This post is sort of a funny one.
Because....
I made a plant stand from the "faux" Jenga game from the Dollar Tree.
Yep. I did. Here it is.
The Dollar Tree calls it the "Tumbling Tower Game" and it's played the same way.
However, the pieces are made out of pine wood and are perfect for little projects like this one.
They are about 1 7/8 inch long.
They are 5/8 inch wide.
So, here's how I did this...
I placed two pieces end to end and then took that measurement.
It was 3.75 inches.
I then ran two more pieces the opposite way, not touching each other, but touching the sides of the met pieces.
It was almost 4.5 inches long.
Since I wanted it to be the same length - at 3.75 inches, I needed to cut those two pieces down at half the width of one piece.
This meant that I needed to but 3/8 inch of each one.
You can use a hacksaw for this. The wood is soft and easy to cut.
Here are the pieces cut. Nope, they weren't perfect, but it didn't matter.
Now, when I matched them all together, both lengths measured 3.75 inches in length.
I then took 4 more pieces of the game and marked them for the feet, but in reality, I didn't need to make those marks.
You'll see why in a bit.
Using my wonderful Gorilla Wood Glue, I started to glue it all together.
Yep...there are no nails in this baby!
Using a piece of wax paper underneath (so I don't glue it to my worktop), I butted the original pieces together.
Next, I glued the shortened pieces to the sides.
The pieces are light, so I didn't need to clamp anything.
In order to stabilize the cross joint, I decided to add a whole piece across, secured with some added wood glue.
This was the perfect way to add strength to those joints.
I let it dry, and then I propped it up on two pieces. You can see them sticking out below the cross pieces. They are not glued, just holding the cross up.
This is when I realized that I didn't need to make those marks because of the added height from the propped pieces gave it the boost it needed for the legs.
I added some glue to the ends of the cross pieces and butted the "leg" pieces against them.
After it dried, I removed the propping pieces and flipped it over so that that cross brace was now below.
Topped with a Dollar Tree candle holder (which will hold a plant eventually), it became a great Mid-century modern base.
Yahoo!
I decided to stain it for a darker look and used this "Combo Stain" that I made from combining several different stains that we already had.
I use it for a lot of staining projects.
It's a rich dark brown color.
The pine lapped up the stain and took on a great look.
Here it is stained and drying.
Doesn't it look great?
The total cost for 9 pieces of the game was 27 cents.
Score for rule breakers everywhere!
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