The Woodbox Wheelbarrow
(Page 3 of 3)
December/January 2000
By Will Shelton
THE FINER POINTS
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What you do with the finer points of the design like painting or decoration is up to you. At this point in the project, if you so desire, you can add some trim to fancy the box up a bit, along with whatever touches will help it correspond to your decor. If you want to leave the box plain, go ahead and seal and paint (or varnish) the box and lid. Be sure to thoroughly seal all the plywood edges! As a side note, I like to seal plywood edges with epoxy; in fact, I use epoxy to glue all the parts together. This stuff is a little more difficult to work with than regular carpenter's glue, but the joints and seals are absolutely bulletproof. Epoxy is also abrasion-resistant, so you might want to paint the inside of the box with it.
Cut and mount the flip-up clearance skirts using three 1 1/2" hinges per side. (The dimensions are only a suggestion; you can use whatever size you find in your tool box or in that coffee can on the shelf.) The purpose of the skirt is to hide the wheel when the box is indoors. Flip it up for more ground clearance and secure it with window screen hooks, whenever you make those now infrequent trips to the woodpile.
At last, it is time to put the lid on. Prebend the 6" T-hinges and screw them into position on the lid. Then, drill holes and screw in the two 1/2" x l 1/2," eye bolts: one in the box, one in the lid. Tie a rope on the box eye bolt and drop it into the box. Place the lid on the box and screw in the hinges opposite the side that you want to open when the box is in the living room. Open the lid and tie the loose end of the rope through the lid's eye bolt. (It's important to make sure it opens far enough so as not to snap shut on little fingers.) Except for running outside for that first load of wood, I think that ought to do it. And if you insert the handles, it makes lifting the box much easier. Happy gathering!
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