Materials List
- two wider pallet boards of same thickness
- 2 X 4 piece or wood slice for base
- tree branch
- band saw or scroll saw
- wood glue
- brad nailer or hammer & nail
- drill
- hammer and chisel
I found this project when I was reading through some Better Homes and Garden magazines.
This template is a slightly smaller version of my trees and prints out on 8.5X11.
I chose to take a screen shot of the tree and printed it out enlarging each piece. I then photocopied it on a photocopier that can make larger copies. I could only allow each piece to get as big as my widest piece of wood at 5.5 inches which is the width of a wider pallet board.
I cut out the pieces and then traced each piece onto cardboard.
From there I traced each piece on a pallet board. I used two different boards to give the tree some contrast.
For one tree I had piece #2 and #3 from the same board and #1 and #4 from another.
For another tree I had piece #1 and #4 from one board and #2 and #3 from another.
After you have your four pieces, use wood glue to hold them together and let them dry. Make sure to wipe away any glue that seeps through.
I had already planned in advance to use actual tree branches for the trunk of my trees so I did not bother to try to recreate the stem and base pieces that BHG had for their tree. I had collected these branches last fall and they had been drying about six months before I used them.
I tried to pick out fairly straight branches. I laid my tree on the branch and drew a line where the notch would need to be at the base. You have to leave room for the two pieces that hang down. I then drew a vertical line from that spot to the top of my branch. I used the band saw to cut the notched area out of the branch then used my nail gun to nail the branch to the tree. I cut off the bottom end of the branch with my miter box and hand saw just so the bottom was flat.
I chose pieces of wood for my bases that I thought were unique. I traced the flat end of the branch onto the center of the base. Using a larger drill bit, I drilled several holes into the circle I had traced. I then used a hammer and chisel to roughly clean out the hole. A Forstner bit would work as well but I have trouble myself with the torque so I chose to make the hole this way. I put wood glue in the hole and put the branch in cleaning away any glue that seeped out.
My third tree was actually the first one that I made. For that one I had used a very light pine board and there was not a lot of contrast. My husband was in his torching mood so I thought I would let him torch the tree. I used a beeswax finish to brighten up the tree, stem and base.
Three rustic trees with different looks all made using recycled pallets and other scrap wood.
