A similar project and precursor to the guitar stand, this one took a little longer and was my first time working with iron on edge banding. I didn’t realize how difficult it can be to bend the banding around small features so I did a lot of testing. I found that hot tap water and a heat gun were enough to get the job done, but it was still a little fiddly. Made for a 16" pot, the rim is ~14" inside and about half as tall as the pot. I think it looks kind of like an old globe stand.
No glue or fasteners, just a half-lap joint in the middle and some dowels for the rim. I was afraid the 15/32" ply would be weak under the weight of the plant+soil but it’s as sturdy as it needs to be. If I had 3/4" veneered material lying around I might have used that, but I went with what I had.
Thank you both. My next plant stand will look suspiciously like Eric’s, scaled down for a table top plant.
I wanted mine to follow the shape of the pot so I measured the circumference at 2" increments, used offset construction planes to recreate those increments and draw the circumference, and used the Loft command to create the shell. Pot replicated in 3D!
Nice! What brand of edge laminate did you use? That is something I’ve not done before. Did the Iron-On edge banding seem to hold well, or did you find you wanted to supplement it with addtional glue/bonding agent?
Not really knowing anything about edge banding either, I just picked what seemed to have a legible name with some reviews and pictures (Edge Supply Birch 3/4 x 50 on Amazon). I apply it with a combination of sealing iron+pressure and heat gun (concave curves). It bonds as soon as it cools - no waiting for wood glue or dealing with tape or clamps. I cut it with a fresh razor blade just a hair oversized, then blend with a light sanding. It hasn’t lifted anywhere, even sections that soaked in hot water to soften up for tight bends. I’m satisfied with the bond. If I have one complaint it’s that it doesn’t stain the same as the birch veneer on the plywood I have. That’s another skill I’ll have to work on.
I know there are tools designed to trim it but they seem to only work on straight segments and not on curves? Happy to be educated if anyone has some alien 4D technology.
We got a plant a few months back that came with a crappy stand. The plant got bigger, I forget what type it is, but now the leaves drag. Curiously sanded the crappy stain off the crappy stand and confirmed it was pine. Whacked this one together, copying the design - but taller.
This is also pine - stained with mix of vinegar, steel wool and black tea. The vinegar dissolves the steel wool which oxidizes to a brown, the black tea provides some darkness. In this case we were experimenting and finished it with a couple more coats of straight black tea. It was a nice dark brown before it dried!
Anyway, here’s an accidentally blackened pine stand.
