Had some time this weekend and a desire to build something new and interesting. So, went ahead and created this masterpiece using some free pallet wood.
Had some time this weekend and a desire to build something new and interesting,
so went ahead and created this masterpiece using some free pallet wood.
Before getting our hands dirty with sawdust, let's design the 3D version of this project
to get all our measurements correct. All my flat pallet planks are 9.5 cm wide.
Since my plan is to put 6 pallet planks side by side to create the roof,
I need two 60 cm long wooden planks to hold these 6 pallet planks on them.
The top of these base planks will be cut at 30 degree angle.
These two base planks will be placed 13 cm apart from each other.
I'll create two of these to create the roof of the project.
Next, I'll add some support in the middle of these to hold them nice and tight next to each other.
The legs will be 10 cm long and will stick to the roof's base plank at 30 degree angle.
The top of all back planks will be cut at 30 degree angle.
For the base, I'll cut three 9.5 cm by 58 cm pallet planks.
The entire setup will sit on these three pallet planks.
Alright, enough of talking, let's start cutting the planks.
After dismantling the pallet, I extracted all the nails from the pallet planks.
My aim is to reuse all the nails used in building this pallet
so that I can use them in building my project.
After that, I sanded the pallet planks to give them a nice and smooth texture.
To cut the 30 degree angle, I'm using a jig of 30 degree on one side and 45 degree on the other side.
I adjusted the miter saw to 15 degree angle
and then placed the pallet plank next to the 45 degree side of the jig and then dropped the saw.
Next, I extracted the 13 cm planks that will separate the two 60 cm planks.
After that, it was time for me to apply some wood glue
and join all the pallet planks to create the base of the roof.
Since the clamps I have are not that wide enough to hold these cutouts,
I used some pavers to hold the planks together.
Once the setup dried up, I added six flat pallet planks on top of the base plank.
I also added few nails to hold the planks firmly against the base.
Then using wood glue, I joined the two sides of the roof and left it for drying overnight.
I started a bit early next morning as I was super excited to finish this project
and install the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph next to my Christmas tree.
After making sure that the setup is all dry,
I added the inner support to hold the two sides of the roof nice and tight next to each other.
As per my 3D model, my setup has four 10 cm long legs
attached to the roof base plank at 30 degree angle.
Using the previously shown jig, I am cutting 30 degree angle from the planks.
Then using wood glue, I attached the four legs to the base of the roof.
It totally depends on you whether you want to have the legs or not.
If you want, you can cut the bottom of the base plank to 45 degree
and then glue the roof straight to the base plate.
As discussed earlier, the top of all the back pallet planks are going to have 30 degree angle.
So I went ahead and used my jig to cut the 30 degree angle from all the pallet plank cutouts.
After extracting all the six planks, I glued them to the back of the hut.
After making sure that the planks are firm enough,
I left them overnight for drying without any intervention.
The base was the easiest one to extract.
Using a tape measure, I measured 3 58 cm blocks and then went ahead and dropped the saw.
Then using wood glue, I joined the three blocks and placed a paver on it and left it for drying.
After almost three hours of drying, I glued the top section to the base plate.
Well, that's all from the woodworking side.
Now it's time to paint the masterpiece.
Now to create the figurines, I googled Baby Jesus Silhoutte
and picked up the easiest one from the list.
Then I carved them all using Amazon cardboard boxes.
Next, with the help of my little monster, we painted the masterpiece.
Activities like this excites the young ones and keeps them busy.
It also helps them in their brain development and increases their love towards creativity.
It was a fun project for us.
Hope you guys like it.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
