Though often considered outdoor pieces, planters can be both functional and beautiful inside the home, especially in an enclosed porch or sunroom.
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The first addition to the sunroom in the Season 13 Modern Colonial home was a simple cedar planter. Built by Bob Ryley in the project house's workshop, the planter's basic design was give a little extra flair with some resourceful saber saw work.
The first step in constructing the planter was to rip the boards to the proper width on a table saw. Working from rough sketches created earlier, the 1-by-12-inch boards were trimmed down to a width of 10-1/2-inches.
The rough stock for the decorative end pieces are cut to length with a compound miter saw. The plans called for an overall height of 16-inches.
To create the planter's decorative feet, Ryley created a series of intersecting circles using a simple compass. The front-facing legs display a simple S-shaped curve; the end caps use a more intricate pattern.
The decorative patterns for the planter's feet are cut with a saber saw. Before cutting, the pattern is first scored with a utility knife. The scored line prevents the saber saw blade from tearing the wood along the pattern.
Once cut, the feet's rough edges are smoothed using a drum sanding attachment on a drill press. Sanding removes the saw's blade marks, and can be used to correct any small deviations from the intended pattern.
Ryley uses a biscuit cutter, a specialized tool that routes an oval-shaped notch in the board's edge, to create a recess for a wooden fastener called a biscuit. A corresponding notch is routed in the adjoining board, and the two pieces are glued and butted together.
The decorative end pieces are fastened with nails. Once the outer frame is assembled, a flat board supported by cleats is dropped into the assembly to form the bottom.
The finished planter is placed under a large picture window. Additional braces have been added to create extra strength where boards are butted together.
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