PROJECT: Compact Plant Stand - Woodworking | Weblog | Movies

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Indoor crops carry shade and life into our houses. They’re small oases of nature that soothe our nerves and please our senses. This small plant stand has a clear design that shows crops with out making a fuss about its personal seems and but is engaging to view in its personal proper.

This design has a spherical resin “tabletop” that’s as ultra-practical as it’s impervious to water. Pouring your personal resin high provides you the benefit of getting almost limitless shade variations at your fingertips. And that job will likely be made a lot simpler by utilizing a spherical silicone mildew from Rockler. I’ve had combined outcomes making my very own molds — breaking the hardened resin free from these molds is a standard downside. They are often fairly cussed, and a few dangerous phrases might have been uttered as I labored to free them. This silicone mildew made that step really easy that it’s onerous to clarify the distinction.

The framework of the plant stand is constituted of a manufactured bamboo board. I’d by no means used bamboo earlier than, however I’ve to say I’ll use extra of it now. It’s stable and straightforward to work. Rockler sells a 3/4″ x 8″ x 30″ board that’s greater than enough to make one plant stand.

Beginning on the Starting

Slice the legs and high items from a bamboo board. Bamboo rips properly and leaves a virtually polished edge within the course of. Manufactured bamboo boards are dimensionally secure and exceedingly sturdy.

Kick the mission off by ripping the highest items and the legs to width on the desk noticed. As I’ve talked about, this was my first expertise with a manufactured bamboo panel. I used to be so impressed with the graceful, almost polished edge that my carbide mixture blade shaped with these rip cuts. It was tremendous clear.

Crosscut the highest items to size. Not like when ripping, bamboo’s fibrous nature tends to depart a ragged edge when minimize throughout the grain. It’ll should be sanded easy later, except you rating it earlier than sawing.

Following that step, I used my miter noticed to chop the highest items to size. As stunned as I used to be concerning the easy ripped edges, I used to be equally stunned by the fuzz shaped on my crosscuts.

The creator used a dado blade in his desk noticed to kind the half-lap joint within the heart of the highest items. Sneak as much as the correct depth of minimize just a little at a time. Bear in mind, every adjustment is doubled while you make the notch, since you are slicing a notch in two interlocking items.

Apparently, the fibrous nature of bamboo doesn’t take nicely to crosscutting. I probably might have improved my success by scribing a line with a knife prematurely of the cuts, however I made a decision to make use of sandpaper to unravel the issue as a substitute.

On the router desk, plow 3/8″-wide by 3/8″-deep mortises into the highest items.

With the items minimize to size, it was time to make the half-lap joint within the heart of the highest items. I used a 3/4″ dado blade in my desk noticed. Check your setup on scrap items. This must be a decent joint, so take your time and do it proper.

Discover that the orientation of the notches should be accommodated so that every one the mortises find yourself.

With that performed chuck a 3/8″ straight bit into your router desk and use it to kind the mortises on the highest items. It’s a “drop” minimize, so I made use of a featherboard to assist management the operation.

With the mortises and notches ready, it’s time to chop the angled ends of the highest items. Rockler’s small tapering jig is simply the ticket to make the correct and repeatable cuts wanted right here.

I used to be capable of rout the complete 3/8″-deep mortise in a single minimize. The half-lap joint means these mortises should be on a particular edge; mark them so that you don’t get confused. End shaping the highest items by slicing the angles on their ends.

Legs are Subsequent

The legs should be minimize to size with the highest and backside ends minimize at an angle. A miter noticed is a good instrument for this job.

You’ve already ripped the legs to width, so now you should add some particulars. First, minimize the legs to size utilizing your miter noticed. Each the highest and backside of the legs should be angled barely. Set the angle — 10 levels — in your noticed. Make sure you minimize the legs to precisely the identical size to keep away from a wobbly plant stand.

A miter gauge on a desk noticed would additionally do the job properly. It’s essential that every leg is precisely the identical size, or the plant stand will likely be tippy.

I raised the tenon on the highest of every leg utilizing my router desk and a miter gauge. I hooked up a sacrificial fence to the miter gauge and chucked a 1/2″-diameter straight bit into the router.

The creator raised a tenon on high of every leg on the router desk. A 1/2″-diameter bit minimize the three/8″-long tenons. Connect a sacrificial fence to your miter gauge and safe a cease block to register the minimize. Check the setup on scrap lumber.

Setting the bit 3/8″ above the desk, I minimize a notch within the fence, then clamped a cease block to the fence. Check the setup with scrap lumber till you might be elevating a 3/8″-tall by 3/8″- huge tenon.

Use a band noticed to
begin forming the
shoulder of the tenon.

Utilizing a mixture of a band noticed and hand noticed, I squared up the shoulders of the tenons. Lastly I used a rasp to around the shoulders to match the rounded ends of the mortises. Check-fit every leg to be assured of a correct meeting.

Then use a Japanese hand noticed to finish slicing out the shoulder.

Tapering the legs comes subsequent. The taper begins 3-1/2″ down from the highest of the leg (minus the tenon) and angles over to depart 1/2″ of bamboo remaining on the backside of the leg. I arrange Rockler’s giant tapering jig and sliced the tapers, which minimize easily and cleanly.

Lastly, use a rasp to around the tenons to suit the mortises you made earlier.

With that performed, sand the undercarriage items easy and do a dry-fit to verify all of the elements are right. Now it’s time to attach and clamp them collectively. I selected to make two subassemblies utilizing a high piece and two legs every.

The final machining step on the legs is to kind their lengthy tapers. Utilizing Rockler’s giant tapering jig is a no-fuss methodology to get it performed. You may additionally minimize the tapers on a band noticed and sand the perimeters easy.

I let the glue remedy then utilized glue to the half-lap joint and clamped the subassemblies collectively. I selected Titebond III, because it’s a darker shade that matches the bamboo, however any wooden glue would work simply wonderful. After all of the glue had cured, I broke the perimeters of the items with 220-grit sandpaper.

Check-fit the legs and high items. In the event that they match collectively nicely, go forward and glue and clamp them up. Put together two subassemblies consisting of two legs and a crosspiece, then glue and clamp the subassemblies collectively. Common woodworking glue works simply wonderful with the bamboo.

You’ll have seen that the resin high is lifted barely above the extent of the highest items. I did that with shelf pins which can be often used to assist adjustable cabinets in a cupboard. I bored holes for them 3/4″ in from the top of every high piece, centered within the edge.

With the framework glued collectively, mark and drill the shelf pin holes. Use dowel factors to switch their areas to the resin tabletop.

Later, I used dowel factors to find the matching holes on the underside of the resin tabletop. This accomplished the woodworking facet of the mission. I sprayed a number of coats of lacquer on the bamboo from an aerosol rattle can. It took the end nicely.

Spherical Resin Tabletop

The sky is the restrict with regards to creating resin tabletops for this plant stand. Shade, steel flake components, utilizing a mixture of stable wooden and wooden shavings — all are choices.

Epoxy resin work has change into exceedingly common when mixed with woodworking. Rockler’s silicone molds make that work a lot simpler.

Measure your elements rigorously — by weight is greatest, however quantity will work moderately nicely. Utilizing a mildew launch spray can be a sound approach … work smarter, not tougher. Creativeness and a focus to particulars are the keys to great-looking resin merchandise.

Cautious measurement of the resin and hardener is essential to success. Combine the 2 elements collectively nicely, then add shade, do you have to so select.

Combining colours and ornamental brokers provides selection to resin work. Rockler’s spherical silicone resin mildew varieties an ideal circle, and it additionally makes it really easy to take away the hardened resin when it cures. One trick in creating attention-grabbing swirls is to attend for the resin to only barely start to harden after which transfer the stir stick throughout the form in irregular and summary patterns.

Topping it Off

Clear high with inexperienced dye

I made the selection to make the tabletop from resin for a few causes: first, resin is sturdy and waterproof, and second, it gave me an opportunity to check out Rockler’s new spherical silicone mildew. Let me let you know, eradicating the highest from that mildew was really easy I might hardly consider it. That characteristic and the repeatability of the mildew actually bought me on the idea.

Half stable wooden with wooden shavings suspended in resin.

I made a number of tops with my favourite being a translucent aqua inexperienced. To be frank, the tabletop might have been made from wooden and the plant stand can be simply as useful — however to me, the see-through high actually provides to the freshness of this design.

Black dye with silver metallic flakes.

Right here’s a enjoyable little mission to construct, and it makes a terrific reward. For those who give them to a couple totally different individuals, altering the tabletop colours and textures ensures distinctive items for all.

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