Nail Bottle Opener

I've seen these nail bottle openers online, and thought I would make one. They are super simple, but still very interesting, it can basically be a block of wood and a nail. I also wanted mine to be a little bit smaller and look better.

For this project all I used was:

- Scrap 1x4
- Scrap Nail, I used the biggest one I could find laying around
- Neodymium Magnet
- Special Walnut Colored Stain
- Epoxy
- Shellac Finish
- Template
- Black Spray Paint

I didn't have to, but I decided to use a template I printed off the computer. I cut it out and traced it onto the board.

I used the jigsaw to cut it out. It was a little rough, so I started out by smoothing out the cut. Then I began rounding and contouring the shape, so it's easy to hold. I mostly used loose sandpaper, because it's easier on something with so many contours like this. Lastly, I moved to a finer grit to finish and really make it smooth and rounded.

I started out by marking where the nail should be and where it should be bent. Then I put it in the vice, and bent it at a 90deg. with a wrench. It took a couple of tries to get the bend right where I needed it. Then I cut off the tip to remove some of the length.

I started by marking where each of the holes should go. I selected two drill bits that matched the diameter of the nail, and magnet. First I drilled for the nail the length from end to the bend. Then for the magnet, I just drilled a little at a time until the magnet sat flush.

I decided to give it some stain, so I used some special walnut color stain I had. I put on two coats, and while that was drying I taped off part of the nail, and put two coats of black spray paint on the part that would show. I just used some black spray paint I had laying around which happened to be bbq paint. After they were dry I tried giving them both a coat of shellac finish.

Now all that was left to do was put it all together. I mixed up some epoxy and glued in the nail and magnet. This was pretty easy to do, because the nail fit snug, and the magnet was held in by being drawn to the nail.

I was happy with the way this turned out. I looks great, and is elegant from its simplicity. It also opens bottles very well, the magnet is an added bonus. It's also a great conversation starter, and fun to play with. Since this is so simple and fun, I might make some more of these and give them as gifts.