Mead Racking Block

Racking and bottling gets a little dicey at the bottom of the carboy.   When you have siphoned almost all of your mead (or wine) and your cane is at the bottom of the carboy, you are trying to get all the mead you can and leave the sediment so you lean the carboy over to make a deeper puddle.   But in doing so some time you stir up the sediment and the last few bottles are cloudy.   We fought this battle and I thought we needed something to hold the carboy steady, at an angle while we racked/bottled.   So I came up with this wooden wedge to hold the carboy while racking/bottling.

Here is the racking block, notice its slightly beveled at each end.

A little different angle showing how its beveled to fit the bottom of the carboy.

Heres a carboy sitting on it.

A flash pic shows the sediment as the carboy sits on the block.

And a full carboy, note the angle and where the mead is gonna puddle.   Also the puddle will be directly below the mouth of the carboy.

I made a couple of other racking blocks, cut a 2x6 8" long then bevel it so it'll fit under the carboy.   Make a vertical line 2" from the right side, then make a mark 1/2" down the left side and draw a straight line on the edge and bandsaw off the wedge.   Thats about an 8° angle which matches the bottom of a carboy raised 1-1/2" on one side.

Another shot, the paint is drying.   If anyone wants a diagram, I'll draw one and put it up, please email .

The start of a clamp to hold the Auto-Siphon cane in the carboy while racking.