Beer Caddy Laser Pattern for 6-pack - Three Caddy Plans (Glowforge & Mira tested)

NOTE: These are PLANS to make your own caddy! This is not a listing for an actual caddy! ;)

In my opinion, these are the BEST Beer Caddy laser plans out there. Here are the 10 great reasons why I think so:

1. You have plans for THREE versions of the same caddy depending on the wood you’re using to the look you’d like.

2. One of plans is for 1/4” material. My favourite thickness for caddies. Beefy, study and a little more weight to it.

3. One is for 1/4” material if you but at the box stores (as it’s less than 1/4”…it’s actually 3/16” - so you have the plans for that caddy too. (if you have 5.5mm wood, it would work just fine for that thickness as well...as we're only talking the difference of about half a millimeter).

4. Long Fingers! The other 1/4” plan is for slightly longer fingers. I really don’t like the dark ends on the fingers so the third plan they are a little proud so you can easily sand them off for a clean box look….no other plans on Etsy offer that! EDIT: it aint easy to clamp it with these though. Doable but not as simple as the other two patterns

5. I have a flimsy handle and some have a single piece of wood and others the two that you double up….but mine have three! So your handle is a beautiful 3/4” and once sanded and rounded, feels wonderful in your hands!

6. Nice big windows to see the bottles well…but enough room to leave some writing (use the pieces cut out of the windows for other projects like, keychain license plates or luggage tags!

7. A unique look of the ends that mimics a bottle shape…no more straight triangles!

8. This pattern will fit a beer bottle perfectly so no more bottles rattling around in it! (2.54” thick bottles for the 1/4” wood and a little wider bottles for the 3/16” wood). However, many cans will be just the slightest bit too big.

9. This pattern uses less wood than other popular patterns on Etsy

10. A complete run down of exactly how I prepare these!

These are the plans to make a Beer (or Drink) Caddy on your laser cutter. Specifically tested on a Glowforge until I got it right (see below for more info on a Glowforge if you don't have one yet). The fit is perfect. In fact, the fit needs a tap tap with a hammer so no more fumbling around when trying to clamp it (especially tight for the handle so line it up with the holes and give the end a few taps - it'll slip in...it's a tight fit...but should be a tight fit).

Made for bottles no larger than 2.54” in diameter. So it's for a regular beer bottle.

The plans are written for 1/4“ plywood. This is a common thickness and will make your carrier a little more solid and sturdy. If you find your wood, that you purchased as 1/4”, is actually 3/16”….you have the plans here for those too - it’s labeled 6-Pack Beer Caddy - Thin. I'll send you the SVG files as well as the Illustrator files.

Oh, and these are popular. I posted one photo or my 6-pack beer caddy on my personal Facebook page (made a gift for my little ones' teachers) and I sold 25 over those next two weeks. I charge $95.00 plus tax for them, although that’s really not worth the time I put into them. ;)

Once you order (or before you order), please don't hesitate to touch base if you have any questions whatsoever.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS AND TIPS!

Below is all the information on need when putting together. This is how I build them!

First off, when printing/lasering, the ends will fit on the Glowforge UI. It’s an exact fit. A couple pixels bigger and it would be too large and wouldn’t light up and be ready for print. I could have made it a wee but shorter…but it fits…so I left it.

So, after printing the caddy, the fist thing I do is glue together the 3 handles to make a thick one. When you tighten the clamp, make sure they don’t slide askew - keep them nice and lined up. You really don’t need much glue at all. I like to sand it using a 60 grit palm sander to make the handle nice and rounded (see my photos of the sanded handles) and the smooth it with a 220 grit - put the handle on the caddy when you're gluing the whole thing together...not afterward. Test the fit before you start glueing the whole caddy together though as I made the handle holes tight. If your handle pieces went askew a bit, you can and it down a wee bit and still not have the handle wobbling around while you’re trying to clamp the whole thing. To test the handle in the hole, if you really don’t think it will fit, then sand it down a wee bit (I tap my handles in with a hammer).

Before I start gluing the caddy together, I take a quick second and sand the inside of the rail. I don’t like the sharp edge and it’s way harder to sand when the caddy is all glued together.

When you put it together, you’ll need clamps to hold it tight. I have all the fir fairly tight and snug but a clamp will really pull the pieces tight together. (EDIT: the caddy plans with the long fingers is hard to clamp as the long fingers gte in the way a bit...only use this plan if you really hate the look of the blackened ends. But the regular plans it's pretty easy to sand them down too).

Be careful with the glue - anywhere you get glue, the stain won’t adhere (even if you think you wiped it off real good). Don’t be working with glue covered fingers or a gluey table!

Also once the whole caddy together, I like to palm sand the it down with the 220, especially the fingered edges. It makes the corners look like you joined them absolutely perfectly and smooth as glass. If you’d like to have your finger ends sanded to the point that all the black is gone, just use the file for the “Long Fingers”. It's your third pattern. There is only one issue with those plans though, it’s much harder to clamp as you have to get behind the perpendicular fingers to get the wood tight. (You’ll quickly see what I mean once you start). I was able to do it, you will too. When it's all stained and varathaned, I hand sand it with a 600 grit water/oil proof sandpaper with some lemon oil or other wood finishing oil. Then a final sand with 1500 or 2000 grit soft block (google "Norton SandWet 1500" to see what I mean - they are amazing to make that handle feel so glassy smooth like it's been carried for 50 years.

The very last thing I do after it’s all been sanded after Varathane, is assembling the inserts and sliding them in. They are a tight fit without varathane, but they will fit - get those tabs lined up with the holes and push hard or tap with a hammer (on a block, of course). I don’t even bother with glue on this one. Then screw on the bottle opener!

Concerning putting on the bottle opener (so many great ones on Amazon for cheap - search for "Cast Iron Wall Mount Bottle Openers" - they run about $2.00 each when ordering a pack of a dozen or so. I've ordered lots or different ones and I've settled on the "Homend 12pcs Cast Iron Wall Mount Bottle Openers" - they are black, cast iron, and look great.). I put glue on it and then screw in the bottom part (not too much glue or it will squish out the sides when you tighten it). Then I line up the top hole on the handle and put in a longer screw (1" screw works just fine - especially the one that comes with the cast iron openers I buy - see above). Hand turn the screws, by the way - no drills.

It is hard to find screws that have a head big enough to hold the opener in tight but not have the screw longer than 1/4”….so some pay peek out the backside. Just hit that with a file and if you do scuff up the wood a little, just hit it with some oil and it should ‘buff out’. The screws I use are framing screws I bought at Home Depot. These are the screws I found - https://www.homedepot.ca/product/paulin--6-x-7-16-inch-pan-head-phillips-drive-framing-screws-zinc-plated-100pcs/1000182481

It’s a great product that people love and work great for wedding gifts to the groomsmen, Fathers day, Christmas, etc. I even have a real estate agent that has me make them for her to have at the house as a ‘thank you’ housewarming gift.

If you have questions, just ask.

Trevor

PS: If you don't have a Glowforge PRO but are thinking of buying one, please don't hesitate to touch base with me as I'd love to help you I can tell you things I love and things...not so much. Should you decide to be kind enough to use my referral link to make your purchase (https://glowforge.us/r/EOSWIRKJ) as it will save you (and give me) up to $500....you can count on me to help you with any questions you have about anything once you receive it and get you up and going. Facetime/zoom/skype, whatever you like. I’m going to earn that referral! Heck, if you use my referral link, I'll just send you all my patterns I have listed here!