Build your own Holiday Reindeer kit
This build your own holiday reindeer kit has essentially everything you need to easily assemble this simple holiday statue. So simple in fact this would make for a perfect project for children, with some adult supervision of course.
What’s not included but needed:
A Philips + screwdriver. Electric screwdrivers are OK
Some glue. Wood glue is best. Children’s white Elmer’s glue is technically wood glue so feel free to use it. Super glue also works OK.
Some form of finish to seal the wood. And oil and beeswax combo is my favorite but feel free to use any wood appropriate paints.
The finished statue stands around 21 inches tall, is almost 9 inches long, and a bit more than 3 inches wide. The light colored wood are construction 2x4 and 4x4 that I milled up to get rid of most of the rough surfaces. The red wood is Padauk and the black wood is Wenge. They are both naturally those colors and should remain as such for many years. The color also extends through out the entire little pieces so go ahead and sand or reshape them to your hearts content.
This is my personal holiday reindeer that I built winter of 2021. I used the same template and woods, though I used a slightly different construction for the body piece. I finished it all in my favorite orange oil and beeswax finish commonly available online and in most hardware stores.
I am currently opening up 10 of the holiday reindeer kits for preorder. I will do everything in my power to have these shipped out before mid November. If I have or make any extras I will open them up for sale at that time.
If you think the price is a little high I don’t disagree. Please take some comfort in knowing that my price includes shipping (it is $15~20 per kit!) and the only extra fees that may get tacked on later are taxes or what the payment processor charges for the transaction. If you are looking at getting multiple kits, or if you live in the SF Bay area, please contact me before your purchase. Bulk discounts and face to face delivery/pickup are available.
Build Instructions
If you want to take a moment to sand things down a little more or reshape things to your liking now is the time!
Step1
Grab both of the leg parts and 2 screws. Place each leg part down on a flat surface with your favorite side up. Slowly place screws in each of the counter-sunk screw holes. Careful not to screw into your work surface! Slowly screw the screws in a bit more so a tiny bit of the point is sticking out.
Grab the block of wood with 2 holes. Place some of the glue on on the of the sides with a hole on it. Grab one of the legs and use the screw pointing out and stick that point into the little hole with glue around it. Carefully screw that screw in all the way making sure the pieces are rotated how you like. Wipe off any squeezed out glue with a damp paper towel.
Do the same thing with the other leg piece. You should now have a funny looking tiny table!
Step2
Grab the head piece and place it with your favorite side face up on your work surface. Once again go ahead and screw in the screw so that the pointy bit barely sticks out of the other side. Be careful not to screw into your work surface yet again!
Grab the previous piece you put together and place your favorite side up on your work surface. Put a little bit of glue around the screwed in screw and the little hole. Grab the head piece and use the screw’s point to line things up using that little hole. Carefully screw things together and make sure things are rotated to your wishes. Wipe away any excess glue with that damp cloth.
Flip everything over so the face is down on your work surface. Grab the wooden wedge and place a little on one of the larger flat sides. Place it on the rear of the deer to form the tail and as a way to cover up those rear holes. Which will you choose, tail up or tail down?
Time for a rest! The glue needs some time to dry.
Step 3
Once the glue has dried work can briefly continue! If you plan on painting the deer now is the time to do so. If you are going the oil and wax route then do this following steps next.
Place the deer on your work surface with the face facing up. Grab the red wood and the 2 black wood pieces. These are the nose and eyes but feel free to substitute with your own. Google eyes anyone?
Add a bit a glue to to the biggest flat piece of the red nose piece. Gently place it down on the face so it covers the screw hole. Add some glue to each of the black wooden pieces and place them down where you think eyes should go. Once again give the glue some time to dry. Please note that wood and Elmer’s glue are unlikely to work on some paints.
Step 4
If you are finishing your deer with an oil and beeswax finish make sure to do it after you’ve glued on all the bits and let the glue dry. I’ve found no glue or adhesive that will stick to wood after it has been coated with oil and beeswax.
Prepare for a bit of a mess, this is oil after all. I generally oil my wood project in a large plastic box but a cut open trash bag can work great as a cheap makeshift tarp. I like to put some of the oil and wax mixture in my hand then rub it all over the wood. You may have to do this a few times to fully cover the deer.
Feel free to apply a few coats, giving the wood a few minutes in between each coat to absorb in some the oil and wax. Once you think enough oil has been applied rub everything down using a cloth or paper towel.