Lesson 21
Planter Box
Here’s a simple project to make that’s useful and attractive. It’s also the
perfect gift for Mom or Dad to say thank you for all the cool tools and
wood that they’ve bought for you.
We’ve built other projects in this book that were meant for outside use
but the planter box is unique in one way. The birdhouse and birdfeeder
that we made was finished with an outdoor spar varnish to protect the
pine. This is a good choice for projects that need protection from
occasional rain and snow. But for something that’s going to be in almost
constant contact with moisture you’re better off going with a wood that’s
water resistant. We chose western red cedar and pressure treated wood
for the planter box because both stand up to moisture for a long time
without rotting. Western red cedar is plentiful in the south but where
you live it might be easier to find redwood or cypress. Also, building the
whole project out of pressure treated wood is fine, but you might have
trouble finding it tongue and grooved.
What’s tongue and grooved I hear you say? I’m glad you asked. When
two pieces of wood are “tongue and grooved”, it forms a joint allowing
two pieces of wood to be connected without the need for any glue.
Here’showitworks. Ononeedgeofaboardagrooveiscutintothe
centerdowntheentirelengthoftheboard. Onthesameboard,buton
the opposite edge a “tongue” is cut that is the exact shape to fit into the
groove that was cut. Now
the way this works is you
take one board with the
groove facing to the right and
take another board flipped
around with the tongue