Beat The Boredom | Woodworking Projects for Young Kids | Wooden Christmas Tree
Wooden Christmas Tree
For flexibility, this fun pallet project can be made to any size, making it ideal for any size home. What's more, the only materials needed is a pallet and a length of dowel, plus some handy workshop tools.
Part 1 - Mark out and cut the base
The first stage is to cut your chosen pallet down to useable size planks of timber. To do this, use a handsaw or a jigsaw if you have one. Be sure to cut as close as you can to the square blocks on the pallet. This will give you the largest possible timber planks to work with. When cut, these will be around 43cm in length so aim to cut these as square as possible. This will save you a little time and effort later on.
Next, mark out two square lines from the edge of a plank.
This will form two support feet for the base. For the feet, mark up and cut off another board to the same length as the longer plank.
Now, find the centre of both base boards. To do so, join the corners with a pencil mark, clamp together and drill a centre hole. Here, use a drill bit to match the dowel size used; in this instance 12mm.
Next, insert the dowel into both base boards and twist to form a cross shape. Check everything fits together nicely and then glue together. At this stage, be careful to make sure everything is square. For extra strength, add in a couple of small screws form the underneath.
Finally, glue and screw the small support feet to the upper base board to complete the base.
Part 2 - Cut and drill the branches
For this next stage, cut your wooden Christmas tree branches to 3cm in width along the length of the remaining pallet boards. As before, you can do this by hand however it is much easier and more precise if you use a small bandsaw.
Mark out and drill a central hole to match your dowel size. This can be done using a cordless drill or a pillar drill if you have one.
Next, thread the first branch down the dowel. Screw in place around 10cm - 15cm above the base. (pics 31 - 20) Once you have the first branch fixed in place, measure its length. It is then time mark out and cut all other branches. Lay out all branches on a flat surface and align them along one edge. Begin with the longest piece and mark out and then cut each branch 1cm shorter than the last.This will give you the tapered tree look.
Next, thread the first branch down the dowel. Screw in place around 10cm - 15cm above the base.Once you have the first branch fixed in place, measure its length. It is then time mark out and cut all other branches. Lay out all branches on a flat surface and align them along one edge. Begin with the longest piece and mark out and then cut each branch 1cm shorter than the last.This will give you the tapered tree look.
Once you have cut all of your branches, lay these out on a flat surface and stagger each end by 5mm to give you the equal side to side tree tapered look. In our example, the shortest branch measured around 3cm - 4cm.
Next, mark out a centre line and then drill a hole in the centre of each branch piece to match the dowel size. Again, this can be done using cordless drill or a pillar drill, if you have one.
Finally, once all is cut to length and drilled, make sure all edges are sanded and smooth. Once you've done this stage, you are ready for assembly!
Part 3 - Make the star
If you want to add in some extra detail, why not add a star for the top of your wooden Christmas tree? If you want to make a star, an offcut from the pallet planks is perfect and makes a great touch.
Firstly, draw out a star shape and then drill the dowel hole. Do this before you cut the star shape out. Next, either cut by hand or use a scroll saw or bandsaw to make the shape. Cut off the length of dowel to around 2cm - 3cms above the top branch and finally, add to your completed wooden Christmas tree.
Win a £25 Gift Card…
For a chance of winning at £25 Axminster Gift Card, simply show us what Beat The Boredom projects you’ve completed by uploading them to Instagram, Facebook or on to our Community Forum.
Snap It
Take a photo of your project.
Tag It
Use the #BeatTheBoredom hashtag and upload it to one of the following;
- Instagram or Twitter and tag @axminstertools
- Facebook and tag @axminstertools
- The Community Forum under the Beat The Boredom post
Discover more…
If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, keep an eye out for our next woodworking project for kids as part of our Beat The Boredom series. Watch this space for more details! Furthermore, why not take a look at all of our previous projects below?
Get connected!
If you’re searching for Beat the Boredom projects, you’ll find them on the Knowledge website. Alternatively, follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on all the latest from our Beat the Boredom series. Connect with us using #BeatTheBoredom to @AxminsterTools.
