Tap Mounting On Freezer Collar

[Frag_Dog]

Tap Mounting on Freezer Collar

I've built the collar for my freezer and now its about time I sort the mounting of the taps out. The wood I used for the collar is pretty thick (45mm), and its pretty ugly. Its kind of ribbed, looks like deck boarding.

So my plan is to get a thin bit of wood and mount the taps to this and put bigger holes thru the collar. A picture is woth 1000 words....



Has anyone used a simmilar setup? Will it work?

I plan on using a good bit of wood, but not being a wood worker can anyone suggest a type of wood to go for and the prep work involved? I am only going to do the front, the rest of the collar can remain.

The tap I am mounting (eventualy there will be 5) is a Celli, and from the measurment I took it can probibly mount up to 10mm deep.

 

[jayse]

I did the same for my celli tap but used some metal instead of wood.
See here on the right hand side, did this because the tap does not reach all the way through and was a much cheaper way then buying the celli shank.
So yeah see if you can get some of this type of metal, its some sort of alloy its tough and sturdy but reasonbly easy to cut with a hacksaw and drill the holes in, I would say better then using wood.
Don't know were to get if from though as this was from a large piece I had in the shed, shouldn't be had to find something like it though I am sure.

 

[Ross]

....or just countersink a wider hole in the rear of the collar to take the washer & nut for the tap.


Cheers Ross

 

[jayse]

....or just countersink a wider hole in the rear of the collar to take the washer & nut for the tap.


Cheers Ross

Was gunna try that myself but went the metal plate instead.
I think frag_dog is also interested in the decorative factor rather then just getting the taps to fit, mine you can see was not built with ever thinking about decorative :huh: in which case a long strip of some nice looking wood would work pretty well.

 

[Frag_Dog]

I thought about the counter sunk hole idea, but the wood I got is pretty ugly, has lots of knots and not very smooth. For a bit of time and elbow grease I could make a nice bit of wood to mount it on.

And now for a few follow up questions...

How big should the hole in the collar be? I measured out and I think 32mm should be enough for the collar and 23mm for the tap. I have to buy the drill bits, so I want to get the right ones and save a bit of $$$ on buying a whole set.

Its been about 15 years since I last did any thing with wood where I wanted it to look good. So should I just sand down and apply some varnish? Any recommended woods or should I just get pine and stain the hell out of it? I'm going for a dark look...

 

[KGB]

I used a sheet of plywood on the front of my chesty as a decorative kinda thing and just painted it white. If you got a 'pretty' piece of ply you could probably sand and stain it and it would com up pretty well I think.

 

[Mitchell]

I countersunk mine and then used a bit of metal sheet as to add a bit of extra strength. While I was there I went the whole hog and folded it into a drip tray... but even a plain piece of sheet on the collar would look awesome with some Celli taps. It's not the wood look you are after but depending on the width of your freezer a bit of sheet may totally hide the collar.

I made the countersunk hole about 4 mm wider than the socket I use for the tap nut. I figure the smaller the better to keep the cold in. By the time I painted it it's a snug fit. Don't have the exact size on me at the moment sorry. If the thread is still running tonight I'll check the size.

 

[Frag_Dog]

I countersunk mine and then used a bit of metal sheet as to add a bit of extra strength. While I was there I went the whole hog and folded it into a drip tray... but even a plain piece of sheet on the collar would look awesome with some Celli taps. It's not the wood look you are after but depending on the width of your freezer a bit of sheet may totally hide the collar.

I made the countersunk hole about 4 mm wider than the socket I use for the tap nut. I figure the smaller the better to keep the cold in. By the time I painted it it's a snug fit. Don't have the exact size on me at the moment sorry. If the thread is still running tonight I'll check the size.

I think I've seen this setup in another thread somewhere.

I'm not opposed to the stainless idea (looks sweet) but I shudder to think how much a bit of stainless that size would cost. Plus I don't have the skills/equipment to fold it and make it look decent.

I like the plywood idea. I'll make a run down to the lumber yard on saturday and sus out some prices...

I'll post up some pics of the collar when I get home.

 

[brettprevans]

Frag. check out this wiki on freezer converstions - here

edit: the doc will also show how easy it is to drill out the back of the wood. a flat drill bit makes this a peice of piss.

 

[Frag_Dog]

Frag. check out this wiki on freezer converstions - here

edit: the doc will also show how easy it is to drill out the back of the wood. a flat drill bit makes this a peice of piss.

Yeah I read that wiki about 20 times before attempting the conversion.

I've painted the whole collar with about 3 layers of white Wyattle "Primer Sealer Undercoat". Its held to the fridge with cilicon sealer, one bead on the inside, one on the outside. Seems reasonably sturdy, but I haven't tried to get the missus up on it yet.....

Here are some photos....




I don't want the dressing bit to go the whole way around, just the front facing bit.