How to Build a Mini Wheelbarrow

A mini wheelbarrow planter is attractive indoors and outdoors.

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

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.

Tips & Warnings

• Paint or stain your mini wheelbarrow to your taste.

• Use balsa wood for the cheapest mini wheelbarrow, which would then provide decoration only.

• Do not glue the wheel to the dowel or it will not rotate.

References

• Gardening Know How; Miniature Landscaping: Great Gardens Come in Small Packages