Flower press

DIY project from NZ Gardener magazine

Preserve your favourite petals in style.

Download as pdf

You will need:

Base, handle & top
Board strut: 1.2m 40mm x 18mm dressed pine
Uprights & top bar: 0.5m of 65mm x 30mm dressed pine
Floor & top board: 1 sheet of hobby plywood 6mm x 304mm x 609mm
4 x 8g x 40mm stainless steel screws, wood glue, super glue filler, sandpaper, 1 x M10 x 150mm coach bolt & nut drill, hand saw/jigsaw, 10mm & 19mm wood chisels, pencil & tape measure, clamp and stencil.

How to cut:

Base: 2x 230mm & 2x 150mm
Handle: 1x 160mm, cut to 30mm wide
Top board strut: 1 x 160mm
Uprights & top: 1 x 210mm, cut in half lengthwise & 1x 240mm
Floor & top board: 1 x 250mm x 250mm & 1x 210mm x 210mm.

Cost: around $50.

Step 1
Cut out all the pieces. Mark a 30mm wide x 10mm deep cut-out in the centre of one side of the two long pieces. Using a hand saw or jigsaw, cut the two 1cm cuts. Use the chisel to create the cut-out and sand it smooth. Glue and clamp the base together and allow to dry. Drill a small guide hole through the centre of the cut-out.

Step 2
Centre the floor over the base, mark and create the same cut-out into two sides of the base plate.

Step 3
Using a 10mm paddle drill, drill a hole in the handle. Use the 10mm chisel to cut a square recess for the bolt head.

Step 4
Mark and cut out the shaped top piece, leaving 15mm at each end unshaped. Drill a hole through the centre of the top piece to accommodate the coach bolt.

Step 5
Mark a 30mm high x 15mm deep cut-out 150mm up from the bottom of the uprights and create as previously described. Sand all the pieces. Drill, countersink, glue and screw the top bar into the uprights as shown.

Step 6
Mark the shape and size of the nut onto the centre of the top board strut. Drill the depth of the nut then, using the chisel, cut out the shape to the depth of the nut. Superglue the nut into the hole.

Step 7
Undercoat all the pieces using Resene Quick Dry. Top coat with Resene test pot colours; I used Resene White, Resene St Tropaz, Resene Skydiver and Resene Kudos. Glue and clamp the floor to the base, matching the cut-outs. Once dry apply the stencil.

Step 8
Assemble the press by fitting the uprights through the gaps in the floor and screw from the inside base into the legs. Thread the bolt through the handle and glue the bolt head into the recess. Screw the coach bolt through the top bar. Centre the top board and strut, screw the coach bolt into the nut inserted in the base board. Mark the position of the base board strut on the base board, glue and clamp.

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