How to Build an Outdoor Bar Cart

By: Deborah Snoonian, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. 1x2 cedar for the cart's legs and the ledges for the trays. Buy 22 feet.

2. 1x3 cedar for the trays and bottle rack. Buy 30 feet.

3. 1x4 cedar for the tall sides of the top tray and bottle rack. Buy 6 feet.

4. 2x deck pickets of cedar or treated lumber to make the crosspieces that support the removable top tray.

5. paint can to trace the shape of the handles for the top tray.

6. wood glue

7. 1-inch hardwood dowel

8. ½-inch-long brass insert nuts, ¼-20 size

9. 40-millimeter-long hex-head connector bolts, ¼-20 size

10. 1½ inch stainless-steel screws

11. 5⁄8-inch aluminum screw posts

12. set of two 9-inch wheels with axle, cotter pins, and axle caps.

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- miter saw
- jigsaw to cut handles for the top tray
- pneumatic brad nail gun with 1 3⁄8-inch brad nails
- wood chisel to clean up notch cuts
- drill/driver with various bits: ¼ inch, 5⁄16 inch, 3⁄8 inch, combination countersink, and 1-inch paddle
- large flathead screwdriver
- hex key sized to the hex-head connector bolts
- 120-grit sandpaper and block wood file
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Mark Powers uses a miter saw to cut pieces for a bar cart

Photo: David Prince

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
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1. Cut the Pieces

Use a miter saw and a stop block to make cuts of the same length quickly; refer to the illustration for dimensions. For the top tray, cut two 1x4 short sides and two 1x3 long sides. For the bottom tray, cut short and long sides from 1x3s. Cut 19 1x3 bottom boards (nine for the top tray, 10 for the bottom one). Rip a 1x2 in half and cut four ledges to support the bottom boards.

Cut 2x deck pickets to make crosspieces to support the removable top tray. Cut the cart's handle from a 1-inch hardwood dowel. Cut off the corners of the top tray's 1x4 short sides so that each edge is 2½ inches tall and even with the height of the long sides. Use a wood file to round over the cuts, then smooth the cut pieces with sandpaper and a block.