If you have an abundance of corks, recycle them into home-made cork boards.
You can make large and medium-sized cork boards for your office, kitchen, or kid's room. Or you can make small ones and use them as hot plates or decorative table settings.
This project can easily be finished over a weekend, but as a whole, making a home-made cork board takes time. You'll need to be proactive about keeping your corks.
If you're not much of a wine drinker, you can still do this project. (This is also a helpful tip for people who like wine but want to speed up the cork collecting process without suffering all the headaches and purple-stained teeth.) Simply stop by restaurants in your area and ask if they have any corks to spare. A lot of restaurants keep a "cork bucket" behind the bar, and they don't mind getting rid of them if you don't mind their "why do you want corks" stares. Some restaurants will even collect them for you, if they know you'll pick them up (and you tip well).
However you choose to collect the corks, remember you'll be using a miter saw, so please attempt this project sober.
You can make large and medium-sized cork boards for your office, kitchen, or kid's room. Or you can make small ones and use them as hot plates or decorative table settings.
This project can easily be finished over a weekend, but as a whole, making a home-made cork board takes time. You'll need to be proactive about keeping your corks.
If you're not much of a wine drinker, you can still do this project. (This is also a helpful tip for people who like wine but want to speed up the cork collecting process without suffering all the headaches and purple-stained teeth.) Simply stop by restaurants in your area and ask if they have any corks to spare. A lot of restaurants keep a "cork bucket" behind the bar, and they don't mind getting rid of them if you don't mind their "why do you want corks" stares. Some restaurants will even collect them for you, if they know you'll pick them up (and you tip well).
However you choose to collect the corks, remember you'll be using a miter saw, so please attempt this project sober.
Supplies:
Corks
Crown moulding (2x2x2 Poplar wood works as well)
Plywood
Wood glue (Any brand will work, but we recommend Gorilla.)
Nails
Staple & staple gun (optional)
Wood filler
Sand paper
Stain/paint
Paintbrush
Miter saw (Table, circular, hand or jigsaws may be used to cut plywood depending on the size you've chosen.)
Directions:
Decide how big you want your corked board to be.
Cut crown moulding to a 45 degree angle at each end. The pieces will then fit together like a frame.
Sand each piece until smooth.
Note: Once pieces have been cut and sanded, you can apply a coat of stain or paint before gluing the frame together, if you want.
Glue ends of frame together and clamp. Allow 24 hours to dry.
Once dry, you can flip the frame over and staple the seams together for added security, but this is an optional step.
Cut plywood to fit on back of your frame and sand the edges.
Nail (you can also glue) plywood to the back of the frame.
Flip board back over and use wood filler to seal the seams of your frame. Once filler has dried (15 minutes for small patches but up to 2 hours for deeper wounds), sand smooth.
Your board is now ready to stain or paint.
Once you have your board stained or painted to your liking, you are now ready to arrange the corks.
Note: Don't glue the corks onto the board until you have the corks arranged exactly as you want them. You may need to cut pieces or try a variety of patterns to get the right look for your piece.
Once you are comfortable with the cork pattern, then glue the corks to the board.
Once finished, set something heavy on the corks and then let them dry overnight.
Some corks may come lose and you'll need to re-glue them. It all depends on how efficient you are in the initial gluing phase and how patient you were letting them thoroughly dry before touching it.
You can hang your cork board a variety of ways. Most hardware and craft stores sell self-framing kits for fairly cheap.
Corks
Crown moulding (2x2x2 Poplar wood works as well)
Plywood
Wood glue (Any brand will work, but we recommend Gorilla.)
Nails
Staple & staple gun (optional)
Wood filler
Sand paper
Stain/paint
Paintbrush
Miter saw (Table, circular, hand or jigsaws may be used to cut plywood depending on the size you've chosen.)
Directions:
Decide how big you want your corked board to be.
Cut crown moulding to a 45 degree angle at each end. The pieces will then fit together like a frame.
Sand each piece until smooth.
Note: Once pieces have been cut and sanded, you can apply a coat of stain or paint before gluing the frame together, if you want.
Glue ends of frame together and clamp. Allow 24 hours to dry.
Once dry, you can flip the frame over and staple the seams together for added security, but this is an optional step.
Cut plywood to fit on back of your frame and sand the edges.
Nail (you can also glue) plywood to the back of the frame.
Flip board back over and use wood filler to seal the seams of your frame. Once filler has dried (15 minutes for small patches but up to 2 hours for deeper wounds), sand smooth.
Your board is now ready to stain or paint.
Once you have your board stained or painted to your liking, you are now ready to arrange the corks.
Note: Don't glue the corks onto the board until you have the corks arranged exactly as you want them. You may need to cut pieces or try a variety of patterns to get the right look for your piece.
Once you are comfortable with the cork pattern, then glue the corks to the board.
Once finished, set something heavy on the corks and then let them dry overnight.
Some corks may come lose and you'll need to re-glue them. It all depends on how efficient you are in the initial gluing phase and how patient you were letting them thoroughly dry before touching it.
You can hang your cork board a variety of ways. Most hardware and craft stores sell self-framing kits for fairly cheap.