How to make a fireplace wood bin for inside

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Things you'll need:

• 1x4, 1x2  2x4 wood, stain or paint grade

• Box level

• Hammer and nails or screwdriver and screws

• Saw

• Measuring tape

• Scrap plywood or particleboard pieces(if you want plywood back and bottom)

• Paint and brushes or stain and wiping rags

Step 1  Assemble the things you’ll need. First scrounge at home for leftover wood from another job.  Look in your garage or workshop for old 1x4 scrap or pieces of plywood or particleboard.  Go to a Home Depot Store for the wood you don’t have and look in their recycled wood. Ask them to cut some pieces if you find what they want. The wood there is pennies on the dolar! . Determine how large your new wood bin will be and let that determine how much of each you will need.  Bring a sketch with you. Note:  You need to measure your split wood first, they will probably be about 3-4 feet long, more likely 4 ft since a cord of wood is based on a 4 ft dimension. If you don’t mid a rustic look inside use recycled wood, if you do, use new wood and buy it there. You can get nails and screws there too.

Step 2  Measure all pieces and cut at same time. Check your measurements. You will want something about 36” by 52” overall.  The back will stand about 24” tall, the bottom will be about 36” by 52” and the sides will be 24” in the back, but have an angled front piece that starts at the 24” top point and angles down to the 36” bottom.  You will connect the two sides by a 1x2 nailed or screwed to each side at top, providing support.  The only solid parts are the back and the bottom.  You can use plywood or particleboard for these if you like.  The rest is open so you can insert logs and stack them with the larger pile dimension being at the bottom and the smaller at the top, similar to most wood piles stored outside. To visualize, imagine a cardboard box with only solid bottom and back and the corners sides cut so the corners have solid pieces of cardboard from bottom of box to top of box with no lid. Next imagine that the front cardboard vertical corners have been cut and re-attached at an angle from the bottom to the top of about 30 degrees.  The Author’s sketch should help you see what you are making.

Step 3  Fasten corner pieces at back and front. Use 2x4s for corner, top, and front supports with back and sides of individual pieces, plywood, or particle board.  Nail 1x2s across bottom at each side to the 2x4s.  The 2x4s are needed because the wood weight, when bin is loaded is quite a bit.   The 1x2 will be the nailer for the solid bottom piece. Hold it about 2” off floor so there is air  flow under bin. Again, the back and bottom are the only sides solid, the rest are open to maneuver wood into and out of bin.  Nail angled front 2x4 from top piece to bottom.

Step 4  Make sure support frame is completed before nailing back and bottom. You could build this support frame out of all 1x4 material if it is swell fastened together. It is important to angle the side front supports from top to bottom to allow easier wood stacking access.  Then finish off with the top 1x2 brace crossing from side to side.

Step 5  Make sure side supports are angled to bottom and 1x2 nailer is applied for bottom nailing. This allows the person loading and stacking the wood bin to easily build a pile from the ground up by maneuvering the split wood in and around the frame supports.  The wide base bottom is so the wood has someplace to go if it shifts when a person loads or unloads the pile of wood.

Step 6  Fasten corner pieces at back and front. Use 2x4s for corner, top, and front supports with back and sides of individual pieces, plywood, or particle board.  Nail 1x2s across bottom at each side to the 2x4s.  The 2x4s are needed because the wood weight, when bin is loaded is quite a bit.   The 1x2 will be the nailer for the solid bottom piece. Hold it about 2” off floor so there is air  flow under bin. Again, the back and bottom are the only sides solid, the rest are open to maneuver wood into and out of bin.  Nail angled front 2x4 from top piece to bottom.

Tips:

• Find a nice flat table or workbench to work on.  If you don’t have one see Author’s article on Hot to make a recycled door workbench/table.

• Make a nice sketch of what you want on graph paper to scale before you try to find your wood.

• Use new “no knot” cedar if you want a nice unit and use brass screws. Don’t stain or paint cedar.

Warnings:

• Check your measurements twice so you don’t cut wood wrong!..

• Be careful with power tools!

• Use grounded outlets!