Plant Stand

Spring has started, and this year I wanted a tomato plant for our back yard. I bought two: a cheaper, smaller one (that will need some patience) and a bigger one that already carries a few (currently still green) cherry tomatoes.

But it should not sit on the ground, so I use some scrap wood to build a little stand.

I am using treated lumber, 2"x2" for the legs and the frame, and 3/4"x4" boards for the stand and the sides.

Make sure to leave some space between the bottom boards, so excess water can drain.

It is, actually, heavier than I expected - but that's a good thing.

And now I'm waiting for the tomatoes to ripen! (The little tomato plant one on the right will need a little more time)

Building Floating Picture Frames: 30 for 30-in-30

Prologue

Someone started the 30-in-30 challenge, asking people to finish 30 pictures in 30 days. My wife liked the idea, and after a very busy month of September she finished 30 wonderful pieces. Now, all of these need frames. And that's where I enter the story.

Building Picture Frames

Let's start with a sketch, how the frames are supposed to look like. The pictures will float in these frames with a space of 1/4" to all sides. With a thickness of 3/4", this means that the outer size of the frames is 2" larger (in width and in height) as compared to the artworks.

From the hardware store, I got a bunch of 8ft pine boards (10" wide 3/4" thick) and took those to the woodshop. 

With the table saw, I cut pieces 1 1/2" (for the sides) and 1 1/4" (for the back), and glued them to each other. 

With a miter saw, those were cut to the appropriate length for the pictures.

 

Gluing the frames requires a ratcheting band clamp. This cheap one from Amazon continues to do a great job. This is actually the most fun step, when it all comes together.

After that, a little sanding is needed to smooth the corners.

And here is the first half of the "30 for 30-in-30".

Once the second half of the frames is done, the frames will need to be stained and the spacers and the hanging wires to be mounted.