Thread: Planter Box - My first project

Nice work JMalone
What are you going to use to preserve the pine?

john

Since I'm really new to this woodworking caper, I'm at a bit of a loss to know what to do with the finish of the planter box.
Obviously, I'd like to have it last for a little while outside, and that's going to be a challenge with the pine.
I'm located in Arizona, US (ex-Melbourne Aussie, though...) so water isn't a major concern, but 45 C temperatures are normal in the summer.

I'd like to stain it, probably Cherry or something similar, and put a weatherproof clear gloss or semi-gloss over the top, but I need to find something that will handle the weather.

I'll take any and all suggestions.
Thanks,
John

P.S. The planter box was my introduction to learning new skills such as mortise and tenons, table saw, router, tongue and groove... etc, etc. The long term plans are to work on project for inside, but I wanted something I could hide outside if it turned out a bit rough.

Nice work, John. Well done.

Outside planter boxes tend to be painted. You can use a couple of coats of primer and one or two top coat, and it provides very good protection against sun and water (even if it doesn't rain, you'll be watering the plants). Most furniture grade finishes are not really designed to protect against sun and water.

If you want to keep it a 'natural' color, you might look for products designed for wooden decks. They won't normally last as long as a painted finish, but may give you the look you're after.

Regards,

Tex

Thanks for the ideas.
I'll update when I get the courage to put stain on the planter.
It's still too soon to take the risk and ruin it....
Cheers,
John

A nice first project. Well done. Have to put up a pic of the painted work.

Hello all,

According to the good lady, one planter box just wasn't going to cut it. The first one needed a friend to look good and be happy.

Well... I thought I could knock another one out rather quickly since I'd done all the learning on the first one. Wrong!

I got a little cocky and didn't concentrate enough when doing the mortises. I'm here to tell you that mortises that aren't straight are a real pain in the butt.

So a LOT of time went into rescuing the legs from being scrapped. I managed it and am VERY glad that the internals of the mortises can't be seen.

Anyway here are the photos for your amusement.

Cheers,
John

P.S. All the wood used here was scrounged from a local building site and from a machinery pallet. It's my thing; making nice things out of scrap material.
Oh... and it's cheaper too!

Hi John,

Great job on the planter boxes, they'll look even better out in the garden with a nice plant in them.
Either side of a big bench seat maybe....next project.

If your still keen on using a stain you could use a marine grade varnish on top like Monocell (i think thats what its called.) Very durable.

Keep us posted with some pics of the finished product.

Steven.

Hi John, Great job. Might be an idea next time to ask the good lady how many she wants. Much easier to make them both together.

Great work on the planter box(es) - especially for your first project. I'm impressed.

Hello All,
Thanks for the kind words regarding the planter boxes.
I've finally finished the blessed things, and not a moment too soon.

No one told me that staining and coating these things was going to be almost as hard as building them!

Anyway, I used a Colonial Maple stain that my father-in-law had lying about in his workshop and finished it with two coats of exterior spar urethane, which claims to withstand anything bar Armageddon. We'll see.

Total cost of the project (outside tools): $20. $5 sandpaper and $15 spar urethane.
Not too bad really.

Once again, thanks for the encouraging words.
Next project, bedside tables for the spare room.

Cheers,
John

Nice job mate, and with plants in them they will look great .....a little tip though since your using plain pine, covered in varnish is ok for outside, but the weak spot is the legs .....water will travel up through them if they are not sealed properly on the bottom ,....and to make sure I would suggest a stopper .....I forget the name of them, but they look like an oversized drawing pin, some kitchen chairs have em ....on the bottom of the leg, .....I am sure you know what I mean ....

anyways ....keep up the good work mate, your doing great

I really think they would go good next to my favorite chair with a glass top on them and a Beer I would be proud to have them as house furniture

Grat job

Hello All,

I thought I'd post some photos showing the result of time, weather and wood expansion on the planter boxes.

I originally made the legs of one of the boxes from two pieces laminated together. This originally seemed like a good idea. Either the wood was wet (highly likely) or it changed shape by being in the weather (it was a hot summer here in Phoenix, AZ), but the laminations 'curled' back. It's obvious in the photo.

The sides of the planters were meant to have room to expand given different weather. Apparently I didn't give them enough space and the strength of the expansion opened up the mortise and tennon joint between the leg and the rail. Moral of the story? Wood expansion is real and very powerful.

The interesting thing is that only the first planter box showed signs of weathering. The second one is pretty much still in perfect condition. Except for the removable shelf which has expanded so much that it's a very tight fit. That'll be easy to fix. I'll just run the edges off on the table saw.

I still really like the boxes. The weathering seems to make them more organic and in a garden setting I don't mind that at all. I built these as a learning process and I'm still learning from them nearly a year later. Cool!

Enjoy the pictures.

Thanks for the update, a good learning experience! I'm making similar boxes as a cover for an ugly worm farm, and am still not decided on a finish as for my purposes it has to be worm-friendly! But it looks like you haven't actually planted anything in yours yet. Can we have another look in a year or so after they've been watered, fertilised and actually got dirty?
I agree with you that a weathered look is good in a garden. It can be hard to match form and function, especially when using a timber which is strictly speaking not really suited to the application. But, like you , I use what I can get.