Tiny Twig Pots

If you've ever felt like standard pots are too big, this post is for you. Sometimes you just want a single serving size pot for a nice looking twig. Fortunately, they're super quick to turn and finish.

Tools and Supplies

• Stock of at least 6/4 thickness
• A lathe
• A hand saw, band saw, or table saw
• Drill
• Sand paper

This step basically all comes down to how big of a twig you'd like to accomodate, and the size of offcuts you have lying around the shop. In my case, all of my blanks were 6/4 stock (walnut, maple, and cherry).

Cut your blanks to lengths between 5 and 7 inches. Square stock isn't an absolute requirement, but it will definitely make turning easier down the line.

After you've cut your blanks to length, mark their centers by drawing a line between two opposite corners (making an X). In the center of the X (on both ends of teh blank), pound a mark with the spur center of your lathe.

Turn your blank into a cylinder.

Draw our the shape you'd like your pot to take (I tried a couple drifferent shapes) and mark the edges on your blank.

In this step, try to get the finish as smooth as possible. You can always sand out imperfections, but a smooth finish straight off the chisel will save a ton of time.

Before you remove the pot form the lathe, make sure to mark a line at the base of the pot (where you'll cut off the butt of the pot). This will give you a good straight line to follow.

You don't need em anymore. Cut the butts of your pots off on the base line that you marked before removing them from the lathe.

Obviously, this isn't ideal -- if you have a drill chuck for you lathe, definitely use it. If not, do what I did.

Use a drill with a bit about an 1/4 inch smaller than the diameter of the mouth. Not ideal, but if you take it slow, you'll get better at keeping it straight with every pot.

Just a nice asthetic detail, but it adds a lot to how it feels in the hand (if you put these on your dining table, people will absolutely pick them up).

Yet another place where a drill chuck would be useful, but you can always do this with a drill press and a router bit (or a drill).

Experiment with different shapes and sizes. There's definitely no need for these to be consistent or perfect. They're a lot of fun to build and they make funny little gifts.