Make Your Own Square Cake Stand?
Decorating By turtle3264 Updated 27 Jun 2013 , 8:24pm by vtanderson
I have a 16 inch square wedding cake to do in a few weeks. I need a stand for it. I don't want to buy one. I would rather make one. I have made round cake stands. I used wooden circles that were already cut from Lowe's. I am having trouble finding something square to use. Any ideas of what to use. I am having trouble with the search feature on here because i changed some settings on my computer(and I don't know which changes messed it up). Any suggestions about the stand would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I'm interested in this as well. Someone posted a picture of a square wedding cake this morning and they said they used a plant stand and sawed the legs to shorten them. I'll see if I can find the picture...
Here it is - it's a beautiful cake!
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1388927
Could you not get a pre-cut one from Lowes like you do the round one? I also just saw a post where someone bought a cheap $5 table from walmart and just used the top of the table (didn't attach the legs). The plant stand idea also sounds good. Or maybe you can find a square bar stool that you can just use the top?
Thanks for posting the cake stand picture. When I looked at Lowe's they only had round ones. It needs to be at least 18 inches if not bigger. The table idea without the legs is a good one. I could attach finials to it like I did the round stands. I hadn't thought of that. I guess I need to find something that is unfinished though, so the top and finials match when painted.
I found this one. I was trying t figure out if it would work for squares too. http://greatweddingcakes.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-make-wedding-cake-stand.html
I saw one somewhere (probably on here) where her dad made it for her. He cut a square in the size she needed then added trim pieces to the edges of the board. He then painted it silver and coated it with a food grade sealer. If it had legs they were very, very small ones.
I have seen some where they've taken square shadow box type frames and glued them together. They were more narrow in the front that the part that went against the wall so when they were glued together they went from wide to narrow to wide (think hourglass'ish). I saw another one where she added a light to a shadow box that was about 2" bigger all the way around than her cake. When she turned the light on it lit the cake up from the bottom. Kind of sounds cheesy to describe it but it looked really cool.
I don't know how tall you're looking for but you could do lots of different things with a square shape! My husband made me a round stand for a wedding cake and he used a router to create a design on the edges. If you don't have access to a router using trim pieces on the edges would be easy with a square board and you could either pin nail (fill the holes with a fill stick) or hot glue them on after trimming to the size you need.
Good luck and make sure you post pictures of what you come up with!
My FIL has a router that we can use. I'm going to see what all I can find that is square when I go to town today. They would be fine with a cake drum, but I wanted to do something more. It's for a friend and I want it to look nice. I have gotten some good ideas from you guys. Thank you so much! I'll be sure to post what I end up using.
I am not sure about Lowes but, I have gotten different sized pieces of plywood from Home Depot. In the wood area they have different sized pieces of the plywood and they will cut a larger one down to the size you need. Like, if you needed a 16x20 you can purchase the 20x20 and they will cut the one side down. Check them out, I have a large piece that I can put a full sized, 2 layers across on and I think it is 1/2 or 3/4" thick. Good luck!!! 
evelyn
I am not sure about Lowes but, I have gotten different sized pieces of plywood from Home Depot. In the wood area they have different sized pieces of the plywood and they will cut a larger one down to the size you need. Like, if you needed a 16x20 you can purchase the 20x20 and they will cut the one side down. Check them out, I have a large piece that I can put a full sized, 2 layers across on and I think it is 1/2 or 3/4" thick. Good luck!!!
evelyn
And if you want your stand thicker than that you can have them cut two and stack them. Just be sure to rotate the wood so the grain is going opposite directions or the board will warp. It's not such a big deal if you're using a wood that is a composite but still, it's a good idea.
Can you tell I'm married to a wood worker? Can't be married to the guy for 18 years without picking up a thing or two! lol
Wow!! there are some great ideas here. I have a very large cake to do in a few months & was chatting to my DH about a cake stand, one of the ideas he came up with was using wood & making it thick enough to be able to stick those tiny mosaics around the sides. Those mosaics are beautiful & you can even get the mirrored mosaics. Just place some of those round ball wood thingies (can you tell I am not clued up to wood) under each corner. Dying to see what you come up with.
Wow, I never even thought of using the door pulls for feet! What a grand idea!! Now I will be heading out to Lowes tonight!!!!! I already had the squares cut out at lowes before. Thanks so much, Parable!!! Now I am excited!!!
Easiest cake stand I ever made:
Cut a square in the size you need from MDF. Sand, seal and paint white (non-toxic paint). Use drawer knobs or cabinet door pulls (available at any Home Depot or Lowe's) as the feet and apply with silicone adhesive.
For a more finished look, cover the cake stand with plain white glossy gift wrap available at most party stores or Container Store.
Wow, I never even thought of using the door pulls for feet! What a grand idea!! Now I will be heading out to Lowes tonight!!!!! I already had the squares cut out at lowes before. Thanks so much, Parable!!! Now I am excited!!!
I've even taken those drawer pulls and applied them with silicone adhesive to make "feet" for one of my square ceramic plates just so I would have some space underneath the plate to put my fingers while lifting it with a heavy cake on it. Those things are lifesavers!
Well I went to Home Depot and got 2 different kinds of wood...plywood and mdf. I am planning to do 2 stands. I got some bunn feet to go on one stand. I also got this cute trim to go around the edge. I hope they turn out as cute as I am picturing them to be.
Well I went to Home Depot and got 2 different kinds of wood...plywood and mdf. I am planning to do 2 stands. I got some bunn feet to go on one stand. I also got this cute trim to go around the edge. I hope they turn out as cute as I am picturing them to be.
Awesome! Now you have to post pictures when they're done. 
Just watch the plywood as it can (and probably will) warp, but the MDF is generally very sturdy and reliable.
I have 2 pieces of plywood 1/2 inch each. I was going to glue them together and put nails in to help keep them together. Is there anything special that I can do to prevent them from warping?
Plywood is basically pieces of wood glued together into layers and I won't guarantee you it won't warp, even with two pieces glued together - I wouldn't nail it because then you'll have nail heads to contend with instead of a flat surface.
I'd go with the MDF as it will not warp. You can get MDF in varying thicknesses.
Ok, I had to get 24 inch square pieces. I wanted them to be 20 in. The guy said they don't do precision cuts, just basically cut them in half. I could get my husband to cut it down more, but it might not be even. LoL! He is not what I would call handy. Don't tell him I said that though. I wondered about it bending in the middle with it being so large.
Ok, I had to get 24 inch square pieces. I wanted them to be 20 in. The guy said they don't do precision cuts, just basically cut them in half. I could get my husband to cut it down more, but it might not be even. LoL! He is not what I would call handy. Don't tell him I said that though. I wondered about it bending in the middle with it being so large.
That's a shame they wouldn't cut it down for you. Our Home Depots will do that for me if I ask them. And no worries - won't spill the beans to hubby about his cutting skills! 
The thing about putting an extra foot in the middle is that it'll only support the center if there's a heavy cake on it and it won't really have any affect on the board warping - especially if it warps upward.
I'd love to get a square of scrap countertop marble - maybe 18 or 20 inches - and put some feet on the bottom and make a marble cake stand. Or even use a smooth 12 x 12 floor tile with feet for a smaller cake. Mirrors can be used also. There are SO many options if you just sit and think about it!
This was Home Depot. I had a 2ft X 4ft board and asked could he cut two 20 inch squares out of it. He said he could cut it in half, but that's about it.
I hate to sound dumb, but what is mdf?? I know that answer is right in front of me, but I can't think of what it is!
It stands for medium density fiberboard. I don't really know how to explain what it is made of though.
MDF is made from wood fiber, compressed and glued together. Plywood is made from wood chips and shavings, compressed and glued together. Aside from being resistant to warping, MDF has a smooth finish where plywood is rough and you'll never get plywood really smooth, even if you sand it all day long. Both use a form of formaldehyde in the gluing process so be SURE to seal it well, paint with a non-toxic paint and use some sort of barrier between the actual food and the finished board.
I made a cupcake stand using MDF and sealed & painted each tier. Then I wrapped each tier in plain white glossy wrapping paper that will be left on so the cupcakes will be sitting on the paper. Of course, they'll have paper cupcake wrappers on as well, but I wanted to make doubly sure the food is completely safe while sitting on the boards.
I know this is way too late, but Ikea sells a pretty cheap side table (10$) which I cut 3/4 of the legs off and used it as a stand for an 18 inch cake. The table top is square and 22 inches.
Worked great!
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