How to Build a Lawn & Garden Dump Cart

A garden cart is truly usefu. Did you ever have to move bags of feed or compost the garden and truly learn to despise that wheelbarrow? Don’t despair, just build yourself a garden cart and take a lot of sweat out of your chores. This project requires a little skill with simple tools and some elbow grease, but it is not too complicated. Just follow the steps and soon you’ll have it done.

Sheet of plywood, 36 by 48 inches

2 plywood pieces. 24 by 36 inches

Plywood piece, 36 by 24 inches

2 20-inch cart wheels with hard rubber tires

1/2-inch cart axle with cotter pins

2 heavy-duty steel 2-inch corner braces

2 10-inch steel corner braces

2 pieces of rigid conduit 1/2 inch by 10 feet long

4 1-inch conduit straps

8 1/2-inch conduit straps

Four 2-by-4-by-36

2 bicycle hand grips

1/2-inch wood screws

2 1/2-inch wood screws

Lay the 36-by-48-inch plywood down flat. Start at one end and lay out the four 2-by-4-by-36 boards on top of the plywood forming a square.

Drill 2 1/2-inch wood screws to attach the 2-by-4 boards to the plywood. This makes the 2-by-4 frame for the cart bottom.

Turn the plywood over. The end of the plywood you put the 2-by-4s on is the back end of cart. Mark a spot 6 inches back from the back edge and draw a line straight across with a pencil. Now use the drill and 1/2-inch wood screws to attach the four 1-inch conduit straps on that line. Place them an even distance apart. These will support the cart axle.

Drill 2 1/2-inch wood screws to attach the rigid conduit to the cart bottom by placing one of the conduit pieces on the plywood over the 2-by-4 on the other side. Place a 1/2-inch conduit strap on top of the conduit near the end of the pipe. Drill the long wood screws down through the plywood and into the 2-by-4. Repeat this process with the other piece of rigid conduit on the other side

Drill long wood screws to attach 1/2-inch conduit straps over the conduit at the front of the 2-by-4 frame. Drill the wood screws through the plywood into the 2-by-4s on the other side. Now that you have the handles of the cart attached, slide one of the bicycle hand grips over the ends of the conduit to make them easy to grip.

Turn the plywood bottom piece over. Use the drill and long wood screws to attach the 36-inch-long plywood sides by placing the long side against the side of the 2-by-4 frame and drilling the screws through the plywood into the 2-by-4s. The edge of the plywood piece should be flush with the end of the 2-by-4 frame. Repeat this step on the other side.

Place the long side of the 36-by-24 inch piece of plywood against the end of the 2-by-4 frame and flush against the side boards you just installed. Use the power drill and long wood screws to attach the plywood piece to the cart. Drill through the plywood into the 2-by-4 frame.

Attach the corner braces. Start at the rear of the cart and place one 10-inch corner strap just below the top of cart side. Use the power drill and 1/2-inch wood screws to attach the strap to the back and side plywood. Repeat this on the other side.

Place one heavy 2-inch corner brace on the left bottom corner of the cart. Use the power drill and long wood screws to attach the corner brace through the plywood into the 2-by-4 frame. Repeat this step on the other side.

Attach the cart wheels. Start by sliding the axle through the four 1-inch conduit straps you put on the cart bottom. Slide the wheels onto the axle and lock into place by pushing the cotter pins into the holes on the ends of axle.