Planters - WIP

[Lee J]

Mrs J has requested 3 garden planters ready for when she has to plant. The spec sheet I got said

'bout a foot n 'alf be a foot an 'arf and 'bout yey tall (pointing to just above her knee)

OK, thats great - cheers. So I saw the project on here and I thought this is what I will make her...

Instead of using 45x45 posts I am going to use thicker 75x75 post. This is because I have access to a load of 75x75 (1.8m lengths) of tanalized timber. 8)

Before I start I want to ask your opinions on what to fill the sides in with. On the tutorial they say to use 12mm T&G. But I have loads of 19mm fence pales. Which would you choose? T&G is only cheap so the cost isn't an issue but I'd need to treat them with weather sealer.

Opinions?

 

[OPJ]

Hi Lee,

Planters are good weekend project as you can produce several quickly by batching the components.

How thick are your rails going to be? If they're less than 1in., the legs could look bulky, aesthetically, and you'd be left with great big lumps of wood in each corner. Have you thought about resawing (bandsaw) each of the 3in. square posts in to quarters, finishing somewhere between 30-35mm square, perhaps? I know the quality of these timbers isn't always great...

Again, the thickness of your rails will play some part in determining the ideal thickness of your slats/boards. Could you thickness the 19mm pales down, if required?

Or, are you going for a sawn look?

 

[eggflan]

The answer to this is simple Lee ,

I made a couple of planters last year for a customer (i will hunt out the pics) they were to hold 2 x small bay trees in , she was very specific about the size .

Turned out that she had the trees in pots , they were square pots just smaller than the planters which they sat in neatly without the worry of the timber rotting , i used a thick t&g for the pannels and the legs were about 70x70 which looked very easy on the eye :wink:

 

[Lee J]

the legs will be 75x75 and also the rails will be the same, 75x75. I was just worried that it might make these way too heavy, even when empty

 

[9fingers]

I think I'd cut those rails down a bit say to 50mm square.
You could use the offcuts for the base?

Bob

 

[BigMac]

the legs will be 75x75 and also the rails will be the same, 75x75. I was just worried that it might make these way too heavy, even when empty

Well you're talking 18"x18"x24" more or less aren't you?

So 8 bits 18" long and 4 bits 24" long = 6m of your 75x75

The 4 sides at 19mm is the equivalent of another 0.9m each so 3.6m

Base is 0.675m equivalent

So I make the whole thing at thsoe dimensions about 10m of your 75x75 so pick up 6 (rounding up) of the 1.8m lengths and see what it feels like.

 

[Lee J]

I will, thanks for that 8)

 

[9fingers]

So that will be 40-50kg! nearly 2 bags of cement :shock:

Add about the same weight of soil as well and the certainly won't blow over in the wind!

Bob

 

[wizer]

timber way too chunky as said. Won't look good IMHO

 

[Lee J]

I'm getting that feeling too. Hmmm, will call at wood yard tmrw and get 45x45 instead and us 12mm T&G - as it says in the project notes.

now what can I build with 75x75 posts?

 

[wizer]

Bench?

 

[Lee J]

Right heres the plan... Im gonna use this 75x75 timber because it's pressure treated etc. I will however rip the dimensions down to 50m x 50x and use 12mm T&G for the sides. Does this sound a bit more realistic?

 

[wizer]

45x45, that 5mm will make a difference. Both in looks and weight. Plus it will leave you with some usable pieces. Are you just going to fill them up with soil or use some sort of inner liner?

 

[OPJ]

Right heres the plan... Im gonna use this 75x75 timber because it's pressure treated etc. I will however rip the dimensions down to 50m x 50x and use 12mm T&G for the sides. Does this sound a bit more realistic?

T&G is fine but if you're going to cut in to that treated 3"x3" timber then you may as well use wood that hasn't been tanalised. The chemicals rarely penetrate more than 6mm deep around the circumference - you would effectively be breaking the 'seal' and would have to re-treat most of it anyway.

What about a pergola or something? Even a small one to surround a small area of your garden, like a barbecue?

 

[Lee J]

45x45, that 5mm will make a difference. Both in looks and weight. Plus it will leave you with some usable pieces. Are you just going to fill them up with soil or use some sort of inner liner?

45x45 it is then. Cutting them down on me new table saw :lol: so shouldn't be a problem.

I'll have to retreat the whole thing cos I'll be stripping 30mm of 2 sides, routing a slot for the T&G and then theres then T&G which wont be treated. I have some fence/shed preservative left and since they're to go in our garden they'll match up. lol.

'er indoors will be 'appy.

 

[wizer]

get on with it then. plenty of pic please

 

[Lee J]

will be cracking on Sunday. (yes I know it's valentines day but I'm doing this for you honey :lol: )

 

[9fingers]

will be cracking on Sunday. (yes I know it's valentines day but I'm doing this for you honey :lol: )

Hmm! I wonder if I can use a variation on that ruse.

"Honey I'll be doing something in the workshop that might well benefit you in the future"

:lol:

Bob

 

[The_Stig]

I find, "Honey, I'm going into the workshop out of your way" works a treat, always keeps here happy...

Oh, I think I must be doing something wrong on the relationship front... lol

 

[The_Stig]

This took some digging out, but I thought I'd throw it out there...

...the planters come out pretty nice in Oak too.