A central part of the festive season is the Christmas tree, and who says you can’t have more than one?! Or if the traditional green tree and baubles aren’t quite your style, then this is a great alternative. In this stunning but extremely inexpensive DIY, we are creating a mini tabletop timber Christmas tree, perfect for the mantle, dining table or window sill. The tree has a bit of a scandi-minimal vibe and will complement any other decorations you have around the house.
This project requires a little more elbow grease, but it is nothing too crazy difficult and looks fantastic. It could even make a great gift to a special friend or family member.
Level of Difficulty:
Intermediate
Project Duration:
1-1.5 Hours
Music album to listen along to (COMPULSORY ????):
Kylie Christmas – Kylie Minogue
MATERIALS
1 x 18mm x 40mm x 2.4m timber plank, 1 x 18mm x 60mm x 440mm timber plank, 15 x Pinnacle 1/2″ BSW Nuts, 1m steel threaded rod.
STEP 1
To create the branch pieces, start by measuring and marking up your 18mm x 40mm timber plank. Cut out 14 lengths, with the longest being 300mm and then decreasing in length in increments of 20mm each time.
Once you have the 14 lengths cut, drill a hole, slightly bigger than 1/2″, through the centre of each piece.
STEP 2
To create the base of the tree, cut 2 x 220mm length pieces from the 18mm x 60mm timber plank. Create a 60mm wide x 9mm deep recess in the centre of each piece (half the thickness of the plank). Then, clamp the two base pieces together and drill a hole in the centre slightly bigger than 1/2″. Then remove the camp and separate the two base pieces and, in the piece that will sit on the bottom, drill a hole approximately 22mm in diameter.
STEP 3
Grab the base piece with the larger hole, and using a hammer, gently tap a nut into the hole. Apply some glue if the nut is not securely fitted in the hole. Place the second base piece on top; they should interlock and sit flush against each other.
STEP 4
Thread the steel rod into the base, ensuring it doesn’t protrude out the bottom so the tree can sit flat on the base. You may want to apply glue to the rod and nut to ensure it does not come loose. Thread a couple of nuts onto the rod, then slide the longest branch piece on. Work from the longest to shortest branch piece fastening a nut in between each piece of timber. Repeat this until all 14 pieces have been placed onto the rod. Remember not to screw the nuts on too tight so the branch pieces are still able to rotate. Finally, finish off the tree by trimming off any excess steel rod and screwing on a wing nut. Add some string lights, and you have yourself a minimal tabletop timber Christmas tree!
