Project: How To Make a Wood Pedestal
Looking for a pretty, inexpensive cake stand for a wedding or a birthday party? Check out these stands that Hollie made herself with supplies from a basic hardware store. Read on to see how she made the stands, along with a photo of her own wedding cake!
TOOLS:
Wood finial (deck section)
Short wood leg (furniture part section)
MDF disc (all from Home Depot)
One wood screw, long ones at least double the thickness of the disc
Wood glue
Sandpaper
Drill
Rulers and other things to help measure
Primer
Black lacquer spray paint
Cardboard box (to help with spray painting)
STEPS:
1) Go to hardware store and get all of the stuff. I found most of the things I needed in the area where they sell materials for decks and stairway banisters. Don’t get the pressure treated lumber (it has a green colour to it) as it is treated with nasty chemicals.
2) Many of the pieces I found were very rough, especially the ones meant for decks, so they had to be sanded smooth.
3) Prime all of your pieces. You may want to follow priming by a sanding and another priming.
4) Now you will assemble before the final coat of paint. Most pieces have holes already drilled in the center. The disc I found did not. To find the center mark a straight line from the widest part across the disc, and then another intersecting. This should be the center. Double check! Then drill a hole smaller than the width of your wood screw. You also want to make an indentation so that your screw does not stick out. You can either carve it out or use a larger drill bit for this. The base of the leg has a bolt in it already. I drilled a hole slightly smaller into the finial and screwed the bolt in.
5) Glue the pieces before you drill your wood screw in. Then drill! (I kept the top disc separate because I had to transport it across the country, it is not necessary).
6) The last thing needed is to spray-paint the pedestal. I did this in multiple stages outside, and I used a cardboard box to prevent painting my whole yard black. You will need several light coats to create an even finish. All done!
* Please note, if you are going to serve food on the pedestal have something between the food and the paint. I used tinfoil and cardboard for my cake. A plate also looks good on it.
RESOURCES:
I made these intentionally for my wedding, now they are used at parties at home Everything can be found at Home Depot.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Thank you for posting my project!
view Hollie's profile
Just from the looks of the cake table, I bet your wedding guests enjoyed the event very much.
What God hath joined, let gnome-man put asunder ...
/punny
view Splomo's profile
is that David the Gnome???? probably the most comforting cartoon character ever...
view lz256's profile
The Gnome is taking the place of one of the cakes (It exploded!) but gnomes are very important to my husband, so they were a theme at the wedding
view Hollie's profile
Was it $20 to make all 3?
view renata's profile
I love the gnome! That is fantastic!!!
view melanie8's profile
renata, the most expensive part of the project was the spray paint, the wooden parts ranged between $2-7, so the more you make the more you save. I don't quite remember the exact cost
view Hollie's profile
I bought a gorgeous glass one in Home Goods for $15. Goes with everything, serves more than cakes.
view SnorkelVik's profile
This is a great project and was super easy-just in time for my bridal shower. Thanks so much!
view sunkisses007's profile
I have a couple questions! Did the MDF board come in the disc shapes already, or did you cut it yourself? Also, do you think this would work if assembled into a cupcake stand version?? Thanks so much...I love how it looks!
view tarajuly27's profile
I don't know what magical Home Depot you have where you live, but mine sucks! It didn't have ANY of those parts. I lie, they had a filial cap but it was made of plastic. After Lowe's disappointed as well I went to Menards and found what I needed. They didn't have furniture legs, but they had fence post toppers and their round one was pretty ornate. They also didn't have MDF circles (home depot said I'd have to cut mine into a circle on my own) but Menards had a 'round tabletop' that was 12 inches in diameter. Perfect for my cake stand! All in all with the wood and the laquer I spent about $30. But I think I'm going to be really happy with how it turns out! I've had such a hard time finding a cake stand I like, and when I saw this it was perfect!
view arcamanel's profile
The MDF circles I bought came in that shape. There were also particle board circles but they did not have the nice round edges. If I only had the particle board I would have tried to router or sand the edges.
tarajuly27, I think they would make great cupcake stands. they are very sturdy and if a large base was used you could put 2 tiers on it.
arcamanel, I am sorry your hardware stores don't have the same stuff. I live in Canada, so there may be a difference in what is available. There are some home depots in my city that are small and have virtually no selection, I have to drive to the big ones in the suburbs to get the good stuff. I am glad you found your tabletops elsewhere, but it sucks they were so expensive!
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