Palm trees evoke an island paradise.
Their swaying fronds evoke southern seas, sandy beaches and long lazy days in the sun. As such, palm trees are the epitome of casual, relaxed luxury and make perfect backgrounds for weddings, parties and proms. Of course we cannot all live in the tropics or afford to import the real thing for our celebrations, so creating realistic facsimiles is sometimes a must. Fortunately, it does not take a Michelangelo to make this palm with an 8 foot trunk height from readily available materials. Simply multiply materials needed by the number of trees desired to create your own island paradise.
Instructions
Building the Weighted Base
1. Draw a circle 6 inches in diameter in the center of one 24 inch square of plywood.
2. Cut out the circle carefully using a jigsaw with a plywood blade.
3. Fasten two 24 inch long pieces of 2-by-4 lumber to the ends of two 21 inch long pieces with 2-1/2 inch flat head wood screws - two screws per corner - to form an open square measuring 24 inches by 24 inches and 3 1/2 inches tall. Repeat for the other four pieces of lumber to get two wooden squares.
4. Attach one 24 inch square piece of plywood to each lumber square with 1-1/2 inch flat head wood screws - at corners and centers - to make two shallow boxes.
5. Screw the 10 inch high plywood panels to each of the four sides of the shallow box with the intact square of plywood. When weighted, this box will form the stable base for the palm tree.
6. Screw on the final square of plywood - with cut out circle - using only one screw in the center of each side so that you may remove the top to insert weights into the base when your tree is in position.
7. Use a wood rasp or file to smooth rough edges and round corners, then finish sanding with sandpaper.
8. Paint the box if desired using neutral or earth/grass colored paints.
Making the Palm Tree
9. Glue two cardboard tubes together end to end -- adding a few turns of wide tape around the outside to hold them securely together.
10. Cut 2 inch strips of heavy paper, making one edge wavy.
11. Glue the strips around the heavy cardboard tube in rings - with wavy edge showing - each overlapping the one below, starting at the bottom until you cover the entire tube to create the "bark" texture.
12. Paint as desired for more realism.
13. Unscrew the top of the plywood box and set weights inside, allowing room for the tree trunk in the center.
14. Replace the plywood top and insert the cardboard palm tree trunk through the hole in the box.
15. Staple the stems ends of the palm fronds inside the tube at the top of the trunk using heavy-duty staples.
16. Push the Styrofoam ball firmly about halfway down inside the top of the tube to keep fronds in place and round the top of the tree. Disguise it by gluing shredded coconut bark over the top to finish.
Tags: square plywood, flat head, flat head wood, head wood, head wood screws, inch flat