After casually searching for months for new plant pots I finally accepted the fact that I just wasn't going to find any I liked and set out to build my own. I had recently watched a documentary on honey bees and was inspired by the little critters.
To simplify the fabrication process I drew up the plans in SolidWorks and used 1:1 draft files as templates and references.
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Then I had to figure out what I wanted to do for arrangements and side heights. Seven seems to be a good number, it allowed good versatility in arrangement and would accommodate all my plats with pots to spare.
Found a lot of interesting resources on geometry and drawing hexagons.
The sides are screwed into the base, the vertical seams were fixed with Gorilla glue; I used my kayak straps as circumferential clamps for the process, though ratchet straps may have worked better. I used a belt sander to even-out the top edges once the glue had set.
Wood filler did the rest.
I used roofing cement to seal the seams, though I made the mistake of spraying the insides with a high-build undercoating afterwards. The undercoating attacked the cement and compromised the seals - note to self: don't mix bitumen products and aerosol solvents.
Next was paint: the grey was simply some leftover interior paint. In order to speed up the drying process in an otherwise cool and damp basement, I recruited the dehumidifier.
Next I used some dark green acrylic craft paint in a two step process for the finish: First I watered some down and used a cloth to apply it over the grey, then I used the same cloth but bunched up to dab on the marble pattern using undiluted paint; the canvas in the background was my test subject.
Finally I lined the bottoms of the pots with plastic bags and taped them in place - just to be sure there wasn't going to be any issues with leaks. For fill I used 3cm or so of pea-gravel in the bottom, followed by landscape fabric, then potting soil, and plants - clearly.
To simplify the fabrication process I drew up the plans in SolidWorks and used 1:1 draft files as templates and references.
Then I had to figure out what I wanted to do for arrangements and side heights. Seven seems to be a good number, it allowed good versatility in arrangement and would accommodate all my plats with pots to spare.
Found a lot of interesting resources on geometry and drawing hexagons.
The sides are screwed into the base, the vertical seams were fixed with Gorilla glue; I used my kayak straps as circumferential clamps for the process, though ratchet straps may have worked better. I used a belt sander to even-out the top edges once the glue had set.
Wood filler did the rest.
I used roofing cement to seal the seams, though I made the mistake of spraying the insides with a high-build undercoating afterwards. The undercoating attacked the cement and compromised the seals - note to self: don't mix bitumen products and aerosol solvents.
Next was paint: the grey was simply some leftover interior paint. In order to speed up the drying process in an otherwise cool and damp basement, I recruited the dehumidifier.
Next I used some dark green acrylic craft paint in a two step process for the finish: First I watered some down and used a cloth to apply it over the grey, then I used the same cloth but bunched up to dab on the marble pattern using undiluted paint; the canvas in the background was my test subject.
Finally I lined the bottoms of the pots with plastic bags and taped them in place - just to be sure there wasn't going to be any issues with leaks. For fill I used 3cm or so of pea-gravel in the bottom, followed by landscape fabric, then potting soil, and plants - clearly.
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