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Thread: Left Over Maple Plant Stand

  1. #1
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    Left Over Maple Plant Stand

    Decided to use some left over maple to build my soon-to-be 90 year old mom a plant stand for a birthday gift. I'll follow up with a completed project photo, but I'm hoping to get a little help.

    I was cruising along just fine...legs cut with a slight taper towards to bottom, all the M&T's cut and ready, cut a dado for the lower shelf and boom...realized I hadn't thought things through...lol.

    Since I'm not that great at cutting clean corners in the shelf itself, I was wondering if it would be okay to just remove a section of the leg at the dado so I can get the square shelf I've already made? I realize it would severely compromise the mortises, but it would be "replaced" by the shelf itself. Would never consider this on a serious build that would be supporting significant weight, but this is after all just a plant stand.

    Thoughts...and yes, it's okay to say it's an idiotic idea if it is. Picture below of what I'm referring to and what I hadn't thought through.

    Edit...sorry about the sideways pictures...still haven't figured out why it happens here.

    20210312_183020.jpg 20210312_193356.jpg
    A wannabe woodworker!

  2. #2
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    Instead of removing all of the inside piece of the leg at the mortise, what about just a shallow dado on the corner just deep enough to hide any uneveness of your corner notch in your shelf?
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
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  3. #3
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    What Lee said. You want to cut the mortise where the edge grain of the shelf fits into the leg deeper than for the end grain one, too, too allow for seasonal expansion/contraction of the shelf. There should be a similar gap in the side rail dados you already cut.

    John
    Last edited by John TenEyck; 03-12-2021 at 8:59 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Instead of removing all of the inside piece of the leg at the mortise, what about just a shallow dado on the corner just deep enough to hide any uneveness of your corner notch in your shelf?
    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    What Lee said. You want to cut the mortise where the edge grain of the shelf fits into the leg deeper than for the end grain one, too, too allow for seasonal expansion/contraction of the shelf. There should be a similar gap in the side rail dados you already cut.

    John
    Thank you both and not sure why I didn't think of that. On a side note I didn't mention, I intend to leave the shelf free floating to allow for movement, so the dados are a little larger than the shelf material. For the top, I use the table top clips (or whatever they're called) that secure to the top and then "float" in a slit cut in to the top rails.

    Thanks again...
    A wannabe woodworker!

  5. #5
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    Well, thanks to Lee and John, I think it worked. Cut a small dado in the leg and crisis averted. Mortise is still in tack, albeit a little less meat, but I think it turned out pretty well. It's in the clamps as I type so I'll know more in the morning. Picture below was a dry fit.

    Edit...again with the sideways picture.

    20210313_094946.jpg
    A wannabe woodworker!

  6. #6
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    Nice recovery! Looks just like you designed it that way..

    Regarding orientation of pictures, I've had better luck if I take the pic in landscape orientation. But have still had a few flip.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  7. #7
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    To to put some closure to this, the plant stand is done. The bottom shelf issue worked out nicely. I also tried an inlay on the top, something I've never tried before. 1/4" strip of cherry and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Still working on my finishing skills because they need it.

    Thanks again for the help...

    20210318_192917.jpg

    20210318_193122.jpg

    20210318_193028.jpg

    20210318_193113.jpg

    The shadows make it hard to see, but the dados in the legs did the trick.

    20210318_210106_04.jpg
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  8. #8
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    Lovely plant stand. The fit and finish are excellent.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  9. #9
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    Beautifully done.

    It's tight, clean and sturdy.

    Kudos

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Fretwell View Post
    Lovely plant stand. The fit and finish are excellent.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Beautifully done.

    It's tight, clean and sturdy.

    Kudos
    Thank you both for the kind words.
    A wannabe woodworker!

  11. #11
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    Your mom will love that plant stand...what type of plant might she put on it?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rainey View Post
    Your mom will love that plant stand...what type of plant might she put on it?
    Thanks Mark...that's the funny thing. She asked for one a long time ago which I considered odd as she's never had a green thumb. I'm guessing she's thinking she is going to grow one in her 91st year!
    A wannabe woodworker!

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