Every holiday season, I have the urge to come up with another wood tree. This year’s version is an easy DIY tree with a light up feature. The only lumber involved was a 1" x 10" x 6’ board, and there was enough leftover scrap, to make more than one.
To make all the cuts for this double layer tree, I set my miter saw to 10°.
After each cut, I flipped the board over. No need to change the angle on the saw.
The top and bottom parts of the tree are basically two 4-sided boxes. This means there are 2 sides to each box that are wider than the other two. Here is a photo of the bottom section, with measurements.
Measurements for the top section.
I decided to do a layer of paint before I drilled the holes. (I wanted to avoid having paint collect in the holes, which is what would have happened if I painted it after the holes were drilled.)
Next, I drilled some random holes. I left some space to add smaller holes once I assembled it. I wanted to see it in “tree form” before I committed to all the hole placement.
I used wood glue and my Airstrike nailer to assemble the two “boxes”.
Here’s a look at the bottom section after I nailed it together.
There was a tiny lip on the top edge thanks to the taper, so I just sanded it down.
Next, I added some smaller holes.
Then, I lazily added some lighter green paint.
To incorporate the light up feature, I simply stuffed a small strand of LED Christmas lights inside, then placed the top onto the tree. (I used LED lights, because they do not get hot like the traditional incandescent ones.) Now I have a little light up holiday tree! Thanks for reading!
Every holiday season, I have the urge to come up with another wood tree. This year’s version is an easy DIY tree with a light up feature. The only lumber involved was a 1" x 10" x 6’ board, and there was enough leftover scrap, to make more than one.
To make all the cuts for this double layer tree, I set my miter saw to 10°.
After each cut, I flipped the board over. No need to change the angle on the saw.
The top and bottom parts of the tree are basically two 4-sided boxes. This means there are 2 sides to each box that are wider than the other two. Here is a photo of the bottom section, with measurements.
Measurements for the top section.
I decided to do a layer of paint before I drilled the holes. (I wanted to avoid having paint collect in the holes, which is what would have happened if I painted it after the holes were drilled.)
Next, I drilled some random holes. I left some space to add smaller holes once I assembled it. I wanted to see it in “tree form” before I committed to all the hole placement.
I used wood glue and my Airstrike nailer to assemble the two “boxes”.
Here’s a look at the bottom section after I nailed it together.
There was a tiny lip on the top edge thanks to the taper, so I just sanded it down.
Next, I added some smaller holes.
Then, I lazily added some lighter green paint.
To incorporate the light up feature, I simply stuffed a small strand of LED Christmas lights inside, then placed the top onto the tree. (I used LED lights, because they do not get hot like the traditional incandescent ones.) Now I have a little light up holiday tree! Thanks for reading!
