The Design

 

I have several of these 12” self watering planters so decided to size my hangers for them.

You can purchase these from your local box store or order them online here:

12” self watering planter

The First Design

I decided on a ring that has a 12.056 inside diameter, and a 14.5 outside diameter.

As long at the actual outside diameter is under 12” and has any lip at all, you can use this hanger.

3/16 eye bolts are added at four equal distances 1/2” from the outside edge.

This is a pretty simple design, but has a couple major flaws.

  1. It requires a 15” x 15” piece of stock with a lot of waste in the center.

  2. Depending on the thickness and type of stock used the eye bolts could put too much stress at the corners.

Design #2

In this design the ring was divided up into eight components.

Four components I call the ring quadrants.

Four components I call the ring braces.


The braces are used to secure the quadrants together.

Four #10-24 eye-bolts and four #10-24 x 1” machine screws are used to secure the braces to the ring quadrants.

By breaking the components down like this I gain the following advantages.

  1. I get to choose the grain orientation of each piece for a stronger assembly.

  2. All the parts can be cut from a piece of 12” x 12” stock with less waste.

  3. The brace makes the holding points stronger.

The Components

Below is is listed the actual components I used to make and build my hangers. This should get you started if you want to make your own.

Ring Quadrants

Ring Braces

You can download the drawing files here:

12” Plant Hanger Drawing Files

I have included both the individual components, as well as the complete set in a 12” x 12” layout. In addition I also included the g-code file that I used to mill the plywood. Note that the gcode is setup to mill .20 thick ply.

Eye Bolts

These are 3/16 x 1-1/2” eye bolts. They have a 10-24 thread.

The ones listed below come with the nut.

3/16” x 1-1/2 Eye Bolts

Other Hardware

4, #10-24 x 3/4” Machine Screws

4, #10-24 Hex Nuts

1, 1/2” Washer

Note that the links above are only for convenience. Use what ever source best suites you. These are all stainless steel, but zinc coated will also work.

Hanging Wire

16 Gauge Steel Wire

This is the wire I used to hang my plants.

In addition you will need the stock to make your plant hangers. I used scrap 1/4” sanded plywood. I would avoid MDF and partial board as they wont hold up as well and even if a little water penetrates the paint, you will loose your plant. Some plastics may work as well.

As mentioned above, you will need to paint the hangers so they will hold up for more than a few years. I used some generic spray paint I had left over from various other projects. I also have a lot or acrylic paint that I would have normally used, but did not have any foam brush on hand.

The Process

While the two components could be cut with a scroll, band, or jig saw, I opted for my CNC because I wanted to make 10 sets.

Using a 1/8” up-spiral end mill, I cut a set of components out of a 12” x 12” piece of 1/4” plywood.

If you don’t have a 1/8” collet, I recommend this bit.

1/8” up-cut spiral end mill with 1/4” shank

If you do have a 1/8” collet for your router or spindle I recomend these. Much better bang for your buck.

1/8” up-cut spiral end mill with 1/8” shank (10 pack)

Using a “Fine Grit” sanding sponge I give both sides a light sanding to remove the splinters.

I then punched out the pieces. Note that you want to push the part through the stock so that the splintering and tear out will be on the waste side.

I remove the tabs with a flush cut micro cutter.

I then sand the edges and corners of each piece once again.

I attach a brace to each of the ring quadrants.

To secure each I use a 3/16” eye bolt and nut. Note that the holes will be tight so you may need to screw the eye bolt into place.

The four ring/brace assemblies are attached to each other using a #10-24 machine screw and nut.

Once I am happy with the placement, I tighten all the screws.

One more light sanding to the edges.

Painting

If you are making the hangers out of plywood you will need to paint them.

Here I am using some spray paint left over from other projects. I also paint the hardware to give them some extra protection.

I apply 2 coats as a minimum.

Hanging the Hanger

I am using four pieces of 48”, 16 gauge wire. I am using a 42” piece of pine to make a jig in order to get all the wires consistant.

I place a 1-1/2” bend in the wire and loop it over the clamp on the left side of my jig.

The other end of the wire is looped around the clamp on the right side of my jig and cut at 4-1/2” from the edge.

Once the wire has been cut the end with the short loop is attached to the 1/2” washer as shown here.

All four wires attached.

The washer is placed over a screw on my front porch.

The four wires are slipped through the eye bolts on the hanger.

I place a full pot on the hanger to put tension on the wires. This allows me to check its height and make sure it’s not leaning.

Once I am satisfied, I twist the wires around so they don’t slip.

Conclusion

That is pretty much how I made 10 pot hangers for my front porch.

Variations

Here is a larger pot that works just fine. As long as the pot tapers to smaller than 12” is will fit.

Here is a pot without a lip. As long as the tapered top is greater than 12” it will fit.

Here I have an 11” pot. It would not fit normally, but I added some braces on the top of the ring to catch the small lip on the pot.

Making Due With What You have

About half way through the project, I ran out of eye bolts. It’s going to take over a week to get some more from Amazon. And due to the COVID 19 lock-down, my local Home Depot is out of the questions.

I just had to make my own.

I decided to weld a 1/4” washer to a #10-24 x 3/4” flat head machine screw.

The welder I used was a very reasonably priced Harbor Freight Titanium Flux 125.

They turned out pretty good.