What is it about men and wood?
I find it hard to resist walking past a pile of wood, without scavenging any. My cellar bears witness to my obsession with picking up bits of wood off the street.
Last Friday evening was a typical example of my obsession. Walking back to the car after work, I came across three wooden pallets that had been abandoned by the bins. The car was too far away to haul the pallets. I needed to be elsewhere, and could not come back straight away to collect the wood.
All Friday evening and Saturday morning, there was a nagging feeling that I should have got the wood. My mind just refused to let it go. So I took a detour on Saturday afternoon, and collected the wood.
This time there was a legitimate reason though, as I’d wanted to make a scrap wood planter for quite some time. In my mind’s eye, I saw a rustic trough with carry handles, and stencilling on the sides.
I took a break from my usual weekend furniture painting, and set aside a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon, to explore and create.
My partner Rebecca was attending a seminar on Sunday. I wanted to welcome her home with a gift that I’d made myself.
The construction was very simple. The timber was square-cut, without mitre joints. The ends were screwed together, with the handles attached at the back and sides, to provide added stability.
The handles were made by splitting the timber lengthways. I used scrap marine ply for the floor, and made drainage holes, using a flat drill bit.
I further refined the design, by creating a simple set of legs, to lift the bottom off the floor.
The outside was then roughly sanded with 80 grit paper, and then stencilled with very simple design.
Rebecca was very pleased with her surprise present.
Graceson Emporium - from trash to treasure 