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PLANTER BOXES
Versatile design lets you build a variety of different box styles. Each has an adjustable shelf to accommodate plants of different sizes.

ne of the most interesting things about the design of this planter is its versatility. The basic planter is a square unit. But you can build one thats twice as wide to give it a different look. And by adding one with longer legs, you can create an attractive set. (The Designers Note-book on the next page shows you how to build these variations.) ADJUSTABLE SHELF . Another nice thing about this planter is its shelf. Its adjustable, so you can change the height to fit dif ferent-sized potted plants, moving it up or down as needed. Also, the slats that make up the shelf

have gaps between them, so rain water cant accumulate in the bottom and harm your plants or the planter. CONSTRUCTION. Since a planter has to be strong and stand up to the weather, I used water-resistant plastic resin glue in the mor tise and tenon joints that connect the legs and rails. The side slats have to be able to expand and contract with changes in humidity, so they arent glued in place. Theyre held between the rails with tongue and groove joints. Or build a different version with raised panel sides. For more on how to do this, see the Designers Notebook on page 7.

WOOD. I built the planter out of redwood. Its an attractive, straight-grained wood thats resistant to rot. Other woods that work well outdoors are western red cedar and northern white cedar. Or you could build one out of fir or pine, then paint it (see the inset photo above). FINISH. To keep the redwood looking good throughout the year, I used a spar varnish and tung oil mixture to finish the Planter Boxes.

From Woodsmith magazine

All rights reserved

page 1 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

EXPLODED VIEW
OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 185/8W x 185/8D x 191/2H
CLEAT E

SHELF SLAT D

A LEG

MATERIALS LIST
WOOD (For one square planter) A Legs (4) 21/4 x 21/4 - 191/2 B Rails (8) 11/4 x 21/2 - 161/8 3/ x 31/ - 11 C Side Slats (16) 4 2 3/ x 33/ - 133/ D Shelf Slats (4) 4 4 4 3/ x 21/ - 153/ E Cleats (2) 4 2 4
C SIDE SLAT

B RAIL

HARDWARE SUPPLIES (4) Shelf support pins (8) No. 8 x 11/4" Fh woodscrews

Add a bit of variety to the Planter Box by building it as a double unit, mid-height or tall version.
CONSTRUCTION NOTES:
To build the Double, Mid-Height, or Tall Planter Boxes simply change the lengths of the parts as shown. The only new parts will be the long rails (F) used on the Double Planter Box. Note: As with the square Planter Box MATERIALS LIST legs, always mark the top of the new legs, then lay out and make measurements WOOD A Item the Dimention here for all of (0) mortises from that end B Item (0) Dimention here (refer to Fig. 2 on page 3).

MATERIALS LIST
CHANGED PARTS (For double planter) B Rails (4) 11/4 x 21/2 - 161/8 3/ x 31/ - 11 C Side Slats (24) 4 2 3/ x 33/ - 133/ D Shelf Slats (8) 4 4 4 3/ x 21/ - 293/ E Cleats (2) 4 2 4 NEW PARTS (For double planter) F Long Rails (4) 11/4 x 21/2 - 301/8 CHANGED PARTS (For mid-height planter) A Legs (4) 21/4 x 21/4 - 251/2 CHANGED PARTS (For tall planter) A Legs (4) 21/4 x 21/4 - 311/2

18%/8 ALTERNATE SIZES MIDHEIGHT LEG

18%/8 TALL LEG

32%/8 31!/2 25!/2 19!/2

LONG RAIL F

DOUBLE UNIT (RECTANGLE)

MID-HEIGHT

TALL HEIGHT

From Woodsmith magazine

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page 2 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

CUTTING DIAGRAM
4x4 (3!/2 x 3!/2) - 96 REDWOOD (10.6 Bd. Ft.) A A A A

2x4 (1!/2 x 3!/2) - 72 REDWOOD (Two Boards @ 4 Bd. Ft. Each) B B B B 1x6 (#/4 x 5!/2) - 72 REDWOOD (3 Bd. Ft.) D D D 1x8 (#/4 x 7!/4) - 96 REDWOOD (5.3 Bd. Ft.) C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C

E E

LEGS
When I bought the posts for the legs, I learned something about redwood 4x4 posts are rarely kiln dried. So theres a very good chance yours will still be wet. This means youll have to do a few things differently before working with them.

WET REDWOOD. Working with very wet wood can be a real problem. So to avoid having the 4x4 posts twist or bend as they dried out, I dealt with the posts in three stages. First, to speed up the drying time, I trimmed an equal amount of dry wood off all four faces. Then I rough cut each

2&/8

1
RIP FENCE

LEG A

MARK TOP END

4x4 POST

3!/2

FLATTEST SIDE

2#/4

SAW BLADE
2

2&/8

2
%/8 !/2

2&/8

B A

19!/2

11

2!/4

3
NOTE: DRILL 1!/16"-DEEP MORTISES

2&/8

B
2

2!/4

A
2!/4

D C

B
2!/4 2!/4

leg 2" longer than the finished length to allow for some checking on the ends of the 4x4 posts. Next, I put the wood aside for a few days. (Dont be tempted to put it out in the sun, or hurry the process thatll create more problems.) Then after the posts had dried, I trimmed them again, this time to final dimensions. To make the pieces as straight as possible, youll need to establish two flat sides that form a 90 angle. SQUARE, FLAT SIDES. Begin by placing the flattest side of each piece against the rip fence. Now trim a narrow strip off the opposite side A (Step 1 in Fig. 1). Note: Because the posts are too thick to cut all the way through in one pass, youll have to turn the workpiece end for end and finish trimming the first strip with a second pass. Next, to cut side B, position side A down on the table and rip off another narrow strip, again in two passes (Step 2 in Fig. 1). Sides A and B should now be flat and 90 to each other. CUT TO FINISHED SIZE. Now youre ready to cut the leg (A) to finished thickness. To do this, set the rip fence 21/4" from the blade. Then, with side A against the fence, rip a strip from side C (Step 3 in Fig. 1). Make a final pass with side B against the fence (Step 4 in Fig. 1). With the blanks cut square, trim the legs to finished length (Fig. 2). LAY OUT AND CUT MORTISES. Now lay out the locations of four mortises on each leg (Fig. 2). The mortises are on the inside faces of each leg and are laid out exactly the same. Note: To make it easier to keep things straight, mark the top of each leg and make all your measurements from that end (Fig. 2). Next, use the drill press to bore out the mortises. Then square the ends and clean up the sides with a chisel. DECORATIVE CUTS. After cleaning up the mortises I made a series of decorative cuts on the legs. Begin by cutting a 3/ " dado (slot) around all four sides at 8 the top ends of the legs (Fig. 3). To make this continuous dado, first set your dado blade to cut 1/4" deep. Then position the rip fence 11/8" from the blade (Fig. 3a). Note: Using an auxiliar y fence on your miter gauge will give you better control of the leg, and also prevent chipout as you cut the dadoes (Fig. 3).

From Woodsmith magazine

All rights reserved

page 3 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

With the end of the leg butted to the fence, you can now cut the dadoes on all four sides of each leg. STOPPED CHAMFER. The next step is to add the decorative stopped chamfers on the outside corner of each leg (Fig. 4). Note: The outside corner is the corner that is formed by the sides without mortises. You could rout this chamfer with a handheld router. But since I was going to chamfer the top and bottom of the legs on the router table, I cut this stopped chamfer there, too. Start by setting the height of the chamfer bit so its 5/16" above the router table (Fig. 5a). Then align the face of the fence so its flush with the bearing on the bit. To indicate the extremes of the stopped chamfer, I made two marks on each leg. The start line mark (5" from the top end) indicates where to plunge the leg to start the chamfer. The stop line mark (151/2" from the top) indicates the stopping point. Then I made a reference mark on the router fence to indicate the centerpoint of the router bit. Now turn on the router, and with a pivoting motion, plunge the leg against the fence so the start line on the leg lines up with the mark on the fence (Fig. 5). Then slide the leg to the left. When the stop line on the leg lines up with the reference mark on the fence, stop and pivot the leg away from the fence (Fig. 6). TOP CHAMFERS. Once the corner chamfers are completed, you can cut the chamfers on the top end of each leg. This is also a 5/16"-wide chamfer so you dont have to change the router bit (Fig. 7a). To make cutting the chamfers more accurate, I used a square piece of 3/4"thick plywood as a push block (Fig. 7). The push block keeps the legs square to the router table fence, and helps prevent chipout on the back edge of the cut. Now cut the chamfers on the top of each leg, holding the leg firmly to both the router table fence and the plywood push block. Again, feed the leg from right to left to cut the chamfer (Fig. 7). BOTTOM CHAMFERS. To prevent the legs from splintering when the planter box is dragged across the ground, I routed smaller chamfers on the bottom ends of the legs. To do this, set the height of the router bit to 3/16" (Fig. 7a). Then rout the leg bottoms just as you did the tops.

4
CHAMFER OUTSIDE CORNER ONLY
LEG A

INSIDE CORNER

#/8" DADO BLADE

AUXILIARY FENCE

a.

1!/8

#/8

10!/2

!/4

LEG A STOPPED CHAMFER

ROUTER TABLE

MARK CENTER POINT OF CHAMFER BIT ON FENCE

a.

CROSS SECTION
A LEG

FENCE

PIVOT LEG INTO BIT

START LINE

STOP LINE

%/16 CHAMFER BIT

START LINE

STOP LINE

PIVOT LEG AWAY WHEN REFERENCE MARKS ALIGN

FEED DIRECTION

7
#/4" -THICK PLYWOOD PUSH BLOCK

a.

LEG TOP

%/16

LEG BOTTOM
A LEG

CHAMFER BIT

#/16

From Woodsmith magazine

All rights reserved

page 4 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

8
16!/8 14!/8 !/4

SIDES
Once the legs are complete, you can start work on the sides. Each side consists of two rails and four slats held in place with tongue and groove joints. RAILS. I started by resawing to 11/4" thick, enough 2x4 stock for the rails (B). Then cut eight rails to final width and length (Fig. 8). TENONS. The rails have a tenon on each end to fit the mortises in the legs. To set up the saw, position the rip fence as a stop so the outside edge of a dado blade is 1" from the fence (Fig. 9a). To create a centered tenon, first use a piece of scrap rail stock and sneak up on the final thickness of the tenon until it just fits the mortise. Then the tenons can be cut on the rails by making a series of passes over the dado blade. The shoulders for the tenon can be cut by resetting the height of the dado blade to 1/4". Then stand the workpiece on edge and make a series of passes over each edge of the rail top and bottom. TONGUES. Once the tenons are cut on the rails, the saw can be set up to cut a tongue along one edge. This tongue holds the slats in place (Fig. 10a). The 1/ "-thick tongue is off-center on the 4 thickness of the rail its set back 5/8" from the face. To make the tongue, use a wood auxiliary fence to bury the dado blade, exposing only 1/4" of the blade (Fig. 11). Then raise the blade 5/8" above the table. Now, with the face side of the rail down, cut one side of the tongue (Step 1 in Fig. 11). Then, lower the blade and cut the other side (Step 2 in Fig. 11). CHAMFER THE RAILS. The last step in making the rails is to chamfer three of the four edges (not the edge closest to the tongue). Chamfer the other edge on the tongue side with the fence set back 1/ " from the bit (Step 1 in Fig. 12). For 4 the remaining edges, align the bearing flush with the fence (Step 2 in Fig. 12). SLATS. After the tongued rails are complete, the slats (C) can be made to fit between the rails (Fig. 10). (There are four slats on each side.) To determine the width of each slat, measure the shoulder-to-shoulder length of a rail (141/8") and subtract 1/8" to allow for expansion. Then divide by four. My slats were 31/2" wide (Fig. 13). Now cut them to length to equal the distance between the mortises on the legs. (Mine were 11" long.)

2!/2

!/4" x !/4" OFFSET TONGUE (SEE FIG. 11)

B RAIL

NOTE: RAILS ARE RESAWN 1!/4" THICK

!/4

CUT TENONS TO FIT MORTISES 1!/4

10 a.
SLAT C

LEG INSIDE CORNER

B RAIL

a.

FENCE

CENTER TENONS ON RAILS 1!/4 RAIL OFF-CENTER TONGUE HOLDS SLATS IN PLACE

!/2

11

!/4 AUXILIARY FENCE

FACE SIDE DOWN

!/4" x !/4" OFFSET TONGUE

%/8

#/8

12
!/4 FENCE #/16

SET BIT !/4" FROM FENCE TO CHAMFER THIS EDGE

SET BIT FLUSH WITH FENCE TO CHAMFER THESE EDGES

DONT CHAMFER INSIDE EDGE

FACE SIDE DOWN

13 a.
SLAT C SLAT C 11 NOTE: CUT A TOTAL OF 16 SLATS 3!/2 %/16 #/16 #/8 !/4

From Woodsmith magazine

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page 5 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

14
7!/2

LAY OUT HOLES FOR PIN SUPPORTS

2!/2

15

2!/2

a.

LEG INSIDE CORNER !/4"-DIA. HOLE, !/2" DEEP !/2

SET COMBINATION SQUARE AT !/2"

CENTER CLAMP PRESSURE OVER MORTISE AND TENON JOINTS NOTE: ASSEMBLE OPPOSITE SIDES FIRST

GROOVE THE SLATS. With the slats cut to size, you can now add an offset groove in the ends to fit the tongues on the rails (Figs. 13 and 13a). CHAMFER. To complete the side slats, chamfer all four edges on the face side. PIN HOLES. Next, I laid out and drilled 1/ " holes on each leg for pin supports. 4 The pins support an adjustable shelf (refer to Fig. 17). To position the holes, stand the legs up and mark the inside corner so the sets of holes will face each other (that is, mirrored sets). Then drill 1/ "-deep holes (Fig. 14). 2 ASSEMBLE SIDES. The easiest way to assemble the planter is to first put together two of the side units, then connect these by adding rails and slats for the other sides. Begin by applying glue to the tenons on the ends of two rails, and in the mortises in one leg. Insert the tenons, making certain the tongues on the rails face each other. Next, slide (but dont glue) the slats onto the tongues of the rails. (The slats need room to move with changes in humidity.) Then apply glue to the other

two tenons and to the mortises of another leg, and fit the pieces together. Next, clamp the side assembly together using two pipe clamps (Fig. 15). Lay the assembly on the pipe clamps with the inside facing up. This way the clamp pressure will be centered directly on the mortise and tenon joints (Fig. 15). Now, put together another side the same way. ASSEMBLE THE PLANTER. Finish assembling the planter by connecting the two completed side units with the remaining rails and slats.

ADJUSTABLE SHELF
After completing the sides, work can begin on the adjustable shelf. It consists of four slats and two cleats (Fig. 16). CLEATS. Cut the cleats (E) to a width of 21/2". To determine the length of the cleats (E), measure the distance on the inside of the planter from side slat to side slat and subtract 3/8" for clearance. (This made my cleats 153/4" long.) SLATS. Next, cut the shelf slats (D). To allow water to run off between the slats, I left 1/4" gaps between each one (Fig.

16). So, to determine the width of each slat, subtract 3/4" from the length of the cleat (for the three 1/4" gaps). Then divide this measurement by four (for the four slats). In my case, this made each slat 33/4" wide (Fig. 16). To determine the length of the slats, I measured from the drilled side of one post to the drilled side of the opposite post and subtracted 3/8" for easy clearance. (Mine were 133/4" long.) ASSEMBLY. I completed the shelf assembly by screwing the cleats to the shelf slats. The screws go through the cleats and are centered on the width of each slat (Fig. 16a). To put the shelf in place, tip one end down into the planter. Then set the ends of the cleats on the shelf pins and simply allow the other end of the shelf to drop into place (Fig. 17). FINISH. To finish the planter, I used an equal mixture of spar varnish and tung oil. It seals the wood and darkens it only slightly so the deep red tones of the redwood remain visible. It also builds up a soft sheen after two coats.

16
!/4 3#/4 13#/4

17

D SHELF SLATS

a.
E CLEAT

SLAT 15#/4
E CLEAT

#8 x 1!/4" Fh WOODSCREW

2!/2

SHELF CLEAT RESTS ON PIN

From Woodsmith magazine

All rights reserved

page 6 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

The addition of raised panels definitely dresses up the look of the Planter Box sides. The panels lend a more sophisticated style to the boxes without interfering with their flexible design.
CONSTRUCTION NOTES:
The Raised Panel Planter Boxes described here are built using the standard height legs (Fig. 1). Each planter can be built with the middle or tall height legs if desired. Refer to the Designers Notebook on page 2 for ideas on how this can be done. Begin by squaring up and cutting the legs (A) to length as before. Then lay out and cut the mortises for the rails (Fig. 2). To simplify construction, I decided to rout a groove in the legs and add a spline (K) to the groove. The spline, in effect, becomes a tongue on the leg, which will match the size and position of the tongues on the rails (B) (refer to Fig. 4). To add the 1/ "-deep groove to the legs, 4 set up a 1/4" straight bit in a tablemounted router. Then position the fence to align the bit with the inside edge of the mortise (Figs. 2 and 3). After the fence has been set to rout the groove, youll need to lower the workpiece over the bit starting the cut inside the upper leg mortise. Then rout along the fence, stopping when you reach the opposite mortise (Fig. 3). Once the groove has been added, rout the decorative cuts and chamfers. The next step is to rip a 1/ "-thick, 1/ "4 2 wide piece of stock for the spline. Then cut the splines to length (mine were 11") and glue them in place in the grooves centered between the mortises (Fig. 4). When youve completed the legs, rip and crosscut the rails (B) to size adding the tenons, tongues, and chamfers.

FRAME & PANEL SIDES

Now work can begin on the raised panels (J). First, glue up the blanks from 3/ "-thick stock (Fig. 5). 4 To size the panels, I first measured the frame opening, then subtracted 1/8" to allow for expansion. (My panels were 107/8" wide and 14" long.) Once the glue has fully dried, the edges on each of the blanks can be beveled to create the raised panels.

To do this, attach an 8"-tall auxiliary fence to the rip fence and tilt the table saw blade to 5. Then raise the saw blade to a height of 11/2" (Figs. 6 and 7). Begin by cutting the bevels on the end grain edges first. This way any chipout that may occur will be removed when the face grain edges are cut. Make the cut in two passes, moving the rip fence slightly between passes.

32%/8

MATERIALS LIST
NEW PARTS FOR SINGLE UNIT 3/ x 107/ - 14 J Single Panels (4) 4 8 1/ x 3/ - 11 K Splines (8) 2 4 NEW PARTS FOR DOUBLE UNIT 3/ x 107/ - 14 J Single Panels (2) 4 8 1/ x 3/ - 11 K Splines (8) 2 4 L Double Panels (2) 3/4 x 107/8 - 28 Note: Do not need part C.

18%/8

19!/2

SINGLE UNIT (SQUARE)

DOUBLE UNIT (RECTANGLE)

From Woodsmith magazine

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page 7 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

LEG A

MARK TOP END

LOWER LEG MORTISE ON TO BIT, ROUT ALONG FENCE, STOP AT OPPOSITE MORTISE

2#/4

%/8

!/2 INSIDE CORNER

NOTE: ALL MORTISES 1!/16" DEEP

NOTE: ALIGN BIT WITH INSIDE EDGE OF MORTISE

ROUT A !/4" GROOVE, !/4" DEEP

4
19!/2
RAIL B LEG A

11 ROUT !/4" GROOVES, !/4" DEEP BETWEEN MORTISES

GLUE INTO GROOVE CUT TO FIT BETWEEN RAILS

SPLINE K

!/2

5
2 14 28

J SINGLE PANEL

L DOUBLE PANEL

10&/8

NOTE: SEE FIG. 6 FOR EDGE DETAIL

2!/4 2!/4

The idea is to remove most of the waste on the first pass, then to remove any burn or swirl marks that might remain with the second pass. Note: Cut the bevels on all four edges of all of the panels before moving the rip fence to make the second pass. If needed, use a sanding block with a beveled edge to finish sand the saw marks and the undercut shoulders. Then, I use a 1/4" straight bit in the router table to rout the centered grooves along the edges of the panel to fit over the rail and leg tongues (Fig. 6). The top groove on each panel is 5/16" deep, while the side and bottom grooves are 3/16" deep (Figs. 8a and 8b). This will allow for expansion, while spacing the panel evenly within the frame. Finally, its best to assemble opposite sides first, then connect them by adding rails and panels for the other sides. Add a bead of silicone caulk in the top grooves when adding the panels (but no glue).

6
#/4 !/2 !/4

!/8" SHOULDER 1!/2

PANEL GROOVE DETAIL (CROSS SECTION)

5 BEVEL #/16

PANEL

a.
B RAIL TOP GROOVE, %/16" DEEP

!/8

NOTE: TOP GROOVE SHOULD BE %/16" DEEP

7
PANEL

NOTE: ATTACH AN 8"-TALL PLYWOOD FENCE TO RIP FENCE

b.
!/2 NOTE: TILT BLADE 5 1!/2

BOTTOM AND SIDE GROOVES, #/16" DEEP

From Woodsmith magazine

All rights reserved

page 8 of 8

2005 August Home Publishing Company

One copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.