Indoor Planter/Plant Stand

Jeb Taylor

Member
Messages
518
Location
Decatur, Alabama
My wife wanted a plant box to put her potted plants in by the window in the kitchen. I thought this would be a great project to experiment on, so I challenged myself with a lot of new finish products and construction. This is the first time I made any curved legs, figured maple, or used just about any of the finishing supplies.

For the design I decided on curved legs with floating tenons.

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I got a great deal on some figured maple from the cabinet supply shop that really didn't want it, so I decided to make the whole project out of it.

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The figured maple wasn't to bad on the flatter pieces, but the legs were a challenge. I dont' think I'd use the figured wood on curved legs again due to the tear out problems with the router. The floating tennons were great, but I can see a jig for cutting the end grain mortises in my future.

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For color I used a water solution with transtint dyes. I was applying it with a rag and got a lot of blotching at first. I think it was just drying to fast to get a nice consistant coat. It ended up a little darker than I wanted by the time I got everything evened out, but I did figure out how to wash some of the dye back down with a wet rag and even the coloring out. Overall I really liked the dyes a lot better than the minwax stains I've used in the past. The color is a lot deeper I think without hiding the grain.

I sprayed a coat of shellac over the dye (first time to use a spray gun or shellac). I was amazed how easy it was to use and get good results. I tinted the shellac for the last coat and made a little toner to even the color out a lilttle more. The only hard thing was fighting the urge to try and make a big correction in one coat.

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Currently, I'm finishing the clearcoat, Target Coatings EM6000 satin water based finish. I had a little trouble at first getting it on to thick, but that was probably just inexperience with the product and spray gun. It wasn't to hard to wipe off the first coat and start over. After I got the gun set about right I haven't had much trouble.


If anyone is considering trying dyes, spray guns, or target waterbase finishes, I'd say go for it. While my work is not on the level of a lot of guys on this site, I was really suprised at how good of a finished product I had on the first use of these finishes. My first attempt with spraying looks better than the wipe on finishes I have used in the past. It's a lot less work too.
 
What a beauty Jeb! I'm not letting LOML get a look at this thread :p. I really like the finish and dye is always a pleasure on maple versus stains IMHO. I can see this becoming an instant heirloom in your family. Well done.

I have the original version of the Mortise Pal. Although the price seemed extravagant at the time, it has paid for itself 10 times over. The new version is about the same price and has several improvements added. The largest benefit that I didn't even think about when deciding between a dedicated mortiser and a jig was the ease of storage and small amount of space required when not in use.
 
Thanks guys. It was quite a learning process on the finishing. Thanks to everyone who posts their work here too. Seeing all the great projects people post and reading the little tips here and there helps me keep challenging myself to get better. I got it inside now, here's a couple more pictures to hide from you wife :)

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My next project will be a walnut entertainment center :eek:
 
Very nice Jeb. Great execution and I really like the simplicity of your design. What cut of shellac did you spray? Did you thin the clear coat? And lastly, what did you spray it with?
 
Very nice Jeb. Great execution and I really like the simplicity of your design. What cut of shellac did you spray? Did you thin the clear coat? And lastly, what did you spray it with?

I sprayed the Target Coatings EM6000 straight without thinning. It worked well, fluid control was about mid range of adjustment and the pressure was at the factory starting point on an Asturo WB spray gun with a 1.5mm tip. It's what www.spraygunworld.com recommended to spray that product. The shellac was seal coat, I think that's a 1 lb cut. I'm not sure I went the right way on the adjustments, but I did have a hard time getting the shellac set up. I ended up with the pressure and fluid flow adjustments turned way down to keep it from running.
 
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