Worm Bin
I have the plans in both a PowerPoint file or a PDF format. The following instructions should be used in conjunction with these PowerPoint or PDF documents.
Before beginning this project please take a look at the following pages. These pages contain things about simple carpentry I learned. When you are finished you can visit the Main Page:
1) Wood Is Not The Size They say it is, i.e. 2X4 it is (most likely) really 1.5 by 3.5.
2) The right tools are important, and they really don't cost that much
3) Technique, a few hints and tricks help make the job go easier.
Worm bins are great for taking your kitchen scraps and turning them into garden fertilizer. This is known as Vermicomposting.
An excellent book on this sublect is Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof. A friend mentioned this book and it has been helpful understanding Vermicomposting. I saw a small bag of worm casting in the store the other day (maybe a pound or so) for a dollar and a half. This worm bin can hold a hundred or more pounds worth of worm castings. You do not want to use a sealer or wood protector on the inside of the worm bin, you don't want those chemicals (ultimately) in your food. Sealing the top should be OK, but I haven't done that with the one I built. You do not want to seal the sides or bottom, one of the advantages of wood is that it breathes, allowing moisture and oxygen out. Also you do not want to use pressure treated wood. These woods contain chemicals like CCA.
Page 1 and 2 - First we obtain the plywood sheet. Typically the plywood sheet will be 8 feet by 4 feet. You will want to get plywood that is CDX or BC Plywood, exterior grade, good one side. I made a mistake when I bought my sheet of plywood. I knew that the 4 foot by 8 foot sheet would not fit in my vehicle. I also knew that the store I bought the sheet at would do a better job of making the initial cuts. I asked them to cut the board into 4 ea 2 foot by 4 foot pieces. When I got home I realized that I had made a mistake. That is the reason for page 2 of the instructions :-). If you can get the store to cut the plywood into the pattern on the first page then you will be ahead of the game.
The BC has a better surface covering than the CD. For a full explanation of how Plywood is graded see hstech.org on Plywood.
Page 3 - Make the bottom and top of the worm bin. To attach the plywood to the 2 by 4's I used 2 inch deck screws. I screwed the deck screws in through the plywood down into the 2 by 4's. I later used some nicer screws and screwed the 2 by 4's into the plywood (i.e. screws on both sides).
Page 4 - Make the front and back of the worm bin in the same manner that you made the top and bottom. Obviously the front and back are smaller than the top and bottom.
Now screw the front / back / bottom together. You will run the deck screws through the bottom of the worm bin into the front and back 2 by 4's of the worm bin. You will need 4 inch deck screws to do this, and they will probably be number 10 screws (this is the width of the screw). You will also need to use a larger drill bit for the pilot holes (you *ARE* drilling pilot holes for the deck screws, correct?). Make sure that when you screw the deck screws in the bottom of the worm bin into the front / back of the worm bin that the front and back are at a 90 degree angle. The sides of the worm bin will help true this up a little if it isn't prefect.
Page 5 - Now make sides of the worm bin. Again, the plans I did accounted for the fact that I messed up the initial cut on the plywood. But it looks fine to me :-). Again, I drove the deck screws through the plywood then into the 2 by 4's. This gives the entire box more strength. If you need more than 6 inches of clearance (or less than that) then you can make adjustments to the 1.5 X 3.5 X 20.5 Inch boards.
Page 6 - Now attach the sides to the half box you have already created (the bottom / front / back structure). Again, when you attach the sides they will help true up the front / back if you didn't get them perfectly aligned with the bottom. I used the 4 inch deck screws to attach the sides to the bottom / front / back structure. Now attach the top with the hinges.
Page 7 - Now put the chains on and you are done. I also nailed a strip of fuzzy 1 inch insulation material along the sides to the lid to close the gap between the lid and the box. This helps keep flies out of the bin. This whole box took me a day to complete.