Bottle Tree Welding Plans, Outdoor Metal Christmas Tree Plans, 10 ft and 3 m, Metric and Imperial PDF with Excel Calculator

Build a 10 ft steel Christmas tree that holds up to 614 lit bottles.

These are the complete shop drawings for a conical welded frame: 18 rings, 614 bottle spikes, a base star that keeps it standing without guy wires. Every dimension is worked out, every bar is on a cut list, and the build is broken into twelve steps in the order they actually have to happen.

No CNC. No plasma table. No ring roller. A MIG or stick welder and an angle grinder are enough — the rings are bent as octagons, which is why you don't need rolling equipment.

WHAT YOU GET

An Excel material calculator, and six printable sheets in two versions.

THE CALCULATOR

Set the height, the base diameter and the number of rings, and the whole workbook recalculates: every ring's diameter, cut length and facet, the spike count, the bars of steel to buy, the weight, the paint and the build time.

Metric and imperial are separate tabs, each with its own ring schedule and materials list, so nothing is converted between them and nothing can end up in the wrong units.

Leave every input at its factory value and each branch gives you exactly the tree in its own drawings. Change one number and you get your own.

Want an 8 ft tree, or a 12 ft one? Type the height and the calculator works out every ring for you.

THE DRAWINGS

Six printable sheets, in two versions:

Sheet 1 — Cover and specification: every number in one place, plus what the spikes are for
Sheet 2 — Elevation and ring schedule: all 18 rings with height, diameter, cut length and spike count
Sheet 3 — Base plan and construction details: the 8-arm star, leg angles, joint details
Sheet 4 — Bill of materials: exactly what to buy, by profile and length
Sheet 5 — Cut list: 28 bars of steel, nested, with the offcut shown on every one
Sheet 6 — Build sequence: twelve steps, each saying what to weld, what to check, and what not to do yet

Both versions are included in the download:

10 ft version — US Letter, feet and inches
3 m version — A4, millimetres

SPECIFICATION (10 ft version)

Overall height: 120 in (10 ft)
Base diameter: 78 in
Cone rake from vertical: 18.0 degrees
Rings: 18, spaced 6 1/4 in
Legs: 8 x 1/2 in pipe
Bottle spikes: 614, made from #3 rebar
Bottles it holds: up to 614, one per spike
Finished weight: approx. 348 lb
Steel to buy: approx. 454 lb, 28 bars
Build time: 48-56 hours

The 3 m metric version is 3000 mm tall, 2000 mm at the base, with 18 rings at 160 mm spacing, a 18.43 degree rake and 619 spikes.

YOU DO NOT NEED 614 BOTTLES

The tree reads just as well half filled. Load every second spike and you need 307 bottles; every third spike, 205. Work in bands of colour and the bare spikes become part of the pattern. Start at the bottom rings, where the bottles show best, and work up as the collection grows.

Each spike takes the neck of a standard 750 ml bottle, hanging neck-down. The LED string stays on the rings, behind the glass, so coloured bottles are lit from inside the cone.

NOT ONLY FOR CHRISTMAS

The bottle tree is an old garden tradition long before it was a Christmas one: bottles on a frame, catching the light. That is why the same frame earns its keep more than one month a year.

Bare, with a warm string of lights, it is a gold cone for a wedding, a restaurant terrace or a hotel entrance. Filled with clear bottles it is a garden sculpture that catches the sun in summer. A bar or a brewery can build it from its own empties and refill it for nothing.

It goes up in an afternoon, comes apart for storage, and needs no anchors or guy wires. One build, many seasons.

TOOLS YOU NEED

MIG welder, or a stick welder with 2.5 mm rod
125 mm angle grinder with cutting and flap discs
4-6 clamps
Magnetic welding squares and an engineer's square
Tape measure, spirit level, plumb line
Drill and a 12 mm bit, only if you anchor the base
Helmet, gloves, safety glasses

WHERE THE TIME GOES

Frame — base, mast, 8 legs: 8-10 h
Bending and welding the 18 rings: 8-10 h
Welding 614 spikes: 12-15 h
Grinding and degreasing: 4-5 h
Painting, 2-3 coats: 16 h

WHO THIS IS FOR

Welders who want a weekend project with the maths already done
Councils, hotels and venues who need a centrepiece that goes up every year
Fabrication shops looking for a repeatable product to quote and sell

SKILL LEVEL

Intermediate. You need to be comfortable cutting, grinding and welding steel, and to be able to read a dimensioned drawing. You do not need any specialist forming equipment.

THIS IS A DIGITAL PRODUCT

You are buying PDF plans and an Excel workbook, not a tree. Nothing is shipped. The files are available to download as soon as your payment clears, and they stay in your Etsy account.

The photographs show the tree that these drawings were made from — it was built, painted and lit before the plans were finalised.

SAFETY

These are DIY construction plans, not stamped engineering drawings. Steel grade, welding procedure, foundation and anchoring, wind loading and local regulations are your responsibility. If the tree will stand in a public place, have the installation checked by a qualified engineer.

Electrical work is not covered by these plans. The lights and any wiring must be installed to your local standards, using outdoor-rated equipment.

LICENCE

For your own use, including building trees to sell. You may not resell, share or redistribute the files themselves, or include them in another digital product.

Questions before you start? Message me — I am happy to help.

RENO ROADMAP
Know the cost before you build.