[Bray D]

The little lady wanted me to build her something to put plants on, so we sat down, whipped up a design, and I got to building. I typically model all of my builds in SolidWorks, as I did this one, but unfortunately the external hard drive with all of my models was stolen. Luckily I printed out a crude detailed print with some reference dimensions so I had something to build from. I completed the remainder of the build on the fly.

I started by rolling some 1.5" OD tube. I was trying to achieve a 10" center line radius, which is the tightest radius I've rolled thus far. I started with the dies in their furthermost position to make it easier to roll, but I ultimately had to move them in to achieve a radius that tight. It worked out pretty well.

Then I bent up the base, clamped, and welded the joint.

Only 5 pics per post is allowed it seems. To be continued...

 

[Bray D]

The next challenge was to position the vertical tube. I only have a very basic fixture kit for the table, so I clamped a piece of angle iron to one of my 90* fixtures to give me something to clamp the tube to. I set the tube on a piece of rectangle to space it from the table, then let it rest against the angle and clamped it up.

Cut, notched, and began placing/tacking the support tubes.

After completing the base, I moved onto the supports that would ultimately hold the flower pots. I took the piece that I rolled earlier and cut it to size, then mocked everything up on the table. My buddy cut the house numbers, as well as the discs that you'll see later, on his torch table. They turned out awesome.

Fully welded.

To be continued...

 

[Bray D]

The next step was to build the vertical posts that the discs would sit on. I wanted to keep them short so the plants appeared to rest right on the rolled tube. I notched some 1" tube and cut them to .75" tall. I also cut a vertical void in the back, so any water that passes through the pots/base will exit out the back.

I place them with the fixtures to ensure they were square, tacked, and welded them up.

Same deal with the numbers. Locate, clamp, weld.

Once all of that was finished, all that was left was to build the discs that the pots would sit on. Like I said earlier, my buddy cut the actual discs, but I wanted to put a vertical lip on them for a more finished look. I rolled up some 1" strap steel into rings, and placed the discs 3/4" down into them and stitched it up.

There's more...

 

[Bray D]

Then I located the disc assemblies on the stand and welded them up.

At this point I drilled holes in the bottom of the base and tacked nuts in place. Bolts thread into the nuts and pass through the hole into the ID of the tube. This allows me to adjust each foot height to ensure the stand is level and solid regardless of the condition of the foundation it's set upon.

Prime, paint, add plants!

I'm quite pleased with the outcome. The gray/blue matches our shingles well, and the house numbers are easily visible from the road.

I ran to the hardware store to try and find some 1.5" OD plastic caps to put in the ends of the rolled tube, but I didn't have any luck. I'll order some online and put those in place once they arrive to finish it off. Aside from that, it's complete!

 

[Gravel]

Very nice, Bray! Can't let my wife see this!

 

[DSW]

Sure you can Gravel. You'll just need to buy the bender and one of those nice fab tables so you can build it! She gets a place for her flowers, you get some expensive new toys... :laugh:


Very nicely done.

 

[gxbxc]

Why is it that wives think tools to earn a living are a luxury and they should get equal value in A}shoes B} dress,C}jewlery. but don't even think about getting then a I iron or a I cook or I sweep .

gxbxc

 

[ECAVE]

Looks great! I really like it.

 

[Dantheharleyman99]

Awesome job

 

[mnt]

Plant stand turned out great. Great job

I really dig that table though.

 

[Bray D]

Thanks guys. It was a fun build. It sounds like some of my family members want one of their own now, so I'm sure I'll be building clones in the weeks to come.

I really enjoy building with the BuildPro table. The shop floor was my layout table for years. Once I bought my own place, I splurged a bit for the nice table. I definitely don't regret it.

I still go back to the layout lines on concrete when necessary, but having the ground flat top and nearly unlimited clamping possibilities is a big win.

 

[Bray D]

Welp, that didn't take long. I came home from work on Friday to find this:

Looks like I needed a little something more to keep the pots in place. This was my solution:

I didn't take pics during the build process, but it was pretty simple. I made some rings out of 1/4" solid rod the fit quite snug around the new plastic pots. I attached the rings to the bases with a piece of the same material (1/4" rod). Painted to match the stand and called it good. Hopefully this revision stands the test of time.

 

[Gravel]

Sure you can Gravel. You'll just need to buy the bender and one of those nice fab tables so you can build it! She gets a place for her flowers, you get some expensive new toys... :laugh:


Very nicely done.

Just saw this...
I really want a good pipe/tubing bender (currently have the compact bender, ring roller, and tubing roller).
Could never justify the price of a table like that but now that I have a mag drill, maybe I could have the slats cut for me and drill them out myself.
My wife kills all plant life. I don't know how she does it but she is really good at it.