Large Flower Pot Cover

  Few things are more enjoyable than making something that someone needs.  My daughter has a container plant on her deck that gets blown over regularly so the request was made for a large wooden box to contain the plant pot and ballast against the wind.

  The only thing more enjoyable than making useful things is making it with the help of a Grand Kid. This weekend my grand son and I used reclaimed lumber to make a big box.

The base of the box is 15 inches square with 15 inch sides. 

 The skids I picked up last week are now turned into something useful. My grandson did the majority of the work on this project. He cut a skid apart and did most of the measuring, drilled all the holes and drove all the screws. 

 

  My role was to be the extra set of hands that held things while he drove screws, or measured. This was a great project in which he added the use of two new tools to his experience.

  I introduced the bandsaw and drill press a few years ago but this time I thought he was ready for the sliding mitre saw and belt sander.

  

 My grand son is a big boy just finishing grade seven, also he is thoughtful and cautious, so I am pretty comfortable showing him power tools, knowing his nature.  First we talk about safety, what to do and what can go wrong.  Then I give him a slow motion demonstration of how to use the tools.  On the sliding mitre saw for the first few cuts I held the wood for him so he could concentrate totally on the blade. By projects end he was making cuts by himself.  Things aren't to the point that he can use those tools alone in  my shop but I'm confident that he can manage without me having to hover over his shoulder.

  The belt sander smoothed the worst spots on the box and we then used gel stain to sort of even out the colour.

  Not only was this a great way to spend a while in the work shop it continued Kieran's  workshop evolution.  In the past he was impatient to finished and never bothered to sand or stain/varnish his work.  The sanding wasn't great but it is a step toward greater pride of purpose. 

  Next time more attention to detail will make for a more attractive result, I am sure.

cheers ianw