DIY Folding Plant Stand Project for Mother's Day

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Cedar is a good lumber choice for this project because it's lightweight and strong. It resists insects and rot. Cedar is the ideal material for a portable plant stand. This project uses fence pickets due to their low cost. They’re also thinner than standard 1X lumber.

Stainless steel fasteners are best for use in cedar. Other metals can react with the wood to create stains around the fasteners and corrode the metal inside the wood.

To lower the project cost, consider using pressure-treated fence pickets and coated deck screws. These materials will also last for many years, but the plant stand will be a bit heavier. However, once dry, this lumber can be stained a variety of colors. If you want to paint your plant stand, pressure-treated lumber would be a better choice than cedar. Even though you’ll be using coated deck screws, stainless steel is necessary for the carriage bolts, washers, and nuts.

A thick construction adhesive will work best with cedar pickets due to the roughness of the surface. Pressure treated wood often has high water content and needs glue that will adhere to the damp surface. Dry pressure treated wood or smoothly sanded wood can be glued with an exterior grade wood glue.

The plant stand shown is built with cedar fence pickets and stainless steel fasteners.

Materials:

• Six – 6-foot cedar fence pickets
• Three – 1x2x8 cedar boards
• One pound 1-1/4 inch stainless steel deck screws
• Two 2-inch long 1/4x20 stainless steel carriage bolts
• Two 1/4x20 stainless steel wing nuts
• Two stainless steel fender washers with 1/4-inch holes
• Two 1/4-inch carriage bolt torque washers
• Construction adhesive or glue

Tools:

• Circular saw, power miter saw, or miter box and hand saw
• Drill
• Impact driver (optional)
• Countersink pilot bit
• Driver bit for the screws
• 6-inch bit extension
• 1/4 inch drill bit
• Clamps
• Hammer
• Caulk gun, if using construction adhesive
• Rafter square
• Tape measure
• Pencil

Note: Throughout construction, be careful not to drive the screws so deeply that the point shows through the other side. Set the pilot bit to a depth of 1-inch to avoid drilling pilot holes all the way through the material.

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The stringers are 40 inches long with parallel 30-degree angles on each end.

A common mistake when cutting a board with parallel angles on the ends is cutting a board to the final length, then cutting the angled ends. This will result in a stringer that is too short.

Follow these instructions to end up with two stringers at the correct length.

• Use the rafter square to mark a 30-degree angle at the square end of a picket.
• Cut along the line.
• Measure 40 inches from the long end of the angle down the length of the picket.
• Use the rafter square to mark a 30-degree line from this point.
• This line should be parallel to the other angled end. Double check that the line is correct before cutting.
• Repeat the process to cut the second stringer.
• Clamp the two stringers together, side by side.
• Hook the tape measure on the long point and pull to the short point of the same edge.
• The markings on the stringers should create two parts that are mirror images.
• Make a mark across both stringers every 10 inches.
• Make another mark on both stringers at 3 inches from the long point on the toe end.
• Use the protractor on the rafter square to mark a 60-degree line from the 3-inch mark to the foot end of the stringer.
• Remove the clamps.
• Cut along the line that was marked at 3 inches to clip the point from the foot end of the stringer.
• Use the rafter square to mark a 30-degree line, parallel with the ends, at each mark.
• These marks should be to the inside of the stringers in the next step.

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• To make the top end of each leg, two lines and one spot will need to be marked.
• Measure 35 inches from the dog ear end of a picket and make a mark at the edge of the board.
• Measure over 1-1/4 inches from this mark, then 2-3/8 inches down from this mark. Mark the spot here to drill the pilot hole for the pivot screw.
• The pilot hole will be enlarged in a later step.
• The tops of the legs need to be angled slightly so the finished planter will be more stable.
• Start from the side of the board that the pivot hole is closest to. Using the protractor on the rafter square, mark a line 3 degrees across the face of the board. This line should make the front edge of the leg 35 inches long and the back edge 34-3/4 inches long.
• Use the rafter square to mark a 45-degree line at the long corner, about 3/4-inches from the point. This will make room for the leg to pivot.
• Refer to the photo to see how the top end of the leg should look with all three markings made.
• Draw the two lines and make the pivot mark before cutting.
• Cut the 3-degree line all the way across the board, then cut off the small corner.
• Finally, drill a pilot hole at the pivot mark.

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Cut the following pieces from the fence pickets:

These pieces will have square ends, so measure from the square end of the pickets.

• Three 24 inches (rear braces, top shelf)
• Three 21-3/8 inches (lower shelves)

Cut the following pieces from the 1x2.

• Eight 2-1/2 inches – cut four from each board before cutting the longer pieces
• Two 5-1/2 inches
• Eight 21-3/8 inches

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• The first assembly step is to fasten the rear legs to the stringers.
• These are the only joints that will not be glued, so the planter can fold.
• Place a stringer on a flat work surface with the shelf marks facing down.
• Lay a leg on it, with the square end at the top.
• Use a piece of scrap wood to temporarily support the other end of the leg.
• Align the leg with the top edge and the front corner of the stringer.
• Clamp together.
• The pilot hole for the folding pivot should be 1-1/4 inches from front edge of the leg and 2-3/8 inches from the top of the leg, towards the front of the planter stand. This point was marked in an earlier step.
• Drive a screw through the pilot holes. These screws should be snug during the building process but will be replaced with a nut and bolt in a later step.
• Use clamps to hold the legs in place. If clamps aren’t available, temporarily drive two more screws into the assembly from the inside. These screws will need to be removed later so the planter can fold.

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• Each shelf frame is made of two 21-3/8 inch and two 3-1/2-inch pieces of 1x2.
• Assemble two long pieces and two short pieces into a rectangle.
• The short pieces should be inside of the long pieces, making a rectangle that measures 21-3/8 x 4 inches.
• Apply glue to all contact surfaces.
• Clamp together.
• Drill a pilot hole 3/8-inch from the ends of each long piece.
• Fasten with one screw per corner.
• These three shelves each have a 21-3/8-inch shelf board on top. The ends are flush with the ends of the frame.
• Lay the shelf board in place.
• The shelf board should be flush on the ends and have an equal overhang front and back.
• Trace the support on the underside of the shelf.
• Drill pilot holes between the traced lines, but don’t countersink.
• There should be a total of 6 pilot holes in each shelf top. (Two that are three inches from each end and two in the center.)
• Flip the shelf over and countersink the pilot holes from the top.
• Apply glue to the edges of the support frame and put the top in place.
• Drive screws through these pilot holes.
• The top shelf is 24 inches long. Construction is the same as the lower shelves, except it overhangs the frame by 1-5/8 inches on each end and the screws through the top should be 4-5/8 inches from the ends and in the center.

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• When placing screws, avoid the screws that hold the step together.
• Lay a leg and stringer assembly on the work surface with the shelf lines facing up.
• Align the top of a shelf with the bottom shelf line.
• Fasten the shelf assembly with two screws through the frame and into the stringer.
• The bit extension will be needed to do this.
• Drill the pilot holes at an angle.
• Install the two remaining steps in the same manner.

Next, stand the two leg and stringer assemblies upright and clamp one of the free shelf ends to the other leg assembly. Check alignment, then proceed with fastening the free shelf ends in place.

Note: The top shelf is installed differently and is covered in the next step.

When you add the top shelf, remember:

• The front edge of the shelf should be aligned with the front corner of the stringer.
• Attach the shelf to the stringers but not to the legs.
• Take care to keep glue out of the folding pivot area.
• Attach with two screws through the frame, as with the other shelves.

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• The top and bottom braces are pieces of picket measuring 24 inches long.
• The top edge of the top brace should touch the bottom of the stringer, where the point of the long angle protrudes through the back.
• Fasten the top brace with glue and three screws through the brace and into the edges of the leg.
• The upper edge of the bottom brace should be 15 inches from the end of each leg.
• Attach in the same manner as the top brace.
• Add a 5-1/2 inch 1x2 piece into one joint where the lower brace and the leg meet.
• The narrow edge should touch the leg and the wide face should touch the brace.
• Attach with glue and two screws into each contact surface.
• Repeat on the other side.

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• Use clamps to ensure that the assemblies stay in place when the pivot screws are removed.
• Remove one pivot screw.
• Drill through the leg and stringer at the pivot point with a 1/4-inch drill bit.
• Place a carriage bolt with a carriage bolt torque washer in place through the hole from the outside.
• Place a washer on the bolt where it comes through on the inside and thread on a wing nut.
• Use a hammer to carefully set the teeth of the torque washer in place.
• Tighten the wing nut.
• Repeat the process on the other pivot.
• For stability, the wing nut will need to be screwed down tightly. If you can’t tighten it enough by hand, replace the wing nut with a hex nut and use a wrench.
• If extra stability is needed, screws can be driven through the stringers and legs in the same manner as during construction.

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Follow these instructions to fold the plant stand:

• Slightly loosen the wingnut.
• Fold the legs.
• Tighten the wingnut to hold the plant stand in the folded position.

Note: Although this plant stand looks like a step ladder, it's not designed to support the weight of a person. The light constructions makes it easy to move and store.

Your DIY folding plant stand will look great in cedar and will not require paint or stain. However, if you choose to paint or stain, be sure to choose an exterior product. The same goes if you choose pressure treated lumber; an exterior product is the best choice.

The planters shown here are about six inches high. This size pot will allow you some room for plants to grow.

As for plants to display on your new folding plant stand, you have plenty of choices. You can choose herbs like basil, thyme and rosemary for a sunny kitchen garden. Or, your favorite succulents and sedums for an easy-care dry climate garden.

For an indoor garden display, choose small tropical plants like pothos, fittonia and pilea for your plant stand. Whatever you choose, let Mom's style shine through. This planter stand will be a gift she'll treausre for years.