Things You'll Need
2 wood boards, 1-inch thick, 4 feet square
Ruler
Pencil
Jigsaw
Sandpaper
Tack paper
Varnish
Hinges
Screws
Electric hand drill
Almost everyone uses mirrors. Men, women and children look into them every day to check appearances. They hang in public bathrooms, decorate bedroom vanities and sometimes act as wall decorations Though these mirrors have different purposes, they also have one thing in common: stands. Without support stands to hold them, many mirrors would fall and shatter. You can make your own mirror stands to protect your mirrors at home with a few supplies and a bit of patience.
Step 1
Measure the height and width of your mirror with a ruler and draw two Ls on your wood. The vertical arm should equal the height and the horizontal arm should equal the width. Hardwoods like walnut and oak work best.
Video of the Day
Step 2
Flesh out your Ls so they look a bit like bubble letters. You can stick with a very straight right angle or draw a curve connecting the vertical and horizontal arms. Draw a 1 ½ inch hook sticking up from the end of the horizontal arm. The hook should curve back toward the vertical arm; the hook supports the mirror later.
Step 3
Use a jigsaw to cut out your Ls. Push the wood into the moving blade slowly, but keep it moving constantly. This helps keeps your cuts clean and avoids snapping the blade.
Step 4
Sand your Ls, beveling the edges by rubbing a little coarse sandpaper over them in an up and down motion. Sand them over again with fine sandpaper to smooth the wood. Rub tack paper— stick cheesecloth— over the pieces to remove sawdust. Varnish them with smooth, even strokes, sand lightly, tack and varnish a second time. Allow the varnish to dry overnight.
Step 5
Lay the Ls together so the vertical arms touch back to back. Lay your hinges over the arms so one side of each hinge lies on one of the Ls. Screw them in using screws from the hinge kit; push slowly and firmly with your hand drill.
Step 6
Stand your Ls up so they form a right angle at the hinged joint. Place your mirror on the stand so that the curves on the ends of the horizontal arms support the edge of the mirror and the vertical arms support the back.
Video of the Day