(Inside: Simple problems sometimes need simple solutions–and my problem was too much scrap wood. Here’s How to Make a Scrap Wood Cart Made From Scrap Wood. Simply.)
OMG.
I had so much scrap wood.
SO MUCH.
And I really needed it to be mobile so I could move it out of the way–and fix-up my shop.
So, I decided to make a scrap wood cart–so, you get to be the beneficiary of me figuring out How to Make a Scrap Wood Cart Made From Scrap Wood.
You’re welcome.
And, because I wanted to REALLY show you how I put this together, I made a video of How to Make a Scrap Wood Cart Made From Scrap Wood. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to my channel so you know when a new video comes out!
What You Need to Make a Scrap Wood Cart Made From Scrap Wood
Frankly, a lot of these measurements came from pieces of wood that I had that were already at some specific lengths–and not long enough to do something different. So, I was working with what I had.
- An overabundance of scrap wood (duh)
- 2 – 2×4 scraps cut to 29-inches long (trust me, these were scraps–leftovers from other projects, but mostly from the junk pile of wood I got at my local home improvement store because they were “undesirable”–saving money on home improvement projects is one of my passions…)
- 4 – 2×4 scraps cut to 58-inches long
- 4 – 2×4 scraps cut to 35-inches long for the “legs”
- 1 – 2×4 scrap cut to 55-inches long to divide the two sides of the cart on the top and keep it all square
- 2 – 2×4 scraps cut to 26-inches long to add a little support and also give you a little extra wood to affix the middle casters onto
- 4 – 1×12 scraps cut to 29-inches long to make a bottom planking for the scrap wood to rest on
- 1 – 1×12 scrap cut to 29-inches long, then cut to fit the width necessary to finish the bottom planking
- 1 – 1×12 scrap cut to 61-inches long to keep the shorter scraps from sliding out
- 1 – piece of 3/4 round molding (or similar) cut to 55-inches long to affix the center divider plywood whatever to on the bottom
- 1 – piece of molding (or similar) cut to 61-inches long to keep the longer scraps from sliding out
- 2 – flat pieces of leftover something like plywood, but way thinner–because I was just using what was lying around…to lean the shorter scraps against
- 6 casters
- Screwdriver
- Screws (lots)
- Speedsquare
How to Make a Scrap Wood Cart Made From Scrap Wood
Ok, so I really wanted to go through step-by-step and tell you exactly how to build this thing. But, the deal is, the video very much explains it.
So, again, go watch the video–it will make more sense than this explanation ever could.
- Using but joints, predrilling holes and then screwing them together on the ends, make a box with 2 of the 2×4 scraps cut to 58-inches long and 2 of the 2×4 scraps cut to 29-inches long.
- Attach the 4 – 2×4 scraps cut to 35-inches long as legs, again by predrilling and screwing them together.
- By predrilling and screwing, attach the remaining 2 – 2×4 scraps cut to 29-inches long to the tops of the legs.
- Flip the cart over.
- Next, attach the bottom center supports (2 – 2×4 scraps cut to 26-inches long) in the center of the bottom of the cart (should be the side facing up right now).
- Attach casters at each corner and in the center on each side.
- Flip the cart over again.
- Between the two leg supports, attach the 1 – 2×4 scrap cut to 55-inches long. This should be placed in the center of the two leg supports, splitting the cart into two sides and also keeping the cart square-ish (keep in mind that if you’re building this with scraps, it might not be super-square…mine sure wasn’t–but it’s ok because it’s not a piece of furniture, just a scrap wood cart).
- Laying them side by side, attach the 4 – 1×12 scraps cut to 29-inches long to make a bottom planking for the scrap wood to rest on–and the 1 – 1×12 scrap cut to 29-inches long, then cut to fit the width necessary to finish the bottom planking, as well.
- Affix the 1 – piece of 3/4 round molding (or similar) cut to 55-inches long to the plank bottom, about 2-inches off center to one side.
- Lean the 2 – flat pieces of leftover something against the center divider support between the leg supports, also butting against the molding you put down in the last step.
- Screw those two pieces of leftover something in.
- Attach the 1 – 1×12 scrap cut to 61-inches long to keep the shorter scraps from sliding out on the same side you leaned the the leftover somethings on. This will be where you store shorter pieces of scrap wood.
- Last, attach the 1 – piece of molding (or similar) cut to 61-inches long to keep the longer scraps from sliding out on the other side of the cart. This will be the side where you store longer pieces of scrap wood.
- And load it up!
If you enjoyed this DIY tutorial for How to Build a Scrap Wood Cart from Scrap Wood, be sure to pin this–and subscribe to my YouTube channel so you get notified when a new video comes out!
