MAY 2017 Project of the Month - Mini Garden Arbor!

[mtylerfl]

Hello,

This project features two-sided machining to create a lattice pattern for the sides of the Mini Garden Arbor. The arbor holds a standard size 4" flower pot and makes a nice decorative item to display. I chose to apply a shabby chic paint technique for the sample, but you can finish it any way that fits your own decor.

The project uses just the 1/8" Cutting Bit. No other bits are required.

The Mini Garden Arbor is about 6.25" deep x 8" wide x 11.7" tall.

Main Items you will need:

1) The Project Files (included):

• Arbor_Sides-and-Shelf.mpc
• Arches.mpc

2) Board(s) with the following dimensions:

Arbor Sides and Shelf: 0.75" x 7" x 32"
Arches: 0.75" x 11" x 22"

NOTE: Do not use boards that are smaller than specified above unless using an appropriate jig.

3) Seven 5.3125" lengths of 0.375" dia. dowels, a 4" flowerpot

4) Glue, clamps, sandpaper, stain and/or paint and clear finish

5) A Dremel-type rotary tool with assorted sanding wheels and bits to sand small details. Suggested: spindle sander, small belt sander, band saw for cutting dowels, pin nailer for tacking parts together

Apply your choice of finish. Here’s what I used on my sample Mini Garden Arbor made from Select Pine:

• Applied a base coat of Rust-Oleum green (satin) spray paint and allowed to dry.

• Sprayed directly over the green base coat with Krylon White Primer* and allowed to dry.

• Scratched/scuffed overall with pieces of coarse 60-grit sandpaper to allow bits of the green base coat to show through. Smoothed the scuffed flat surfaces with 220-grit sandpaper.

*NOTE: I used primer over the green base coat because it is easy to scuff/scratch through to the base coat. I believe flat white spray paint would have served just as well or better. Sandpaper loads with the primer pretty quickly, so you’ll want to change to fresh sandpaper pieces frequently while scuffing the surface.

• Applied Krylon Flat acrylic clear spray to seal