The Planter

Hi, it's me again.
Well, amongst my big loooong list of DIY projects I've given myself to do, my lovely wife has added a couple. One of these included a planter so she could grow some nice fresh vegies. We have a small rear garden which isn't ideal for growing vegies in because it's surrounded by tall trees and we have a chicken who, well, rules the roost. Chooks are renowned for tearing up vegie patches. So on that basis, I decided to build a raised planter to keep it away from Penny the chicken and get a bit more height to maximise the sun. Additionally, the raised planter makes it easier on the back.

The Planter

Fortunately, I got some free treated timber palings and railings left over from a fencing project I helped with so it meant I pretty much built the whole thing for next to nothing. IMHO, anything built completely from rough sawn fencing grade timber can look a bit unsavoury, so I put a bit of effort into doing some decorative carving. The size is based around the standard size of fence palings and the spot on the deck that would fit it (1.8m x 0.9m).

Front Carving 

This planter was fairly easy to build and the total materials (if I'd bought them all) would have cost around $90 (NZ), including the polythene sheet liner and netting and all the screws i used to put it together. I added 3 light frames that allow the netting to drape over to keep 'you know who' from trashing our nice vegie patch (see the pic below). The structure is fairly simple to build and I used a particular method that I'm happy to expand on if anyone is interested. Construction time around 3 hours, extra for the carving.

Happy Sun Face

The polythene liner was bought from the local hardware store off a roll - simply cut to size. I've used the liner to help retain the water as being such a shallow bed, the soil will dry out quickly. It also prevents the toxins from the treated timber leaching into the soil and the vegies. The liner has holes in the bottom to let the excess water out.

The Finished Product

A note about the carving. This was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't really put a lot of thought into the design. I sketched a rough idea directly on to the timber and then did all the carving with an angle grinder. I've got a sanding disc attached and it simply cuts through the timber like butter.

Well, there it is. Fun to make and another thing to tick off the project. list.

Happy New year! :-)

Amos
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The Magic Mirror

I first started carving this May/June 2010 when I found I needed some respite from an unsavoury cocktail of a frustrating work life and challenging business issues. It was a project that I chipped away at, not really knowing when I’d finish it, and hoping that I actually would. Anyway, here it is, done and dusted and ready for a lovely Chrissy present for my wife. Of course it’s no surprise as I’ve had the thing in parts lying all over the floor for the last 6 months. On Tuesday this week, I finally ordered and collected and installed the glass. Phew! There were honestly times when I thought it might end up as one of those DIY projects that start with a whiz and a bang of enthusiasm and eventually get quietly put aside once the thrill has worn off. So I can be honest and say I’m feeling fairly proud of myself for seeing it through and learning a new thing; this being the first carving project I’ve ever done.

The Magic Mirror

The inspiration for the design clearly has a flower theme and I settled on this because I was itching so badly to get into the carving that I simply chose a topic I knew Nikki would like and that hopefully wouldn’t be too challenging. We have a very nice yellow Hibiscus tree outside our bedroom window and this forms the centrepiece at the top of the mirror frame. I was also interested in mixing different types of stains (3 are used here) to achieve a style of dark mahogany colour, and utilising the style of antiquing to give a soft and subtle shading with the stains.

Structurally, it’s all solid which is mainly due to a timber bracket I fixed at the rear base. The pivoting mechanism is a series of washers and a 6mm diameter bolt with a wing nut. So, here it is.

Pivotting Wing Nut Assembly

I’ve got a couple of other projects I’ll post about real soon. One is this character I call Mr Fish which I started carving one weekend at the bach a couple of months back. The second item is a garden planter.   We don’t have room for a veggie plot in our garden, and we've also got a chicken who will, in her good-natured way, obliterate any vegetable patch. so I’ve built this freestanding planter. 

Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas good people.

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