Plant stand

A simple outdoor project, scrap timber, leftover wood oil and basic joinery. For me, it’s very satisfying that I turned something with no value into something pretty and functional. Learning new skills and having fun at the same time, that’s what I like. It is also a nice feeling to do outdoor projects in summer, proper projects at the proper time.

I selected the timber for the project and cut off one side (rip cut) that was rough and had a lot of saw marks (from an industrial band saw I believe). I left one side rounded, just as it was. Next, I cut some angles using my tapering jig.

For the base I used similar scraps but on top of cutting off the rough edge I had to remove the rounded corners as well. Once the timber was done I cut it in half and with 2 equal pieces I was able to cut the half-lap joints.

Using a mitre gauge with its weak fence looked a little insecure, but it did the job. However, to cut the dadoes I used my cross-cut jig, which is equipped with a way better fence.

Dry fit, no fasteners – it looked good to me. I selected the drill bits and the screws and using an f-clamp put everything together. The base was drilled and countersunk from the bottom to help drain water.

The moment I was waiting for brought a little surprise. I had to cut the sides again at a different angle. That actually couldn’t be done over my tapering jig as its maximum capacity was reached at the last cut.

To cut safely and accurately with my circular saw I used an additional support block because the workpiece was too small to hold the saw blade at a 90º angle and to allow me to make a perfect cut. All the cuts were free-hand without using any guide rails, fences or anything. It actually didn’t take long and sanding was even quicker, I only used 40 grit sandpaper! I applied 2 coats of wood oil and let it dry for a while or two.

The colours I got were extremely vivid and I loved it! I was thinking about this wood oil as something I had to get rid of, this way or another, but I was surprised at how well it did the job!