Jewellery Tree

I made this for a Christmas present for my mum. It is made of oak and the finish is lacquer rubbed down with wire wool in-between coats for a smooth finish.

The designed purpose is to allow my mum to hang her necklaces, bracelets and rings on it.

Materials

50 x 25 x 1000 mm off cut of oak (anything with nice grain or knots to make features of)
PVA Glue
Masking Tape

Tools

Hobby sized band saw
Detail sander
Sash clamps
G-clamps
Drill
3.5 mm drill bit
Sandpaper
Selection of small files

Method

Lay masking tape onto the wood and cut a trunk sized piece (250mm). Draw a sweeping design incorporating any knots or grain features (I tried to avoid straight lines). I then cut it out on the band saw. I cut the rest of the wood in half length ways (roughly 12mm thick).

The base was made of 4 lengths of 12 x 25 x120mm glued and clamped together for 24 hours.. The 4 outside pieces were cut the size of the base + 2x the width to allow for 45 degree mitre joints at each end. After the base was glued and left to set it was sanded and the outside mitre pieces were were glued to the base.

The branches were created from the rest of the 12 mm thick wood. I stuck the masking tape on top and drew my design to be cut out. I made as many branches to allow for the rings and necklaces to hook onto.

I cut the joints to attach the branches to the tree by eye and filed them until I had a good fit. When they all fitted I glued them to the main trunk holding them in place with rubber bands and clamps for 24 hours (picture above).

For the finish I used clear spray on lacquer but varnish is suitable as well. I done 3-4 coats rubbing down in-between coats for a smooth finish.