With our recent Sprinter van conversion, our garage has been a hot mess with scraps of wood piled in heaps. So we took the opportunity to organize the garage a bit and made a mobile scrap wood cart.

We had a mixture of ¾” and ½” plywood, but not enough of either to make the cart out of one thickness, so we worked with what we had and designed it as we went. But if you’re interested in building your own lumber cart, we modeled a parametric design on Fusion 360 and made plans so you can make one from a single sheet of plywood which you can download from our website for free - https://imeemade.com/blog/scrapcart

We made a quick Youtube video that goes through all the steps, so please check that out as well! (We would also appreciate a like and sharing if you think it's worth it :))

Supplies

Here is the list of supplies we used: (These are affiliate links where we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, Thank you!)

4ft x 8ft x 1/2in plywood

Kreg Circular Saw Track: https://amzn.to/3wS3zNp

Makita Cordless Drill and Driver set: https://amzn.to/3mJlUHO

Powerpro Screws 1.5” https://amzn.to/3tgbnGl

Wood Glue: https://amzn.to/2XCUvNf

Locking Casters: https://amzn.to/3mJllh0

Washers: https://amzn.to/3a8olP6

Step 1: Cutting

We started by measuring and cutting the front, back, and side panels as well as the divider pieces. We’re using our trusty circular saw with a track saw attachment from Kreg, but you can easily make straight cuts by clamping a straight edge onto the panel and using it as a guide.

Step 2: Attach the First Wall to the Back

After cutting the panels, we attached the sides to the back panel. We like to use our carpenter’s square and squeezey clamps to hold the two panels together and keep panels square while we predrill and screw the pieces together with 1.5” screws.

Step 3: Attach the Second Wall to the Back

We stood the panels upright and used a piece of plywood with the same thickness as the joining piece and traced along the back wall, so we have a reference to make sure we screw along the center of the edge and prevent blowing out from either face.

Step 4: Attach the Front Panel

Then we attached the front panel the same way, making sure to use plenty of wood glue as well.

Step 5: Cut Out the Bottom

Once the four walls were attached, we placed it upright onto another piece of plywood and traced the perimeter of the bottom panel. Then we cut it out using our circular saw again and attached it the same way with plenty of wood glue and screws

Step 6: Add Locking Casters

At this point, we attached locking casters onto the bottom panel, so we can roll the cart around if we need to and fix it in place for storage. The mounting holes on the casters are slightly larger than the screw heads, so we used washers between to make sure they’re secure.

Step 7: Add the Middle Divider

Now that the main box is complete, we placed it upright then slid the divider panel in and used a scrap piece as a spacer to make sure it fits evenly on both sides.

Here, we need to drill in from the outside of the box to the divider inside. To help guide us on where to screw, we used the front panel as a reference and locked the tape measure at the distance to the divider. Then we scribed a line along the side wall giving us a reference to the edge of the divider.

Step 8: One More Divider

Finally, we used the scrap piece we used as a spacer as another divider. We screwed it in from the front and since we didn't have access to screw from the back side, we applied a generous amount of wood glue which should be strong enough for this purpose. Alternatively, you can screw on the small divider onto the larger divider first, then slide them into the box.

Step 9: Fill It Up!

After that, we filled the cart up with scraps!

This was a super simple one day project and it made a HUGE impact with organizing our garage space. Now that we freed up some floor space, we have so much room for activities and more projects!

Step 10: Subscribe and Comment!

Thank you for reading our Instructable!

If you liked the project, don't forget to share it. Comments and feedback are always welcome. You can check out our other projects here on Instructables as well as our Youtube channel IMEE MADE.