Wood has so many uses. If you would let your imagination work, you could complete a lot of wooden projects that you can use in your home. One such practical DIY project is a garden wheelbarrow planter. It is durable and convenient, plus it is fairly easy to do. If you don’t use it as a wheelbarrow, you could use it as a display to give your home a rustic or bourgeois-boheme feel.
Materials and Equipment:
• 5cm x 10cm lumber
• 2.5cm x 15 cm cedar, yellow pine, or redwood
• optional: pallet wood
• waterproof glue
• galvanized or superior screws
• rod
• nuts
• washers
• drills
• other power tools
• saw
• pencil for marking
• paint
• sandpaper
The first step is to choose the type of wood that can be used. Hardwoods are a common choice, but cedar, which is a softwood can also work because it doen’t rot that easily.
Second, build a box using this wood. The size depends on your needs, but you can follow these measurements: 46 cm wide and 56 cm long.
Saw off two pieces of 5-cm thick lumber, about 4 feet long. These pieces will serve as support for the wheel, and as handles. Place the handles on a sturdy table, with enough gap and suitable angle between them. Mark an area on the lumber where you will attach or mount the axle. Saw off these lines or marks.
Next, glue and screw layers of 2.5-cm thick boards at opposite angles. These will serve as the wheels. With three layers of these boards you’ll have a wheel that is approximately 2 inches. Draw a circle on the boards and cut them out.
Drill the center of the wheel and the handle frame. Insert a 1.5-cm rod through the holes and fasten with a nut. Place a washer on the rod, pass it through the wheel, then fasten it with another nut. Tighten the nut to secure the handle so that the wheelbarrow will not wobble.
Attach the box you built earlier to the wheel and handles. Cut two 5cm x 10cm wedges and lay them on the bottom of the box. Secure the wedges with screws.
Assemble the wheelbarrow and other implements such as the braces and legs. Test the barrow if it can stand without wobbling. Check the supporting legs.
Sand the edges to smoothen them and paint as you see fit. Doing so keeps you from getting splinters. You can add decorative elements too.
It is important to note that exterior grade fasteners should be used. Waterproof glue is also better than ordinary glue.
If you are using pallets, you could start by staining them. You could use oil-based or water-oil stains to help keep the wood from decaying. Stains also prevent water from seeping into the wood. The same procedure for building the barrow using pallets is the same. Simply strip the pallets and get the slats that have the same sizes to build the box.
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