How to Make a Portable Stand For a Five Gallon Bucket

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Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape

  • 5-gallon bucket

  • Paper

  • Pencil

  • 3/4-inch pine or plywood

  • Marker pen

  • Ruler

  • Wood saw

  • Sandpaper (coarse, medium, and fine)

  • Vacuum cleaner

  • Brush attachment

  • 1-inch by 1-inch pine strip

  • Power screwdriver

  • 1.5-inch wood screws

  • Electric drill

  • Wood drill bit

  • Damp cloth

  • Polyurethane wood varnish

  • Paintbrush

  • 4 360-degree spinning casters

  • 3/4-inch wood screws

  • Nylon rope

  • Utility knife

Making your own portable stand for a bucket is easy.

Creating a device that makes it easier to maneuver buckets of heavy material is useful. It saves time with lifting and bucket placement, as well as protecting your back from uneven weight distribution and twisting. Making a portable stand for a 5-gallon bucket requires a bit of planning and just a few materials to complete the do-it-yourself project successfully. It is a simple procedure that you can easily adapt to meet your stand requirements.

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Step 1

Measure the diameter of the bucket base using a measuring tape. Add 4 inches to the measurement and note it on a piece of paper. Transfer your measurement onto a ¾-inch-deep piece of plywood or pine by drawing a square with a marker pen and ruler; the length of each side is the measurement you took.

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Step 2

Cut the wood along the drawn lines using a wood saw to create the base of the stand. Sand the sawed edge with a coarse-grit sandpaper to flatten any wood shards. Change to a medium-grit sandpaper and sand the edges and the top and bottom face of the wood to smooth the surface. Finish with a fine-grit sandpaper to completely sand the surface flat.

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Step 3

Switch on the vacuum and clear up any sanding dust from the wood using the brush attachment. Mark a line across a 1-inch by 1-inch length of pine wood from its end to the width measurement of the stand base. Mark a second line across the wood measuring from the first line.

Step 4

Saw across each line to provide two lengths of wood and sand the wood as before. Position the first length of wood on top of the base and along one edge. Use a power screwdriver to fasten the wood strip to the base at three equal intervals with 1 ½-inch wood screws. Position the second wood strip on the opposite edge and repeat the fastening procedure.

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Step 5

Mark a line from the end of a 1-by-1 pine strip to 2 inches less than the previous wood strip lengths. Measure from the line and mark another line across the wood to the same length. Saw through both lines to produce two equal lengths of wood, and sand as before.

Step 6

Slot the first shorter length of wood between the two fastened wood strips and position it along the edge of the base. Fasten the strip to the base with the same method as you did before, and repeat the procedure with the remaining wood strip on the opposite side of the base.

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Step 7

Make a hole with the drill through the stand base, near to the inside edge of a wood strip and centrally positioned. Use a wood drill bit to the diameter of the nylon rope. Sand the drilled edges down to a fine surface. Use a damp cloth to wipe the stand to remove dust, and allow it to dry.

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Step 8

Apply a polyurethane wood varnish to all the wood surfaces using a clean paintbrush, and allow it to dry. Turn the base over and position a 360-degree spinning caster ½ inch in from the corner sides. Fasten using ¾-inch wood screws through the holes in the caster plate and into the base. Repeat the procedure for each corner, and turn the stand over.

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Step 9

Thread the rope through the drill hole from the top face of the base, and secure it underneath by tying a knot larger than the hole. Cut the nylon rope to the length you require with a utility knife, and tie the end in a knot to prevent fraying. Position the bucket in the center of the base and use the rope to pull it along.

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