Consumer are being ripped off

It's a fact! South African consumers, and most possibility the rest of the world as well, are being ripped off like never before.

 

 

 

 

 

Just yesterday, I was paging through a woman's magazine and came across this tree coat rack on offer for R8 800.00. Did I get that right? Yes, I did. Eight thousand and eight hundred rand for an MDF (SupaWood) tree coat rack. Now, I have been planning to make one of these tree coat stands for a while, not because you can save yourself over eight thousand rand if you do, but because they are quick and easy to make and look gorgeous in an entrance.

 

For this project you only need 16mm SupaWood, and since we have so much money to spend, buy a whole sheet - you'll find plenty of projects in the Craft and DIY section that show you how to make use of the offcuts. What's more, you can even afford a can of paint to finish off your tree!

 

 

 

 

YOU WILL NEED:

1 sheet of 16mm SupaWood*
Tape measure
Pencil
Jigsaw and clean-cut blade
Drill/Driver and 8mm wood bit
Workbench
Wood glue
Clamps
Circular template
Painting equipment and your choice of paint - see Finishing below

*Have them cut the sheet to the width required for your coat tree stand, and it's also preferable to have any offcuts cut to manageable sizes.

 

 

HERE'S HOW:

 

 

 

 

Step 1
Transfer the outline onto your panel of SupaWood. To do this mark a 100 x 100mm square grid on one SupaWood panel as per the template below and then transfer the design to the grid, shading the motif as a cutting guide.

 

 

 

 

Step 2
Clamp the board securely to your workbench with the motif on top and cut the board with a jigsaw, sanding the edges smooth with 220-grit sandpaper.

 

 

 

 

Step 3
For the base, cut out three circles that are 350mm in diameter. Use an 8mm wood bit and your jigsaw to cut out a rectangle two of the bases, but not the base that will be at the bottom. Glue these together with wood glue - with the solid base at the bottom - and clamp until the glue has set.

 

 

Step 4
Place the tree stand in the cut outs in the base and glue in place. Let the glue dry overnight.

 

 

 

 

Step 5
To finish off your coat tree stand you can leave it raw, sand it smooth with 220-grit sandpaper and then apply 2 coats of polyurethane varnish, sand and paint with Prominent Paints Premium Sheen, or sand smooth and then paint with Rust-Oleum 2X spray paint in your choice of colour. If you choose to go with the latter option, remember to seal the edges of the SupaWood with wood filler before painting.

 

 

 

 

The branches of this coat stand tree are designed to be a convenient height for hanging coats, with space for hats and scarves above. Use our template [above] to cut out your tree, or draw your own tree design from the images above.

 

 

WHAT DID IT COST TO MAKE?
A sheet of 16mm SupaWood comes in at around R800 per 2,7 x 1,8m sheet, the paint costs around R400 - so the total cost the make is around R1200 - that's a whopping saving!