DIY Compost bin

I have been trying to get up the enthusiasm to make a rolling bin with a trash can but my neighbor gave me this nice rolling plastic bin with  a lid on it like you see used by maids or prisoners for laundry.


Bilbo (my dog) got skunked again last night, the fourth time in two months ,and I have been thinking they are getting drawn by the compost I throw out in the berry patch. Besides, fertilizer can always be needed even if it takes a year.

I took off the wheels since I will use that for something else. And although you can just drill holes in the bottom and put dirt in there, I decided to cut off the whole bottom and sink it in the ground. I used a jigsaw because my boyfriend had the sawzall but actually, the plastic cut really well. I wore my respirator since plastic fumes from the heat of cutting are very bad for you. Although, like I said, it cut with no trouble so I might not have needed it.

I picked an out-of-the-way but sunny location for my compost bin. I dug a hole for it, and the ground here in Crestline is very soft and easy to dig since it is so fertilized by pine needles already.

Compost needs sun, moisture and oxygen to decompose fast. The bottom cut off should let worms and bugs help me out too.

The sunny location and the lid will keep it like a greenhouse, and I've been  told adding a cup of water when you add the already moist compost will keep it humid to decompose faster.

For oxygen, and also so rain will go in, I drilled holes in the lid, I think they are 3/8 of an inch but you could drill more of smaller ones instead.
I back-filled around my bin just  a little so nobody or animal will break an ankle but not enough so the sides come in.


When it gets a good layer of compost, I will use my shovel or pitchfork to stir it around and do that every time it gets a good layer of compost.

The other good thing about cutting off the bottom is I will be able to slide the whole thing up if I need to instead of trying to lift a heavy bin of dirt, but this is low enough I can shovel straight out of it.

Compost doesn't stink unless you are right up in it or don't have any air holes but I still put it away from my house since the gnats love it.

Butcher block cutting board

I had some leftover scrap wood from when I made my kitchen countertops. I used the very same technique on the countertops as I did on this butcher block cutting board. The only difference is I used epoxy on top of my counters and vegetable oil on the cutting board. All the wood for my countertops and this cutting board was what other people would consider scrap wood, and small lengths of 2x4s.

I first gathered all my wood that had a width of at least 1 and a half inches. It is nice to use a mix of different colored wood. You can buy butcher block of all one color. The mix makes it look high quality. I have scrap douglas fir 2x4s, redwood 2x4s from my neighbor that had rotten ends, and a few awkward pieces of walnut.

 I used my chop saw to cut the ends straight and the bad wood off. Then I set my table saw at 1 1/2 inches and ripped my 2x4s and every piece wider than this.

Now I arranged the pieces. With nice square wood it is easy but with my scrap wood, some of them did not fit tight against some so I had to keep rearranging the pieces. Also, 2x4s have rounded corners which can be used at the ends but not great in the middle.

With my pieces in place, I put pencil lines across the breaks. This is where my dowels will go to hold the cutting board together so just one in each piece, some on both sides offset is good enough. My first try at my counter, the glue was not enough so dowels or biscuits are needed.
You can choose to number your pieces here too to make things easier but I just drill one row at a time.

Find something to use as a guide to drill the holes. The holes can't be too close to the top or bottom and need to be the same on both sides for the dowel hole. Pick a drill bit slightly larger than the dowel and drill at least half the dowel width into each piece, on the ends I drill about 60/40 so I don't drill through the ends. I also rotate the drill a little to widen the entrance of the holes to have a little wiggle room when clamping.

Test all the pieces with the dowels for fit as you go.

Now use waterproof wood glue to glue a light layer on all the wood attaching to other pieces and some glue down in the holes. The glue sets up quickly so you better have checked everything for fit first.

Now use two long pieces on the ends to clamp across the whole cutting board. I used one across the width while using my other one to clamp and unclamp every row across the length to tighten the pieces together, then put both of them across the width on each end and used a hammer to get any ones that came out of place back in line.

The next day, I unclamp my piece and use my t-square to mark my cuts to get the cutting board square. I use a skill saw to cut the two ends. Then use an electric hand planer for the two other ends and both the top and bottom. It takes a while doing many shallow passes but I don't have a drum sander.  If the pieces were all the same, it would be easy, but these pieces are very uneven so I have to plane a lot off to get to the lowest piece and be straight all the way across. I router the edges with a round edge bit on both the top and bottom all the way around.

Now, I fill the gaps in my wood with colored sand. Another option is coffee grounds. With a putty knife, I push the sand into the cracks until they are full and sweep my excess back into the jar. I put a snail trail of glue over all the cracks and just use my finger to spread it across the gaps.With a wet rag, wipe down the excess.

After letting that dry, I sand everything with 400 grit sandpaper. Now it is done, and I just rub cooking oil all over it to finish it.