Plant Stand

From J:

After making the shower stand, I had some aromatic cedar boards left. One of A's requests when I started this whole woodworking endeavor was for a plant stand, so...time to build one!

I wrote out some very detailed plans:

I cut out leg rails at a 10 degree angle for a bit of interest and added some pieces to fix the legs and give some rigidity. The shelves are screwed in to the cross pieces with ceramic-coated exterior screws. Two shelves only, I wanted to leave some room for taller plants on the bottom shelf.

Trying it out for size on the front porch. No finish yet.

I didn't try to hide the screws, they give it a more utilitarian look. Despite my extensive "plans" that I drew up before starting, I actually had to put some care into how big each piece was so that I could efficiently use the wood that I had. I drew out each cut on the actual boards and planned things out well enough that I only had about a 10"x3" piece of cedar left. From boards to standing table only took about 6 hours of work on a Saturday, including breaks, so it was a fast project. Two coats of General Finishes Outdoor Oil later, here's the finished project, living on the patio.

  

Say "hi" to Cyrus the cypress, our new potted plant.

Project cost: ~$50, including consumables.

Project reflections: Fun and satisfying to bang things out quickly, making design decisions (angles on the leg, spacings of the top boards, miters on the supports, etc.) more or less on the fly. Assembly could have gone smoother. In the future I'll make a jig so that the leg assemblies go together better. A great learning experience and some good practice!