tangentially related to orchid- who makes their own supplies? what and how? - Orchid Board

DirtyCoconuts · #1 07-27-2021, 03:28 PM

this board i full of super makers and creators and i have learned and copied a lot - i know some people 3d print awesome pots, i have seen some really cool wire skills for pot hangers and embellishments.

thanks to folks on here i started making my own wire bits, hangers, vanda hooks, pot hangers and i also started making more mounts from live wood, cutting a section off with a flat back but live bark front.

i want to be a self sufficient and DIY as i practically can so i wanted know what else you all might make for your selves for our hobby?

rbarata · #2 07-27-2021, 05:26 PM

I make baskets when I can't buy them.

Ray · #3 07-27-2021, 05:32 PM

Wooden slat baskets, using redwood, cedar, or even better “plastic lumber”, which cuts super easily and lasts forever.

Leafmite · #4 07-27-2021, 05:33 PM

It has been mostly DYI being creative for me, not building. I had to learn everything from experience in the early days of growing and it could be very, very frustrating. The two books in the library, for instance, said that orchids needed a greenhouse and had to be potted in either Osmunda fiber or tree fern...or a combination of these. Ha ha. The 'orchid bark' and 'orchid moss' I found for the Phals sold at the big box hardware didn't work for my growing conditions and I didn't want to grow Phals (no fragrance). It was a tough time to decide I wanted to grow orchids.
The internet has made everything so much easier for growing and acquiring orchids.

DirtyCoconuts · #5 07-27-2021, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

Wooden slat baskets, using redwood, cedar, or even better “plastic lumber”, which cuts super easily and lasts forever.

What do you guys use? Table saw ? Do you follow a pattern or just make them to the size you need then?

Shadeflower · #6 07-27-2021, 07:47 PM

I've been telling my dendrobiums to clone themselves and make me lots of keiki's. Now I have lots of them

but I do wonder where I will grow them all. I might need that greenhouse still. The funny thing with dendrobiums is it is easier to get most of them to produce keiki's than it is to get them to flower. To flower they need lots of energy and they form keiki's when they are weak so I will be overrun by dendrobiums before I even get to see them all flower.

Leafmite · #7 07-28-2021, 02:17 AM

What type of Dendrobiums? Looks like you will have to join an orchid society to find homes for all the extras. That is what I did with all my divisions of Oncidium Sharry Baby.

Shadeflower · #8 07-28-2021, 06:53 AM

got a few different nobile hybrids, my moniliforme has made a keiki, got 3 off my chrysanthum, got one off the parishii and the biggest producer of the lot my Stardust Firebird has made over 15... and is still making more. If anyone wants to be overrun by keiki's I can highly recommend the stardust firebird lol

Ray · #9 07-28-2021, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

What do you guys use? Table saw ? Do you follow a pattern or just make them to the size you need then?

Yeah, I used a table saw to cut what I need. As much as possible, I try to select boards that are wide enough to cut slats cross-wise.

I cut the slat width to be the same as the board thickness so they have a square cross-section.

Most importantly, I built a jig that positions the slats so the holes drilled are in identical locations, making them easier to assemble.

Dusty Ol' Man · #10 07-28-2021, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

What do you guys use? Table saw ? Do you follow a pattern or just make them to the size you need then?

A table saw makes cutting strips easy. A chop saw makes cutting lengths repeatable. And if you want to go all out, a small lathe let's you make corner pins from scraps!