| Project by Llarian | posted 114 days ago | 267 views | 2 times favorited | 9 comments |  |
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Despite having been finally finished yesterday, this is actually my first woodworking project (well, for a good 10-15 years). I wanted a planter box or two for my back deck, so I grabbed this plan off plansnow.com, grabbed some cheapish cedar from my local big box store, and start resawing it down with my radial arm saw…
And that was where the problems began. You see, all I had in the way of tools at the time was this 1972 radial arm saw perched on a rickety old wood stand my dad built a good 20 years ago, which means it was perenially out of alignment. After a week or two of work I managed to get the stand tightened a bit, get the blade 90 degrees from the table again, and get a more or less square post out of the 4×4 I was trying to resaw.
Somewhere in there I bought a router so I could do some chamfers and such, which I’d been meaning to buy anyways. My fiance shook her head but said nothing. Oh, and a cheap router table, since what good is a router without a table?
Legs finished, I resawed some cedar 2×4 down into the rails to be more or less square, then bought a spiral up-cut bit to cut mortises into the legs. Firing up my trusty old RAS once again, and armed with a dado, I measure several times, and cut the tenons on the end of the rails, then dry fit everything together…
And it was terrible. Half the tenons were way too loose to the point of falling out, half of them had to be driven in with a hammer. I checked the alignment of my RAS, and lo and behold, it was way out of alignment. Again.
I was very frustrated at this point, having spent more time trying to get my tools into alignment than actually building something (did I mention I replaced the table and fence on the RAS during all this? And pulled apart most of the arm assembly to clear and realign it). I was so frustrated I decided to set this project aside for a bit.
In fact, I was so frustrated I went out and bought a Rigid TS 3650, a power planer, some higher quality blades, and a few other odds and ends. I looked at my poor planter sitting in the corner, and decided instead to make some cutting boards on my new tablesaw. And still my planter sat in the corner. My fiance was less than pleased about this whole turn of events.
So, out of money for exotic cutting board wood, and being asked by my fiance where her planter box was, I finally took the time to cut some tenon “patches” from my offcut cedar, glue them to the tenon faces, and then painstakingly number each mortise and tenon joint and cut them down slowly on the tablesaw, creeping up on the fit of each joint until they fit the way I was told a mortise and tenon joint should fit.
Invigorated, I cut the slats, cut some chafers and tongue and groove in them, and in some 48 hours after I’d picked it up again, had a planter box glued up and on the deck waiting for flowers.
It only took me some $1500, 3 months, an annoyed fiance, far too much time now wasted on woodworking sites, and apparently another very expensive hobby to finish it. I never expected this would be the most expensive planter box I’ve ever seen when I started, but here I am. =)
Hope you enjoyed my rambling narrative. As for the planter box? Eh, its ok. But at least it can take credit for a new enjoyable pastime.
-- Dylan Vanderhoof - New woodworker in training. =)
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9 comments so far
jeanmarc
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1753 posts in 253 days
posted 114 days ago
BEAUTIFUL PIECE.nice job
-- jeanmarc manosque france
Napaman
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2092 posts in 614 days
posted 114 days ago
great story!!! I saw the planters…and thought—-”Those would look great on my new deck!”
Then I read your story and chuckled because I had a loooong layoff from wood working and when i restarted 2 yrs ago had very few tools…and it all started when my wife was looking at expensive outdoor furniture and I said…let me buy that much in tools and I will build it…and then still have the tools to build more…
She hasnt gotten her dining set yet…but over time…she is gaining confidence—-AND WE ARE STILL MARRIED!
Great planters…welcome to LJs!
-- Matt, Napa, CA...119 days to sanity...
Dominic Vanacora
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449 posts in 406 days
posted 114 days ago
We all start some where, I, like you and most, started with a router I purchased from Sears with the winnings from bowling. $50.00 and I use it once than 25 years later I still have it in the case it came in and a lot more tools. Not so much I can talk about. I will say that when ever you tell someone what it cost to built something you only tell the cost of the wood. Not the glue, screws, wear and tear on tool, the thosands of dollars of tools needed to make a $6.45 stool or the hours of time it takes to make the first stool, in your case a planter. The first stool I made took 30-40 hours. It starts with a drawing, the kind of lumber, painted or stained, how many, do I need special tools just for this, should I make them for gifts, it never stops. If I did this for a living that would be different. Do you know a roofer that would give away free roofs for Christmas. No, or a painter that would paint your house for Christmas. NO, OK something small, the plumger NO, It never stops. But we love it.
Enjoy.
-- Dominic, Trinity, Florida...Lets be safe out there.
trifern
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4969 posts in 304 days
posted 114 days ago
It’s all downhill from here. Make her some nice furniture and the next thing you know, she’ll be taking you shopping for new tools and materials. Especially when she sees how happy you are and you have a hobby that keeps you home. Thanks for sharing the story and the project. I look forward to your next.
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
thetimberkid
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1684 posts in 240 days
posted 114 days ago
Great job!
Thanks for the post
Callum
-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/
EduWood
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52 posts in 165 days
posted 114 days ago
Your RAS reminds me of my last table saw. Before I replaced it I think I was spending more time keeping it aligned than actually using it. But, I’m fortunate to be married to a wonderful lady who encourages my woodworking. In fact, on my most recent project (garage cabinets) she got involved in cutting cabinet parts, drilling adjustable shelf holes, and helping assemble. I’ve been fortunate enough, with her encouragement, to purchase a lot of upgraded tools over the last year. Without the new tools my recent jobs would have been difficult at best. Your planter looks great! Well done!
-- David, O.C., California
ChicoWoodnut
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749 posts in 352 days
posted 114 days ago
Dude!
A RAS has its place in the world but re-sawing isn’t one of them (believe me I tried it. Can you spell missiles?).
Still have all my digits though.
I once cut all of my tenons with mine and that worked out pretty well.
Nice planters. i think I need some of those.
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
Lip
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130 posts in 587 days
posted 114 days ago
If she’s only annoyed by a $1,500 planter that took 3 months to make … she’s a keeper! lol
Thanks for sharing!
-- Lip's Dysfuncational Firewood Farm, South Bend, IN
TroutGuy
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76 posts in 248 days
posted 113 days ago
Nice job on the planter! I like the fluting on the posts.
We’ve all had our tooling issues over the years, and it looks like you’ve overcome yours nicely.
I also like the rosewood flowers. Were they hard to make? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) ;-)
-- There is nothing in the world more dangerous, than a woodworker who knows how to read a micrometer...