Freezer collar build question: collar I built won't lay flat

Brewing Processes
1

I am finally adding a collar to my freezer and built a collar out of 2x6 and once I started putting the rectangle together (nails and screws) I realized that I couldn’t get the collar to lay flat.  There is about a 1/4" play in the thing (press down one side and the other side goes up just a little).  I bought weather stripping to serve as a buffer between the fridge and the wood and was wondering if this puffy stuff would solve the irregular shape problem. Should I just take it apart and start over?  They are just 2x6 butted together.  Any suggestions would help.  Thanks.

2

1.  you would probably be okay with the weather stripping and only 1/4 inch gap. but
2.  you could pane down the high spots with a good hand or draw plane.
3.  take the boards apart.  set up a table saw with the fence and rip a small portion off of one side of each board. then use this side and set the fence up again and rip the other sides to say 5 inch total  (basically the 6" side is 5 1/2 inch wide and you are taking a 1/4 inch off each.) that way at least you are starting with boards that are exactly the same width.  this will make it easier for you to make them even no matter if you butt them, dove tail, miter etc.

3

If you can’t get the boards to lie flat on the chest through repair then I would buy four of the staightest 2x6 boards you can find and lay them out on the flatest surface available to you.  Assemble them on a flat surface so they are all on the same plane.
They need to be fairly straight and lie flat on the chest.  Using foam stripping will help seal the small out of flat areas.

4

The puffy weather stripping worked.  It sits nicely on the top of the freezer.

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5

I had a similar problem.  i just filled the gap with silicone caulk and put some weights on it for a couple days.  I’m going to take it off now though to try and raise it so kegs can fit on the hump.

6

I fixed this problem by leaving all the screws loose until the whole thing was assembled.  Then I successively tightened each one a little bit more until they were all tight.  In the end, all the joints were pretty true.