Building something from my heart

Christy, waddill, and Mr. J. - welcome, and thanks for following my blog....

Quite frankly, most things constructed around here are obviously for my own use - but occasionally i'll build something to enhance someone else's life...I'd recently been thinking about constructing some type of centerpiece or focal point for the large flowerbed, and decided to put everything I had into it for the love of my life, Jenette....Afterall, she's put up with my OCPD for 7 years now, and somehow tolerated the difficulty that it brings with it...So, this is what I have poured my heart and soul into - utilizing every bit of knowledge and carpentry skills within me to create this beautiful planter for her....

When creating a circle from pieces of wood cut at an angle, the cut angle in degrees is determined by how many pieces make up the circle...Anyway, I decided that 12 pieces would be much better looking than 8, so that's what I went with...
These first pieces below were cut from 4 really straight landscaping timbers, and at an angle of 15 degrees. Length of each piece determines the overall diameter of the circle (obviously), and this planter needed to be about 30-32", for perspective.....A mixture of various colored timbers gives the finished product alot of character, so some old scrap pieces that have laid around here for a couple of years were incorporated into it to increase aesthetics....

Photo below - although this doesn't look like a jig for cutting the right angle, it actually is....you had to be here to see it. Forming a jig of some kind allows you to get repetitive cuts - making things go much faster...

Photo below - 12 pieces were pre-drilled and screwed together to form a circle, and the only place available for doing this was on the deck, unfortunately. Anyway, just simply use all 48 pieces to create 4 circles with, then stack the "rings" on top of one another - with connecting corners staggered, of course...

Photo below - as each "ring" is placed on top of another, simply pre-drill holes and drive 4" deck screws all the way through one, and into the one below it.

Photo below - once into place, landscaping fabric was stapled to the bottom of the planter, then filled with a soil mixture of compost, peat moss, vermiculite, and shredded pine bark......i'd say the pine bark was added as at least 30% of the total composition - creating lots of airspace within the planter for plant roots to get oxygen..Some Celosia and Gerbera Daisy were planted, making a pretty good combination....

Photo below - after a scrap piece of 4x4 post was fastened to the back, a finished ledge was added by cutting some treated 2x4's to the same angle of 15 degrees - but just a tad longer, so that this particular circle is somewhat bigger than the other 4. If not made bigger, there will be no overhang.....

Photo below - this little homemade spout was created from some pieces of 1x6 treated lumber, and basically just cut free-hand to suit the desired look I wanted....After assembly, it was sanded very well to give it a smooth finish....

Photo below - Then, a square piece of 1x6 was cutout perfectly square, and a small length of 2x4 fastened to it from the backside. The end was rounded off, then sanded as well, and a 3/4" hole drilled into the end to accomodate the 3/4" wooden button that makes it look as though there's actually a pivot point for the pump handle...

Photo below - the handle was cutout and attached to the backside by 2 deck screws - completing the water pump planter...It's a good addition to the large flowerbed beside the driveway, and definitely the first thing you notice when driving by...

I'm very pleased with the finished product - although I can tell you that it was alot of work.....Sheesh, anyone driving by that wants one built for themselves better have a fat checkbook, because it took probably 12 hours to construct.....Still, it felt good to build this for my wife, and i'm really glad that I did it....

I hope you like it, too......

Take care, and happy building

EG