Scrap wood trees

If you have scrap wood, even in lengths less than 11″, you can whip out these easy and beautiful scrap wood Christmas trees. Measurements for 3 sizes on the blog.

I’m part of a Facebook group called “Women in Woodworking” and today’s project was one that someone shared on that page. I wouldn’t steal thunder, but the building plans that were posted didn’t work – the measurements were out somewhere – so I finagled a bit and came up with a very similar version.

IN THREE SIZES!

The best part; this is what I started with:

I know, I save the grungiest crap – but once you see how it turned out, you’ll kick yourself for not doing the same.

Scrap wood tree – Large

(1) 6 1/8″ long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 5 ½” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(4) 5 13/16″ long with 30º cuts running parallel (//)

(1) 10 ¼” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 4 1/8″ long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

You can purchase a 1×2 board to make this, or do what I did and use up some scrap bits that have been lying around in your shop for far too long.

My boards were 2×6’s, so already 1 ½” thick; all I had to do was rip the pieces down to ¾”.

Here’s a tip we learned early on in Cabinet-making school; when setting the blade height on your table saw, three gullets should be visible. (gullets being the dips between the blades). This will make your table saw run more efficiently, not get clogged with sawdust and keep you the safest while cutting.

After running the boards through, I was left with strips that were 1 ½” wide by ¾” thick.

Next, set up your mitre saw to 30º.

Cut your boards according to the cut list above – but note which pieces have parallel running ends and which have perpendicular ends. (I made a mistake on one piece in the photo below)

Time to sand.

It’s so much easier to get the sanding for these scrap wood trees done now – before assembly – so that you aren’t futzing with tiny corners and crevices later.

I laid out my large tree with measurements on it so you could see the layout easily.

To assemble, I used wood glue and a small finishing nail and started with the bottom section, then top section.

This allowed me an easy determination for how much overlap the centre pieces would need – which I decided was about 1 ¼”.

The easiest way (I found) to make sure everything was lining up square, was to line up the base square with my workbench (using a square).

Then I brought in a second square (again to my workbench) to line up the centre pieces.

Dab a bit of wood glue on the overlapping areas, then tack in place with a small finishing nail.

Chris got in the workshop with me and whipped out two smaller versions of these scrap wood trees as well:

Scrap wood tree – Medium

(1) 5 ¼” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 4 ¾” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(4) 5″ long with 30º cuts running parallel (//)

(1) 8 ¾” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 4 ¼” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

Scrap wood tree – Small

(1) 4 ½” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 3 ½” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(4) 3 ¼” long with 30º cuts running parallel (//)

(1) 4 5/8″ long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

(1) 2 ¾” long with 30º cuts running perpendicularly (⊥)

Together, we made 5 scrap wood trees to give as gifts to teachers, family, and friends.

I was thinking you could set them out in a forest scene on a mantle or hearth – as above, add a small hook or dot of hot glue and dangle an ornament in the middle, or

tuck a little candle or tealight inside and let each scrap wood tree stand alone.

*Please notice I’m using a 3 wick candle above, so that no single wick is directly below the top of the tree. Please be conscious of where the heat travels if you do use candles; I wouldn’t want anyone to have any accidents.