Wood flower pots

Another great project idea from Carmen Salamone, who designed one of the most popular WWMM projects last year: the marshmallow crossbow.

He’s been making these beautiful tankards by gluing up strips of wood and adding handles. I’ve used his same technique, but simplified the overall project by eliminating the handle and calling it a flower pot. This will make a great Mothers’ Day gift.

It’s really easy to make these, but you will definitely want to do some experimentation. I tried a test, using 1″ wide strips that were 1/4″ thick. I cut them with 12 degree bevels requiring 16 strips to complete the circular shape.

Then I made a second version using cherry and padauk to the same specifications and it only needed 14 slats! I am still not completely sure why. I suspect that my set-ups might have been slightly different than my test version: maybe a little thicker than 1/4″ pieces, maybe slightly wider. At any rate, it worked out fine. Just be sure to cut extra pieces.

Update:
Here’s a calculator from Joe Ferrari that allows you to enter your own numbers to determine the bevel angles. Thanks Joe!
Here’s what you can enter into the various cells:
1. The minimum width that a panel could be based on the outside diameter of the pot and the number of panels
2. The maximum width that the inside face could be based on the outside diameter of the pot, the number of panels, and wall thickness of the pot
3. The minimum board thickness based on the outside diameter of the pot, number of panels, and desired thickness of a panel.
4. The actual width of the inside face (if different from the maximum width calculated above)
5. The angle of the panels (apparently I used the term strip and panel interchangeably)
6. The complement of the angle – this should be the angle you set your table saw to