18″ wide tiered plant stand plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Jigsaw
• 1/2″ drill bit
• Countersink bit
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Lay out and cut the stepped sides

   Each side (A) is a piece of plywood 21 3/4″ deep and 30″ tall, cut into 3 steps. On one piece, start at the front bottom corner: the first step is 10″ tall and 7 1/4″ deep, and each step behind it is another 10″ taller.

   Draw every line with a square, so each riser (the upright line) is square to each tread (the flat line). Shade the corners you will cut away, so you never saw on the wrong side of a line.

   Clamp the two pieces together, edges flush, the marked one on top. Cutting both at once makes them identical.

   At each inside corner, drill a 1/2″ hole just touching both lines: it lets the jigsaw turn the corner cleanly. Then saw along each riser line and each tread line into the hole, staying on the waste side.

   • Tip Clamp the work so the line hangs off the bench, use a fine-tooth wood blade, let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood and push gently: the blade bends if you force it, and the cut wanders.
   • Tip Sand the sawn edges while the two sides are still clamped together, so they stay matched.

   ✓ Stand the two sides back to back: every step lines up within 1/16″, and a square sits flat in each inside corner.

   STOP. Keep both hands behind the jigsaw and the cord clear of the blade. The blade sticks out below the wood, so check nothing is under the cut.

4. 4Mark and drill the sides

   Unclamp the sides and lay them inside face up, as a mirrored pair (fronts toward each other). On each step, draw where the shelf (B) goes: its top flush with the tread and its 7 1/4″ depth covering the tread.

   Below each shelf outline, at the back, draw the back rail (C): 3 1/2″ tall, 3/4″ deep, tight under the shelf.

   Drill pilot holes right through the side from the inside: 3 in each shelf outline and 2 in each rail outline, centred in the 3/4″ thickness. Turn the sides over and countersink every hole on the outside face.

   • Tip Put a scrap board under each hole as you drill: the bit then exits cleanly instead of splintering the outside face.

   ✓ Every hole sits in the middle of its outline, and the two sides are mirror images, not two copies of the same side.

5. 5Assemble the shelves and rails

   Lay one side on the floor, inside face up. Spread glue on one end of each shelf (B) and each rail (C) and stand them on end on their outlines. A scrap block clamped to each one, or a helper, keeps them upright.

   Glue the upper ends, lower the second side on top and line the outlines up with the parts (look through the pilot holes). Drive 1 5/8″ screws through the top side into every shelf and rail end.

   Roll the stand over gently and drive the screws through the other side.

   Stand it up on a flat floor. Measure the diagonals of the front of the top shelf opening and of the back; push the stand square if they differ, and leave the glue to set an hour.

   • Tip Spread a thin, even layer of glue on one face with a finger or scrap: enough that a little beads out when you clamp, not so much that it runs. Wipe the squeeze-out with a damp rag right away, or scrape it once it turns rubbery; dried glue blocks stain and finish.
   • Tip Measure both diagonals, corner to corner. If they match, the assembly is square. If not, push the long diagonal's corners toward each other until they do, then let the glue set.

   ✓ The stand sits on the floor without rocking, every shelf is flush with its step, and both diagonals match within 1/8″.

6. 6Sand and finish

   Sand every face and edge of the plant stand with 120 grit, then 180 grit, always moving along the grain (the lines in the wood). Sanding across the grain leaves scratches that the finish makes darker.

   Soften every sharp edge and corner with a few strokes of 180-grit paper on a block, so edges don't splinter or chip.

   Vacuum the dust, then wipe with a tack cloth or a barely damp rag and let it dry 10 minutes.

   Brush on a thin coat of water-based polyurethane along the grain. Thin coats dry clear; thick coats drip and stay sticky.

   When it's dry (about 2 hours; read the can), the surface feels a little rough because the water raised the grain. Sand very lightly with 220 grit just until smooth, wipe off the dust and brush on a second coat. Three coats on anything handled every day.

   Let the last coat dry overnight before you handle it much.

   • Tip Pine goes blotchy under stain. If you want colour, brush on a pre-stain conditioner first, or use a gel stain.
   • Tip Finish the back and underside too. Wood that is sealed on one side only can cup as the seasons change.
   • Tip Work in a warm, dry, well-ventilated room. Below about 50°F (10°C) most finishes dry slowly and cloudy.

   ✓ The surface feels smooth and even, with no drips on the edges and no dull, dry patches.

7. 7Set it up

   Stick felt pads under each side so it slides without scratching the floor.

   Put a saucer under every pot. Water standing on raw or scratched wood leaves black rings, even through a finish. Each shelf is checked for a 30 lb pot in the middle plus smaller pots around it.

   ✓ Push gently on the top back corner: the stand doesn't rock or rack sideways.

   STOP. Never stand or climb on it.