Plywood Pattern Dog Bowl Stand!

Who knew that plywood could look so cool?! We used to avoid plywood because of its stacked end grain, but now that we’ve learned about all the ways you can use that end grain to your advantage, we’re obsessed with making new plywood pattern items around the house. Last year, we made the Plywood Pattern Dog Butt Leash Organizer, and we wanted to make a coordinating piece to hold our dog's bowls.

Designed to lift the bowls off the ground to give dogs a better eating and drinking position, dog bowl stands can also help hold the bowls in place so your pup doesn’t chase them around while they’re scarfing down their food. Plus, they add a nice decorative element to something that otherwise looks a bit messy.

The leash organizer was a herringbone pattern, but for the dog bowl stand, we’re going with a chevron pattern. It’ll coordinate, but not match, which is what we’re aiming for.

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Wood: 3/4" plywood, 2"x2" poplar, 1/8" plywood

Table or circular saw - https://amzn.to/3bCH4jK

Random orbital sander – https://amzn.to/37q46ca

Miter saw – https://amzn.to/2YDSAGw

Jig saw - https://amzn.to/2JMTgpQ

Black stain - https://amzn.to/2LHjfwF

Tung oil - https://amzn.to/36bq42L

Wood glue - https://amzn.to/3cKrJ1U

Super glue - https://amzn.to/2AyK6Zk

Measuring tape - https://amzn.to/3bKyTSz

Pencil - https://amzn.to/2WKMfKm

Drill - https://amzn.to/2GiNK9g

Bar clamps (we got ours at Harbor Freight, but these are similar) - https://amzn.to/3mN1SeC

Stainable wood filler - https://amzn.to/3gctrM9

Polyurethane - https://amzn.to/2XtZXAz

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We start this project by making our chevron pattern of .75" thick plywood.

Gather the following materials: plywood, power saw wood glue, bar clamps, miter saw, measuring tape, pencil

Follow these steps:

1. To decide how big you want your bowl stand to be, first place your bowls side by side, with some space in between and measure from there.

Note: If you have a smaller dog like us, make sure that the dimensions of the bowl stand will make it easy for him or her to reach the food.

2. Rip a piece of 3.4" plywood into strips. Ours were .75" wide and around 16" long.

3. Lay two bar clamps out on a flat surface.

4. Position strips on top of clamps, graduating their ends at a 45 degree angle to ensure you have less wood waste.

Tip: We ended up doing two smaller sets in the same glue up to make the next glue up easier.

5. Glue strips together with the end grain facing up.

6. Tighten clamps and wipe away extra glue.

7. Let glue cure for 24 hours, as the glue needs to be bonded enough to withstand sawing.

8. Using a miter saw, cut glued wood into 2” strips at a 45 degree angle.

Tip: Setting a stop block on your miter saw makes this process go faster.

9. Lay blocks out in an alternating pattern on your bar clamps.

10. Glue strips together and clamp.

11. Wipe away excess glue and let cure for 24 hours.

One your chevron pattern is fully cured, it's time to cut the wood to fit the dog bowls!

Gather the following materials: miter saw, jig saw, drill, pencil, measuring tape, dog bowls (for tracing), tung oil

Follow these steps:

1. If you have any significant gaps in the end grain on the top of your piece, use wood filler to fill them in.

2. Trim the peaks off of all sides of your wood piece.

3. Place the bowl upside down on the back of your wood and trace.

4. Measure the lip of your bowl and draw a second circle inside the main one.

5. Use a power drill to create a pilot hole just inside the small circle.

6. Use a jigsaw to cut out the first circle, being sure to support your wood creation throughout and protect from breakage.

7. Repeat process for the other side.

8. Put on your safety gear to keep dust out of your airways and eyes.

9. Sand the leash hanger with increasing grits of sand paper until smooth.

Now it's time to add legs and any desired finishing touches to your creation! Because this is being made to coordinate with our Dog Butt Leash Organizer that we made last year, we wanted to coordinate the two pieces by creating a black frame around this one as well.

Gather the following materials: 2x2 wood, saw, measuring tape, plywood creation, sand paper, thin plywood, and of course, your dog. ;)

Follow these steps:

1. Measure your dog's withers (the height from the floor to the top of your dog's back).

2. Use an online calculator and good judgement to determine the height your bowl stand should be.

3. Cut legs out of 2"x2" wood for the legs at the desired height.

4. Measure the length, width and depth of your main bowl holder piece.

5. Cut strips of plywood to make a frame around the piece.

Tip: We used a miter joint to ensure a smooth transition at the edges.

Now that all the cutting and sanding is done, it's time to bring your dog bowl stand to life!

Gather the following materials: stain/oil/paint of your choice, rags or brushes to apply stain/oil/paint, super glue, wood glue, clamps

Follow these steps:

1. Stain frame pieces and bowl holder piece using a stain or oil of your choice. We chose black spray-ain't for the frame and legs and used Tung Oil for the main piece.

2. Let cure according to the instructions on the specific stain or oil you are using.

3. Attach the legs first using a combination of wood glue and super glue, aligning them with the outer edges of the chevron piece.

4. Attach the frame next using a combination of wood glue and super glue.

5. Clamp and let cure overnight.

6. Add a coat of polyurethane to protect it from water. Dogs are messy!

7. Let cure overnight.

Note: At this point, your creation is complete! We added the little "Bone Appetit" dog bone to cover up a drip of black stain that got on the top of the bowl holder piece. It was made on a Cricut Maker, using basswood and markers. Let us know if you want us to do an Instructable on that!

There you go! Now all you have to do is put your dog bowls in, fill them up and tell your pupper “Bone appetit!!

In the meantime, if you liked this project, please head over to JustMightDIY.com for other tips, DIY stories and more. And if you’re interested in checking out more of our tutorials, check out our Instructables profile or head over to our YouTube channel.