How to Build a Lighthouse Yard Ornanment

Making a lighthouse ornament requires good woodworking skills.

However, making a lighthouse ornament from scratch can be a challenging task If you are not experienced in forming specific shapes from plywood with a saw and in using a hammer and nails. The tower is the hardest part of the project to make, but the lantern room can easily be assembled using wood glue.

1. Draw eight trapezoids on the plywood sheet. Each trapezoid must measure two feet in height, five inches on the bottom and three inches on the top.

2. Adjust your bevel knob to cut at a 22.5-degree angle. Cut out all trapezoids from the plywood sheet carefully.

3. Hold two trapezoids at a time in an upright position. It you need assistance, ask an adult to help you. Join the cut sides and hold them together using finishing nails. Use finishing nails near both the top and the bottom of the two trapezoids.

4. Add a new trapezoid to the structure, nailing it to the one side of the first two, and keep adding until all eight trapezoids stand upright, nailed together, to complete the lighthouse's tower.

5. Draw two squares on the remaining parts of the plywood sheet, with their sides measuring 4.5 inches. Adjust your bevel knob to cut at a 90 degree angle and cut out the two squares.

6. Use wood glue to stick a dowel rod standing upright on each corner of one square and in the middle of all sides but one. The open side helps you easily place or remove a bulb inside the lantern room.

7. Apply wood glue on the tips of all seven dowels. Gently place the second square on the pencils to form the lantern room.

8. Paint the lighthouse, using acrylic colors. Acrylics offer strong adhesion to wood, allow moisture to escape and retain their color longer than oil-based paints when exposed to the sun. When the paint is dry, place a battery-powered light bulb, like those used in wardrobes, inside the lantern house.