Wheeled flower pot stand

When I started woodworking, a key motivator was simply financial - make stuff myself and save cash.

A recent trip to the garden centre, where they were selling these wheeled flower pot stands at absurd prices, convinced me to get back to basics and make my own.

There's nothing complex about this build. Simple pallet wood - all from the same pallet to keep consistent appearance, and avoid the need to process the wood too much (planing, thicknessing etc)

A simple grid of five slats with gaps in between and two perpendicular underneath, all 40cm in length. Each overlap with two screws - the only 'gotcha' being to be mindful of the screw placement on the end ones, given that it'll be cut into a circle.

Then simply cut into a circle with a jigsaw, and a quick sand to remove sharp edges.

Four wheels from an old office chair were attached - these are simply push-fit into a drilled hole.

That's all it took - literal junk (pallet wood, wheels scavenged from a binned chair, and even the screws were from the 'miscellaneous' jar). Whole thing took less than a couple hours and saved about thirty quid.

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Flip-top bench for garden storage

Building on from the last fire-pit/patio project, the reason that I was not too worried about the mismatched slabs at the back of the firepit patio was because I knew that the aim was to put some bench seating there which would cover them over.

The slabs at the back were a mix of different styles and sizes to just provide a solid base and gap-fill

 

This project is to build that bench seating.

It will also serve as the new "shed", with a flip top lid where garden tools and such can be stored without needing an actual shed.

The width of the patio between the planters at each end is approximately 12 ft.

While it would have been possible to to get single lengths of timber that would cover the full distance, obviously this would look rather basic. 

Instead we settled on 8ft lengths which would allow us to create a staggered joint similar to that of brickwork, making a much more aesthetically pleasing finish.

We also opted for 2" thick lengths to prevent warping, and add weight and sturdiness.

The height and depth of the bench are based upon the measurements of existing regular garden benches that we already had, so we can be confident that they provide a good seat height. (~16-18 inches).

This is why the there is a mix of 4" and 6" wide.

The open lid and gas strut
(before burning)

The remaining lengths of timber were used to create supports on the inside of the bench, where each of the lengths were joined.

The lid/seat was mounted with 3 shed hinges. Obviously a lid of this size is quite heavy, so to aid lifting it, two boot-lid gas struts from a scrap car were mounted, one at each end.

 

 

The closed bench, showing the latch
(after burning)

A latch and padlock was also added, recessed into the front (so that it didn't catch peoples legs when sat down.)

 

Finally there was a colour difference between the 4" and 6" wood - the 4 being much lighter, so it was burned with a blowtorch so that it would fit in better.