# Planter Box - My first project



## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

I've just finished my first project and am so pleased I'm going to put up a couple of photos.
This planter box was made totally from 4x2 pine, a lot of it salvaged from building sites.
Now the good lady wants another one to match! 

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.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Good job John.. I showed it to my wife.. She likes it too..


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

John, good looking project for a first try! Hope you saved your plans for the second one.


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

I like it just like it is. Put a sealer on it and I think it's good to go. Really nice work!

Corey


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Looking good John

You did a nice job 

Because it's going to be out side I would use some spar varnish the type they use on boats...two or 3 good coats.. 
You can get it from HD in the spray cans 
Then use a plastic trash can with a drain hole in the center , for the inside to hold any plants that you may want to put in it.

John you did a great job making this one I almost hate to suggest this, but the next one you make one you may want to use the new decking boards (Trex comes to mind) it cuts like wood and will last fore every and with some stainless screws it will be around a very long time, it's made with old plastic that has been recycled into planks, it would be nice to make something that would last for a 1000 years and this stuff will, even if it's in the ground. 

Plus you don't need to paint it , they make it in many colors...

I used Trex boards to make a new mail box pole about 3 years ago and stuck it in the ground and it still like new new, the old one I took out was in the ground for about 3 years and it was ready to fall over because the wood was in bad shape...4 x 4 cedar stock....


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Spar varnish with UV inhibitors is the best finish for outside projects. As far as color, you can now stain it any color you wish and have the wood grain show through, or go with an oil based exterior paint. Both are popular choices, it's up to you and the boss lady.


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Hi John...

I like it alot too! Really pretty...

I agree with Bj and the plastic can as a liner... the wood will last a lot longer that way... You might take a look at a Borg, garden dept., for square plastic liners, built for that purpose.

The bottom, part underneath the liner, will rot first... then the legs if on the ground.
Those are the places you want the most spar varnish... I have heard of dipping the bottom 3" or so in epoxy to stop any rotting.

You did a very good job on it... Looks very nice! Thank you for showing.

BTW...

*H a p p y . . B i r t h d a y !!* 
:sold:


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Hey John, Excellent first project. It came out beautiful.


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks to all for the good ideas regarding the finish on the planter.
Thanks also for the kind remarks. Now I'm all fired up to go and make something else.

Time to make some more sawdust... 
John


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

Nice work John...it looks like you picked a real good first project to learn from. Last year I made some outdoor railings out of redwood and finished it with a Behr premium weatherproofing wood finish from HD. Its held up pretty well and I think you can get it in different tints as well as clear.

Greg


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## nzgeordie (Oct 22, 2006)

Great work John! 
Look, between you and me and don't let any of the other guys see this, we've just had our deck extended and could really use some beautiful palnters like those. 
Now, how'd you like to come over to NZ for a working holiday...?


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

John, on you're way to NZ please stop off in West Australia, we'll put you up and give you the run of my shed. Lovely looking planters, I'm not letting my wife see them!


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*NZ vs WA - Hmmmm*

Hey fellas! 
You've put me in a bit of a bind. I've got relatives in WA and worked in Auckland for a month, so would love to go either east or west.  

Thanks for the encouragement. I reckon I put in 40-50 hours on that blessed box, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing. It's nice to get some good feedback.

I'm going scavenging for some more wood this afternoon, since the good lady insists that one just looks silly all by itself....  

Cheers all. 
John

P.S. Harry, I don't want to be rude, but WA isn't "on the way" to ANYWHERE!!!


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*And then there were two!*

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!


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

John, I too am glad that people who view my projects don't have Xray vision! The important thing is that they look great and you're planter boxes sure do fit that description.


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Hey John!

You're on a R O L L !!

That really looks good...

It's hard to tell if you've made 1, 2, 3, or 4 of them... but definitely MORE than one!

Glad you were able fix ur legs.

Good JOB!!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi John

Someone once said woodworking is the Art of fixing errors that ones makes when making a project and it's true cut 4 boards to make a box and one will always be out of size and then you need to go back and recut the other 3 to fix the error...
Drill 4 holes and one will be off just a bit and it takes more work to go back and fix that error ...BUT that's the fun in woodworking trying to do it right the 1st.time....

By the way you did a nice job on your planters


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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

JMalone said:


> . . . It's my thing; making nice things out of scrap material.


Everybody needs a 'thing' and that is definitely a good one to have. 

Hate to see anything go to waste that can be made useful.
Guess it goes back to my rural roots. We didnt have fancy names for it like 'greening' we just called it common sense and good use of resources.

Who knows - you might even help restart a fashion.
Some may remember This End Up furniture out of North Carolina that spawned a minor craze in crate style furniture a couple of decades ago.
Story has it they got their original inspiration actually USING crates and wood salvaged from them.

ANYWAY --- MAJOR KUDOS -- both for the looks of your project - and the choice of materials.


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## Julie (Sep 11, 2004)

Wonderful job, John. You should be very proud!

~Julie~


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

Ahhh that's a nice pair John  I think you did great on these projects. Newbie???? I think you were doing some serious sandbagging! Great job!

Corey


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*Rural roots - I think you might be right*



Drugstore Cowboy said:


> Hate to see anything go to waste that can be made useful.
> Guess it goes back to my rural roots. We didn't have fancy names for it like 'greening' we just called it common sense and good use of resources.


I couldn't agree more. I grew up on a wheat farm in Australia and can remember my Dad staring at a pile of scrap metal inventing solutions to whatever was the current problem at hand.

I think I've picked up on that, and get great pleasure out of making something, or fixing something, with the resources that are available. It's nice to say "That's worth $X at the store, but it cost be nothing but time and thought."

Did I mention that I'm cheap?  

Cheers


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*New to woodwork - Yup!*



challagan said:


> I think you did great on these projects. Newbie???? I think you were doing some serious sandbagging! Great job!


G'day Corey,
I haven't done any serious woodworking before, but I did grow up on a farm which required me to be useful with tools. Most of the work on the farm was steel work, so working with wood is a pleasure because it's a lot easier, lighter and not as hot as newly welded metal. 

On the down side, this wood stuff bruises easily!  

Cheers,
John

P.S. Thanks for the comments. I need the encouragement. I just about threw the whole lot in the trash after I found the mortises all over the place. :'(


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

"P.S. Harry, I don't want to be rude, but WA isn't "on the way" to ANYWHERE!!! "

I've only just noticed this John and I'm not offended, in fact I should like Western Australia to be kept secret because all the wonders that W.A. has to offer,apart from the wonderful climate will cause us to be inundated with migrants and visitors and I'm greedy and want it for myself.


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*Couldn't agree more!*



harrysin said:


> I should like Western Australia to be kept secret...


I completely understand. I'm living in the US at the moment and have the same attitude to Australia as a whole. Over here people think that the US is the best place on the planet. If only they knew....


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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

JMalone said:


> I completely understand. I'm living in the US at the moment and have the same attitude to Australia as a whole. Over here people think that the US is the best place on the planet. If only they knew....


Frankly I think EVERYONE should feel that way about their country.
To me it's kinda sad if they can't/don't. 
Every country/region has its own beauty in its heritage and culture and natural resources.

The thing about the US is - there are so many DIFFERENT geograhical regions. And I know much the same can be said of Australia.
We have everything from the swamps and bayous of Lousiana and Florida to the deserts of the southwest - from the tree covered mountains of the east to the western mountains permanently snowpeaked.
Yep -- I plead guilty to being a US boy through and through and there are still 38 of her states I haven't seen yet and hope to before I die.

I will say this -- of the very few places across the water I have any real interest in seeing --- Australia IS (no brown nosing involved) just about the top of the list.

Side note -
Just don't go live in someone else's country and constantly harp on how much better it was in yours  - which, I admit, Americans have as bad a habit of doing as anyone else. And NO that was not aimed at anyone - it was a general observation.


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*Let's not get carried away on a throw away line...*



Drugstore Cowboy said:


> Frankly I think EVERYONE should feel that way about their country.
> Just don't go live in someone else's country and constantly harp on how much better it was in yours


I tend to think of myself as a global citizen, having lived for a couple of years in Africa and now a couple in the US, and been born in Australia, and married to a good lady who was born and raised in the Caribbean and who lived in Japan for 5 years! (Dang, but that's complicated!)

You are correct that every place has it's own charm, beauty and worth. Some of it is ruined by people being dumb and destroying it or fighting over it, but that's a whole different issue.

The older I get the less I understand nationalism. People are pretty much the same the world over, allowing for cultural differences.
Every country has its pluses and minuses. I find that the best way to view your 'own' country is to step outside and observe from a different perspective. Most people don't have this luxury with which I have been blessed.
I used to think that Australia was the best place on earth, but living in Africa for a couple of years gave me a different perspective. Don't get me wrong, I still think that Aus is a great place, but I know now that there are things that could be done better, attitudes that could be improved etc... I didn't see it until I was outside looking in.

This applies to everyone and everywhere. 

I tend to smile at hyper-nationalists because it's usually a sign that they haven't been anywhere else and been exposed to, or understood, the alternatives.

And I agree wholeheartedly about not bashing the place where you are. I've found that things are often *different *not *wrong*. A wise African once told me: "When you're in Aus, the Aus way is the right way, when in Africa, the African way is correct." It made a lot of sense to me. Reduced my stress level a whole lot when things that were different started to annoy me.

Anyway, that's my monologue. It's a perspective, not gospel.

_And it has very little to do with woodwork! _ 

Cheers,
John


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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

JMalone said:


> . . .
> _And it has very little to do with woodwork! _


Agreed -
And my apologies to the moderators and to JMalone for chasing an off-topic rabbit. I tend to just go with the flow of the conversation - sometimes following obscure tributaries - especially when I am bored to tears and SO not wanting to be where I have to be at the moment.

I don't feel TOO bad -- because I have noticed that happens A LOT in these forums  but still . . . . . 

So - lets lift em up --- drink em down -- and get back to making sawdust.


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

Drugstore Cowboy said:


> So - lets lift em up --- drink em down -- and get back to making sawdust.


I do hope that you don't lift too many BEFORE you make the sawdust! 

Afterwards maybe... one does need ones fingers to hold the glass you know. 

Cheers - John


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*Finished - Both me and the boxes!*

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


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

They turned out fabulous that is for sure. Awesome job John!

Corey


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

John,

I think anyone in the world would have to agree that those boxes are fantastic!

The finish really sets them off. GREAT job!


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Hey John!

I think you're an EXPERT Planter maker!! You've got those under your belt!!  

They look super G R E A T and N I C E !!

Were you able to find *Planter box Inserts*, that will fit inside your planters, that will contain the soil & plants?

Thanks for showing us the finished product!! You did GOOD!!


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

From trash to treasure, great job John.


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## unlimitedwoodworker (Mar 3, 2006)

truely a great job, so where do you go to find these types of things? in the next couple years we will be gettting tracking homes here, maybe on the weekends or at night i will go dumpster diving looking for anything valuable maybe find some good sized scrap plywood ect...


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

unlimitedwoodworker said:


> where do you go to find these types of things? ...maybe on the weekends or at night i will go dumpster diving looking for anything valuable maybe find some good sized scrap plywood etc...


The success I've had in picking up scrap wood was at a couple of places.
An apartment complex was being built not too far from where I live, so I went in at lunch time and asked the project manager if I could scrounge through his dumpsters. He looked a little surprised, but said I could have anything I wanted as long as I didn't get hurt. I went to that location a couple of times.

The other place was a real goldmine. A new strip mall was being built near where I work and I finally got up the courage to knock on the door of the construction office. It turned out that they were separating all of the wood into one dumpster for recycling and I could help myself. Talk about a dream; a whole dumpster full of just wood, nothing else! And most of it was 6x2 cutoffs - bonus. I couldn't have got a better selection at the local hardware shop. My biggest problem was I could only fit so much in my car and I don't have a lot of storage in my garage, otherwise I would've made several trips.

I have a policy of always going to the construction office or project manager on every visit to these sites. It's only fair that they know who is on their site. Sometimes I get knocked back, but not often. I always tell them when I leave, both to thank them, and to let them know that I'm off the site. It's good courtesy and pretty much guarantees that you can go back there at a later date.

I haven't had a lot of success at individual home building sites for some reason.

I'm always surprised at how good a ratty old piece of wood looks once you get past the outside. Maybe there's a life lesson in that.

Happy scrounging.

John


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## JMalone (Feb 22, 2005)

*A follow-up : weather and expansion*

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.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

HI JMalone,

Very nice planters. The wonderful thing about woodworking is, it's alot like life, you learn something new everyday. 
The seperation of the laminated pieces shouldn't be that hard to fix. Just patience.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Those shots really are worth more than a thousand words. I'm sure that many of us will learn a lot from them when we make projects for outdoors. I do wish that more members would post follow-ups like that.


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## fdcox (Dec 3, 2007)

FIRST project WOW!, can't wait to see more of your work.


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