I'm moving into about a 1500 sq. ft. house soon and I would like to build my own portable bar that I can store beverages in. It should be long enough to put a couple stools in front of where people can sit but not so heavy that it becomes a pain to move around. Can anyone recommend a place or website where I can find plans or blueprints for a smaller, DIY, portable home bar? Any suggestions for this setup would be appreciated.
Wood – Portable home bar plans
kitchenswooden-furniturewoodworking
Related Solutions
I will show how to build a simple A-frame swingset from pressure-treated four-by-fours and scraps, with minimal cutting.
From a six-inch-wide pressure-treated board (e.g., a 5/4-inch by 6 inch deck board), cut four isosceles trapezoids with bases that are 11 and 16 inches.
Take two legs (8-foot-long 4x4s) and align them with the legs of one of the trapezoid while touching each other on the top. Draw a line across the 4x4 legs along the short base (top) of the trapezoid. These lines are for alignment, not for cutting.
Center a scrap block of 4x4 above the trapezoid and draw lines on the legs along the sides of the block. Cut the legs along these lines.
Attach the trapezoid with screws. Attach a second trapezoid on the other side of the legs.
About six inches below the trapezoid, attach a crossbar made from another piece of 5/4x6 board. You could also use a 2x4.
Make a brace from 2x4 or 4x4. (Measure from the top of the trapezoid to the bottom of the crossbar and apply the pythagorean theorem to get the length of the brace.) Cut at 45-degree angles and attach to the crossbar.
Repeat steps 1–6 for the other A.
Assemble. Here's how to do it by yourself:
Hang swings and enjoy!
Microwave ovens do not generate heat themselves, but cause the food itself to heat up. As such there is not a lot of heat output from the unit, but there is expanding air as the food warms the air in the chamber.
Reputable manufacturers are fairly conservative about their venting requirements. If you meet those requirements, you should be OK.
Another consideration is clearance for the door swing and for moving dishes in and out of the unit. Make sure that its positioning does not cause you to be handling a hot dish at an awkward angle. Also high shelves are a bit risky since you would be handling hot food at head and face level. A singed hand pulled back could lead to a bad scalding.
Finally, you need to be sure that there is an outlet nearby of the proper amperage. A 900 watt microwave draws about 8 amps. A line with a number of other heavy duty appliances on it may pop circuit breakers.
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Best Answer
A bar is very much like a kitchen island with a seating overhang. There are several sites that either have plans, discussions or links to islands that might suit your purpose. See, for example:
http://www.diynetwork.com/topics/kitchen-islands/index.html
or
http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=673
I made a fixed kitchen island from an unfinished base, a granite top I custom ordered, and brackets I created to match the style of the unfinished cabinet. A shallower version could serve as a classic bar. This is NOT portable (almost no stone top should be).
You could make it portable by substituting a wooden top covered in metal, a thin butcherblock top, or any other wood or even tile. Portability could be enhanced by attaching wheels to the base, either caster type or larger wheels with axles, but if you are storing bottles and glasses, you may not want that much movement.