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Santas and Trees from Scrap 2x4 Blocks

Wooden christmas block santas and trees made from scrap 2x4s.  The painting is simple enough that anyone can do it! Wooden christmas block santas and trees made from scrap 2x4s.  The painting is simple enough that anyone can do it!
The big day is here! It is my turn to post my 12 Days of DIY Christmas project.  In case you missed it, I explained the challenge and shared the 12 other blogger’s projects yesterday.  You don’t want to miss those posts either!

For my project I made these adorable Santas and Trees out of some scrap 2x4s I had in the workshop.

Wooden santa and trees from wood blocks
With the busy holiday season I didn’t want a huge complicated build.. I knew that nobody would have time for that.. so instead I went back to my roots of keeping it simple!
Wooden snowman 2x4
This project was actually a little more complicated than it would first appear, since it can be pretty tricky to rip down 2x4 at angle from both directions.
Wooden christmas block santas and trees made from scrap 2x4s.  The painting is simple enough that anyone can do it!
I’ll share how I was able to make them on my miter saw, as well as some other ways you could rip them down to get these perfect little triangles below.


Love Christmas Woodworking projects?

 Supplies:

  • 2x4s (or any 2-by lumber.. the width of the base of the trees or Santas is limited by the width of your lumber)
  • Craft Paint & Brushes (this set has all the colors you will need)
  • Fine Grit Sandpaper
  • Pencil
Method 1:
Sliding Miter Saw (you could use a fixed arm miter saw but the blocks would have to be shorter)
Clamps 

Method 2:
Table Saw
Tapering Jig
Grr-ripper Push Block

Method 3: 
Circular Saw

Method 4: 
Band Saw
Wooden triangle santa and christmas trees

Tutorial:

Without a doubt, the hardest part of this project is cutting down 2x4s along the grain at an angle.  Most of my examples were cut with two 10-15° angles meeting in the center of the board.

There are a bunch of ways to accomplish this, some easier (and safer) than others.

How I cut the boards:
I recently purchased a brand new sliding arm 12 inch compound miter saw and this project was its first big test. I think I typcially would have chosen to use my table saw instead, but I wanted to try out my new toy!Cutting 2x4 angles on miter saw
Because the blade came so close to the edge of the board I held the boards in place with clamps and a push stick to make the cuts.  This is definitely not the safest or easiest way to rip down 2x4s.

Other ways of cutting the boards:

2. Table Saw:
This is the method I would typically have used, and if I were to make more of these, I would definitely use a table saw.  If you are going to use a table saw to rip the boards down, I would HIGHLY recommend a tapering jig.   There is just no other way to do it quite as easily.  This video has a good explanation of how to use one:
I also would definitely use my Grr-ripper since the board you are cutting is so small.

3. Circular Saw
I’d only recommend this method if you have a steady hand and are really comfortable with your circular saw.  I ripped down similar sized boards when I put together my tongue and groove west elm knockoff mirror and I am not sure I would have been able to follow an angled line.. but it is possible.

You can also take the time to build a saw guide like this one from Ana White, especially if you plan on making a lot of cuts

4. Band Saw
This method is pretty straight forward.. just cut along the line on a band saw.  Since I don’t own a band saw, this wasn’t an option for me.. but if you do this is a pretty good way of cutting the angle. Because you have to free hand the cut, you may need a little more sanding


Once the triangles were cut, I sanded the cut edges and rough surfaces. Many of my boards had knots and imperfections but I just didn’t worry about tit.
 
I used a pencil to lightly sketch out the blocks of color on the triangles.  The design I used was really simple since it was all solid blocks of color, no real shading or realism. 
Triangle wood block santas
I used craft paint to “color inside the lines.”
Painting wood triangle santas

The trees were super easy, I just painted them solid green and used the back of my paintbrush to make dot garlands.  It was so simple you could even make it into a kids’ craft project.
Painted wood block santas and trees
You could seal them with polyacrylic if you were worried about chipping. I also considered making them double sided, that would be give you twice the bang for your cutting buck!


I am so flattered to be included in this roundup with 11 other AMAZING building bloggers, and I hope you enjoyed this quick and simple project.  Make sure you head over and check out their projects.  There is so much talent in this group! 



Don't need Christmas ideas?  Check out the projects for other seasonal holidays: 

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4 comments :

  1. This is adorable and with all the extra wood I have left over from the hurricane I can make these.

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  2. I absolutely love these Kim! Awesome project.

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  3. These are so so cute!! I LOVE them!!!

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  4. These are cute, and it proves I need a sliding mitre saw. I love the severe angle, they remind me of a few of my pencil santa clause figurines I have.

    ReplyDelete

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