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How to Build a Mini Wheelbarrow

Garden decorations are as varied as the gardens and the people decorating them. Some garden decorations have themes, such as a farmer theme with little wooden silhouettes of a farmer and his wife and a little wooden wheelbarrow. A wheelbarrow is a simple machine that moves heavy objects from one place to another in a bucket on a wheel. A mini wooden wheelbarrow can be used as a small planter or a movable tool holder while gardening.

Things You'll Need

  • 24-by-3/4-by-3/4-inch wood boards (2)
  • 1/2-inch-diameter wooden dowel
  • 5-inch-diameter wooden wheel
  • 6-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood
  • 8-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood
  • 7-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood
  • 7-by-8-by-1/4-inch plywood
  • Tape measure
  • Wood glue
  • Cordless drill
  • 1/2-inch boring bit
  • Table saw
  • 1/2-inch wood tacks
  • Hammer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Drill four 1/2-inch holes into two 24-by-3/4-by-3/4-inch wooden boards using a cordless drill and a 1/2-inch boring bit. The holes start from the same end at one inch, five inches, 11 1/4 inches and 17 inches.

    • 2

      Cut a 1/2-inch-diameter wooden dowel to four pieces using a table saw. Make the pieces 4 1/2 inches long, 6 1/2 inches long, 8 1/2 inches long and 10 1/2 inches long.

    • 3

      Set a 7-by-8-by-1/4-inch plywood sheet on your worktable. Draw a mark one inch in from the corners on one 8-inch end of the sheet. Cut the sheet with a table saw from the marks out to the adjacent corner at the other end of the sheet making the bottom of the mini wheelbarrow bucket.

    • 4

      Build the frame for the bucket by connecting a 6-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood board to a 8-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood board using two 7-by-5-by-1/4-inch plywood boards. Secure the box with 1/2-inch wood tacks along the edges using a hammer.

    • 5

      Attach the bucket frame to the bottom of the bucket by hammering 1/2-inch wood tacks 1/2 inch from the edges at 1-inch intervals.

    • 6

      Drill two 1/2-inch holes one inch from the top on both 7-inch sides of the bucket using a 1/2-inch boring bit and a cordless drill.

    • 7

      Place a 5-inch-diameter wheel between the two 24-inch boards with the center of the wheel between the holes one inch from the end of the board. Set the bucket between the two holes at 11 1/4 inches.

    • 8

      Connect the two 24-inch boards by dripping wood glue in each hole and inserting a dowel into each set of holes. The shortest dowel will enter the boards and the wheel at the holes one inch from the end of the boards. The next-longest dowel will enter the next set of holes. The next-longest dowel will enter the board at the holes at 11 1/4 and the bucket and the final dowel will connect the last set of holes.

    • 9

      Allow the glue on the dowels to dry for two hours before using the mini wheelbarrow.