DIY Wood Corbels

Ever since Joanna Gaines become a someone and launched “Fixer Upper” I’ve been go-go ga-ga over anything architectural, especially the coveted corbels. I’ve wanted a pair for years, but my budget never allowed it. I got a knock off pair of corbels here 18 months ago, for those of you who cannot for the life of you DIY. But I still had a yearning for a real wood pair. I know they won’t be antique. But I’ve had to let go of that want a long time ago. If you’ve checked out the price of antique corbels it will make your head spin.

So, I’m here today to tell you that you CAN make DIY Corbels in the comfort of your own home with a bit of patience. At the bottom of this blog I will link the pattern we used for these corbels. You can try to free hand it – but I highly discourage you against it. Tracing off a pattern will make your life way easier and this process way faster.

These Corbels come in 3 layers. The two outer layers which is made out of 1″ wood, and the middle which is made out of 2″ wood. We used whatever scraps we had left in our garage, so these corbels were completely free, but if you have to buy wood, it will cost you under 10 dollars. Knotty Pine is dirt cheap and you only need two boards. Below is a shop list for those that have none of the items at home.

Shop List For DIY Corbels

-1 1x6x6′ Board ( Pine is cheapest )

-1 2x6x5′ Board

-Jigsaw or Bandsaw. We used our Roybi Jigsaw

-Wood Glue or Nail Gun to connect pieces

-Your choice of finish ( Paint, Stain etc )

-Sand Paper ( We used our orbital sander )

This is very straight forward, you want to trace your wood out on the stencils you printed. Once you’ve done that, It’s time to cut the wood. You’re basically tracing out the wood with your jigsaw which requires a steady hand. So if you think you aren’t steady, find someone who is.

Once all three pieces are cut out, you can attach them. Some like to use wood glue, but we used wood glue and our nail gun. The nail gun leaves extremely tiny holes that you can either leave as it looks more beat up, or you can fill with wood filler.

Since I have no patience, I started painting right away. A normal human would wait for the wood glue to dry, I don’t. ALTHOUGH, if you only use wood glue, it’s vital you let them dry prior to working on them.