Customer Reviews

J.K. Adams MWR-B12-N Hardwood 12-Bottle Wine Rack, Natural

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

It's inexpensive. It can be assembled in minutes a variety of different ways to accomodate whatever space you have available and it is attractive. I just ordered a second one.

Even though the pictures (and the assembly instructions) don't depict it, this kit assembles quite easily such that the openings are in a diamond shape vs. square (turn your head 45 degrees while looking at the picture and you will get the idea).

Using a hammer, I assembled two '12 bottle' sets together in this manner, without wood glue or additional fastening, and it sits solidly on my bar, and looks much better in my view.

There are slight downsides though -- you do lose about one bottle capacity assembled this way -- e.g., I can rack 22 bottles vs. 24 had I used the square configuration (this is true because rack sits on a series of trianges must be subtracted from total capacity)
The second downside is that the bottle does not sit firmly cradled between the flat spots of two thick dowels, as it does in the square configuration. Assembled with a diamond opening, it sits on the flat spot of one dowel only, and the bottle either rolls slightly to the left or right, but is still firmly enclosed in its space. No risk of the bottle slipping out or through, it is purely an aesthetic objection, and hardly noticeable. (and I am really picky about such things)

If I have time, I will take a picture and post for others to see. This

Based on the overwhelmingly high product reviews this wine rack has on Amazon, I bought it with the anticipation of a quality product. When I attempted to assemble the kit, however, I discovered that the supplied hardware is insufficient to complete the job.

The instructions for assembly indicate that each peg should provide a "friction fit" during assembly, and that if any peg doesn't provide such a fit, to discard it and use another, since enough extras are provided to allow for some defective pegs. I discovered that about one in three or one in four of the pegs could provide a friction fit (not a tight friction fit, but just a friction fit). The remaining pegs turn loosely in the holes, and fall out if the "octobar" into which it is driven (yes, with a hammer) is upended. After a while, I began suspecting that maybe it wasn't just the pegs, but perhaps some of the holes were overlarge. So I started hunting through multiple holes looking for a tight fit, and rotating the bars to try to locate the wider holes towards the outside of the rack, where they wouldn't be used. Still, some pegs were so small that they wouldn't provide a friction fit in any hole, and some holes were so large that no peg could satisfy them.

All told, I was able to assemble slightly more than half of the octobars into two rows of openings, capable of holding some 20 bottles of wine. The box still contains a good number of octobars and a surprisingly high number of rejected pegs.

The instructions indicate, and I quote, that "Glue is usually unnecessary on J.K. Adams wine racks. Our pins are slightly oversized to produce a friction fit which is generally sufficient to insure a tight rack. In a dry environment, however, some wood joints may loosen. If this occurs, add a spot of glue." I'm located in southern California, where we're in the midst of our wettest winter in over a decade. In the last two weeks, our area has seen over 7" of rain (average yearly total = 3"). On the day I was assembling the rack, it was actually raining. So there is no way that I'm in "a dry environment."

I don't want to use glue to hold the remaining components together (and would not be confident in the structural strength thereby achieved - it would be like trying to glue a hot dog into the middle of a hallway). So, now I'm forced to decide whether to keep the 20-something bottle wine rack that I have (after paying for a 40-bottle rack) or deal with the hassle of disassembly and return shipment for a refund.

------ Update 3/11/2010 ------

I contacted customer service for JK Adams, and they were happy to send me out another bag of pins, which from the shipping label, they appear to have custom ordered a little larger than the standard pins. Using these extra, oversized pins, I was able to finish assembling the rack and use all of the 'octobars.' There are still a few less-than-solid connections in the rack, but hopefully nothing that causes the whole thing to come apart. Based on the experience, I'm upping my review to 3 stars, because the finished product is pretty good (four stars), and the customer service was helpful (five stars), but the hassle of receiving a defective product wasn't exactly great.

I have 4 of these kits that I have used to construct the racking system in my wine closet. They are fairly easy to assemble and all of the parts are made to specification so everything fits together well.

I didn't need anything except a rubber mallet to put this together. I didn't glue it, since I wasn't sure of the configuration I would prefer. I gave it a "step down" effect, which turned out just right. It's sturdy and unobtrusive. I bet I add more to it later on.

It was fun to build - a blast from my tinker toy past.
It fit in two tiers above my kitchen cupboards. So much nicer looking than fake green plants up there.
The shipment arrived very quickly; the packaging was excellent and the directions a breeze.
Highly recommend these for people who are looking for a flexible system of wine storage.

I purchased two of these to add to the larger one of the same brand that was given to me a a gift.
J.K. Adams wine racks fit together well and are very stable after assembly. Unlike some others, the rack accomodates odd-shaped bottles. As a plus it's easily expandable. I highly recommend it.

I purchased this item over 20 years ago, and it is still great. I purchased this set to add to my existing rack. The best part about this is that it is sturdy and can be configured any way you like. In my old house, I configured it to wedge under cabinets in the kitchen. In my current house, it is configured to sit under a parsons table. I am a very fussy consumer and highly recommend this product if you like the design. Great product !

Easy to assemble, if you're not in a rush. A mallet is needed for correct assembley. It's kind of fun like the old tinker toys. I was able to get the dimentions that I needed to fit into a larger cabinet. Great product. I also stained and polyurathaned.

This wine rack was simple to put together and very sturdy. I suggest using a rubber mallet when building it.