bands were cut I  drilled a pilot hole (which will be hidden when it is put together)in the top and the bottom so I could get the blade of the jigsaw in to start cutting them.  You now have your 2 halves.  I put the wine barrel face down on a table so it was easier for me to sand the surface. My first barrel I sanded it before I cut it using a belt sander this works great just it is hard to keep the barrel from rolling about.

Sanding the wine barrel

I used 120 grit sanding disc on an orbital sander to smooth the wood and remove all the rough edges.  I was trying to sand close to that bands and I found the sanding discs were catching on the bands and ripping. So I removed the bands in the middle NOT the top and bottom ones or your barrel will fall to pieces. It is a good idea if you are going to remove the bands to number them so you know where they go when you put them back together.

Making the arch legs

Next, you need to make your arch which is the hardest part of making this table. You need to use thick wood for this step because it needs to support the weight of the wine barrel.  Mine was 4 cm thick.  I did not have wood thick enough, so I glued two pieces together to get the thickness I wanted. Decide where you want to position the legs first and mark the place on the barrel this is important when you are making the slope later. Divide the barrel width in 2 to get the middle, measure the depth of the barrel and add the height you want it to be lifted off the floor.  This table was 40 mm. 

Cutting the arch

Find the centre of your piece of wood and draw the arch with a compass. I used a large wooden one that I made.   Leaving a little extra on either side so you can add a slope if you want it the same as mine.  I was not to keen on the square legs. To cut the arch I used a jigsaw.  Because a wine barrel slopes your legs also need to have a slope in them for the wine barrel to sit nice.  If you are skilled enough with a jigsaw (which I am not) you can set the jigsaw blade to cut at the angle of your wine barrel, so you have less sanding to do. I used the compass again to add a slope on the sides and cut them with a jigsaw. The total length of the legs was 880 mm.

Getting a better fit around the wine barrel

To give the legs a nicer finish I used an old bed slat which I cut to 884 mm(L) x 80 mm (W) x 20 mm (Thick) which will leave a 20 mm gap all the way around. I used a wood router and a round-over bit to remove the edges for a nicer look.  I centred the leg in the middle of the base and clamped it in place while I drilled holes in the bottom and screwed them all together. Because the surface on some of the barrel was not level I had to do a lot of sanding. To make this job go faster I used an angle grinder with a sanding disc. You have to keep sanding the slope on the inside of the legs until you have a nice fit.

Make sure you use the markings you added for placement in the beginning. Next, I stained the wine barrel using cedar stain and added 2 coats of satin polyurethane. I sanded the bands using 180 grit sandpaper and painted them with black spray paint.

Decorating the bands

The bands looked a bit plain so drilled hole in every stave and added truss head screws as decoration. This will also keep the bands in place if the wood shrinks. To fit the wine barrel to the legs I made sure it was level first and then pre-drilled holes through the inside of the barrel into the centre of the legs.  I used a small drill bit first to make sure I was in the correct place.  If you make a mistake it is easy to hide a small hole on the inside.  Once I had the correct position I used large screws and screwed them together.  I added 4 screws to each leg.  To get the rest of the smell out of the barrel I sanded the inside and sealed it with 2 coats of satin polyurethane.

I was not 100% sure if the legs would be strong enough to hold the weight of the wine barrel. On the first one, I made so I added a support beam under the wine barrel between the legs as per the image below.  Theses I screwed in place from the top and the sides.  The last few I made never had the support and they were fine.

Making the apron

To make a lip for the lid to sit. I cut wood 2 x 780 mm x 90 mm x 20 mm and 2 x 880 mm x 90 mm x 20 mm.  To joined them all together I added pocket holes using a jig and used wood glue and screws to put them together. Next, you line the lip up in the correct place and drill holes through the lip into the wine barrel.   I used a wood router with a round-over bit to remove all the edges for a nicer look.

I filled the screw holes with wood filler and stained the lip and added 2 coats of satin polyurethane.  On the inside of the wine barrel, I also added a piece of wood which I glued in place and added screw just to keep the wine barrel in shape.  I was not sure if it would move

Making the tabletop

My tabletop was a total cop-out because I did not build it.  I always use recycled tabletop that I get for free and Facebook marketplace.  I like my tabletops to be thick because they look more expensive.  If you want to see how I made one thicker this wine barrel table.  This is the only image below I have of the table.  Back in the day when I had no workshop, this was how I had to sand my table so I did not hurt my back. I used a wet cloth and a hot iron to steam most of the dents out.  Once dry I sanded down the surface starting with 120 grit and ending with 320 grit sandpaper.

Attaching the tabletop

To add the tabletop  I centred my tabletop on the lip and marked out where the hinges needed to be. I used a hammer and a chisel to sink the hinges into the lip, and screwed it all together. My son was the hand model in this picture.

Creating the decal

To make the tabletop personal to me I designed a decal in Microsoft word and had it made online. To keep in the theme of the wine barrel I designed a logo as if I owned a winery. I added our Family name to it as well as the year we got married. I stained the table and added 1 coat of satin polyurethane.  The reason I sealed it first was on the test run I did the stain ate into the decal and it lifted while the resin was drying. I applied the decal to the table and sealed it with epoxy resin. Pour the resin according to manufacturers instructions.  The photos do not do the table justice. It was so hard to photograph because the surface is like glass and kept reflecting the light.  If you are lucky enough to own a  Cricut Explore Air™ 2 machines you can make your own decal, but it is very important that the decal has no border or background. To finish off the look I added a few cast-iron studs to the sides.

The coffee table has plenty of storage, mine is used as a toy box.

Wine Barrel coffee table I made for my sister with a family tree design and the year she was married. it is not the best picture because if the light in her house.

More wine barrel projects

Wine barrel table with built-in wine/Ice bucket

Firewood stand

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