The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book: Ingenious DIY Projects, Hacks, and Upcycles

Price: $9.29
(as of Oct 22, 2024 04:51:04 UTC – Details)

Why just reuse a bucket when you can reinvent it? The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book updates a quirky classic with 30+ new ways to take those old buckets and put them to use.

Five-gallon buckets are ubiquitous and cheap (or even free). They are right up there with some of man’s best inventions, like the wheel and sliced bread. Sure, they can be useful on their own, holding stuff or transporting stuff from place to place. But that’s no fun. Put them to use around the house, garden, or farm instead! With common tools and the instructions in this book, you’ll find 60+ ideas and projects to make today. Connect with your inner engineer as you:

Make something for around the home, like a shoe rack, trash compactor, water filter, or mousetrap. Become more self-sufficient, with a chicken waterer, egg incubator, nesting box, or bee feeder. Have some fun with an air cannon, beanbag toss, drum set, or washtub bass. Get creative by dressing your kid up in a bucket costume for Halloween, making a boat anchor, or a set of music speakers. Grow more in the garden with a sweet potato starter, rolling composter, Japanese beetle trap, vermiculture bin, or walking watering can.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of ways to put these humble and hard-working mainstays to work past their prime and keep them out of landfills. Simple step-by-step instructions, as well as parts lists and images of the completed projects, make sure you will have fun and love the results of your work.

From the Publisher

The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book

AROUND THE HOUSE

SOME OF THE MOST USEFUL 5-GALLON BUCKET UPCYCLING PROJECTS ARE THINGS MADE FOR THE HOME. THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES USEFUL CREATIONS THAT CAN SERVE ANY HOMEOWNER WELL, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE. THE GENERAL PROJECTS CAN FURTHER BE BROKEN DOWN INTO THOSE THAT HELP YOU WORK ON THE HOUSE AND THOSE THAT MAKE LIVING IN THE HOUSE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE OR EFFICIENT. AS A DIY’ER, YOU KNOW THAT BOTH ARE IMPORTANT.

In either case, most of these projects represent handy-dandy alternatives to units that would otherwise set you back a pretty penny. Economy coupled with efficiency is the hallmark of 5-gallon bucket creations, after all. Something like a Small-Room Air Conditioner (page 12) is not cheap, but the 5-gallon bucket version is amazingly inexpensive. And it works almost as well (plus, friends and family will be amazed at your ingenuity).

Many of these, such as the Portable Wine Rack (page 37), exploit the extremely durable nature of 5-gallon buckets. One of their most attractive features is the structural stability—and the fact that material itself holds up to wear and tear remarkably well.

But the real addition is how easy these projects are to make. Even the most difficult one you’ll encounter won’t overly challenge a home DIY’er. That means frustration isn’t a part of the process but a huge amount of satisfaction is!

Small-Room AC Shoe Rack Rainwater Collector Wall-Mounted Terrarium Bike Rack Portable Wine Rack Long-Handled Tool Holder Dryer Lint Trap

The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book

INTO THE WILD

HEADED OUT CAMPING, HIKING, OR FOR A LONG STAY IN A RUSTIC CABIN IN THE WILDERNESS? DON’T FORGET THE BUCKETS! THE NATURAL DURABILITY AND LIGHT WEIGHT OF A 5-GALLON BUCKET MAKE IT THE PERFECT CHOICE AS AN ACCENT TO YOUR WILDERNESS ADVENTURES. YOU’LL BE AMAZED HOW MANY PURPOSES THIS ADAPTABLE PLASTIC STRUCTURE CAN SERVE IN HELPING MAKE ROUGHING IT SLIGHTLY LESS ROUGH.

Outdoor creations are arguably the best uses for a 5-gallon bucket. It’s an ideal size to carry or pack for a wilderness adventure. Where looks don’t matter, the sometimes ugly side of a recycled 5-gallon bucket doesn’t play against it. The material also holds up to the worst weather can throw at an outdoorsperson. You’ll never need to worry about your bucket collapsing under cold or heat, pouring rain, or even snow.

All the projects in this chapter are eminently usable and incredibly easy to construct. They use some basic principles to provide small luxuries that make any camping or wilderness stay more comfortable, convenient, and enjoyable. Just make sure you bring all your bucket creations home with you because—all the wonderful traits notwithstanding—these buckets do not biodegrade.

Camping Light Camp Shower Backpack Manual Washing Machine Rocket Stove Water Filter Rabbit Trap Deer Feeder

The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book

CRITTER CARE

THE ANIMALS IN OUR LIVES DESERVE OUR ATTENTION AND CARE. NOT ONLY IS IT THE HUMANE THING TO DO; IT MAKES LIFE SIMPLER. BY ENSURING THE HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND HAPPINESS OF ANIMALS UNDER YOUR ROOF OR LODGED OUT IN YOUR YARD, YOU CAN AVOID VET BILLS.

When it comes to the animals we keep for food, care and tending are even more important. Keep your chickens happy, for instance, and you ensure a steady supply of eggs. Those eggs will usually be healthier than what you can pick up from the local grocery store. Over time you may even realize a cost savings on your grocery bill—or you can impact your bottom line by raising chicks for sale.

No matter what, animal husbandry involves making your feathered and furry charges comfortable. Mostly that’s about feeding, but it’s also about physical comfort, from providing a safe and cozy place for hens to nest, to making sure cats have a private indoor space they can call their very own bathroom.

The great part about all the innovations in this chapter is that they help you toward those goals while being quick, easy, and inexpensive to achieve. All these creations fit right in with the idea of homesteading and sustainable living, especially if you make them with reused buckets.

On that note, remember that many of these projects have to do with feeding animals. Use foodgrade buckets, or those that can be thoroughly cleaned, for those projects. Do not use buckets that were used to hold chemicals, such as those for pool chemicals or industrial operations.

Chicken Feeder VARIATION: Chicken Waterer Egg Incubator VARIATION: Nesting Box Egg Washer Bee Feeder Cat Litter Box Post-Mounted Birdhouse

The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book

PLAY TIME

SOMETIMES IT’S GOT TO BE ABOUT PURE FUN!

That’s why this chapter is all about indulging your inner kid (or delighting your actual kids). One of the truly awesome qualities of a plastic 5-gallon buck et is that it will put up with a ton of rambunctious recreation. That makes them absolutely perfect for play or sport structures.

Build any of the projects in this chapter and you’ll be doing your family’s health a favor, because all of these will get people up off the couch, out from behind screens, and doing rather than watching. They embody the best type of exercise you can get—fun and varied. Each of these will burn calories in the making and in the enjoying.

But there is a big benefit far beyond the physical reward. These projects are all a great way for the family to bond. It’s like family board game night, but on steroids. You can use any of these to engage kids in a DIY ethos—have them work with you in building something they can then enjoy. It’s a great way to teach building for personal payback.

So get your hardware together, gather a few basic tools, and get working on nurturing your hobbies and fun time without investing in a whole lot of new equipment.

Air Cannon Swim-and-Sun Platform Pitcher’s Partner Acoustic Speaker Dock Small-Item Photography Light Box Candy Dumpster Bicycle Panniers Mini Basketball Hoop

The New 5-Gallon Bucket Book

BACKYARD BOUNTY

YOUR BACKYARD (OR FRONT YARD, OR EVEN SIDE YARD) PRESENTS AWESOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWING PRODUCE THAT IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING YOU MIGHT FIND IN THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE, OR BEAUTIFUL FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS THAT MAKE THE SPACE A MORE DELIGHTFUL PLACE TO SPEND TIME. IN EITHER CASE, GARDENING IS MADE EASIER WITH THE HELP OF A 5 -GALLON BUCKET.

That’s because these buckets are constructed of exactly the type of material you need in a garden—impervious to dirt and decay. The bucket is great for keeping moisture where you need it and holding up under the extremes of weather. It doesn’t hurt that buckets are also easy to fabricate, making a custom garden simple to achieve in a short amount of time.

Really, the adaptable bucket presents opportunities to garden in new and interesting ways—especially if you’re dealing with the challenges of limited space.

An innovative container like the Vertical Planter lets you take advantage of a sun-drenched fence or even the wall of the house. The Upside-Down Tomato Planter on page 122 is a whole new way to grow the jewel of the summer garden.

Keep in mind that precision isn’t actually key with most of these projects. Plants are going to be hiding rough cut edges and most of a bucket’s surface.

That doesn’t mean you can’t paint or stencil something like the hanging planter, but you don’t actually have to worry as much about the look as you might elsewhere. The one issue that does require attention is making sure those projects where containing water is key don’t leak once you’ve fabricated them.

Vertical Planter Garden Cart Drip Irrigation System Scarecrow Plant Protector Strawberry Pot Cold Frame Mini Greenhouse

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B094X62FNV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cool Springs Press (April 6, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 6, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 13959 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages