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Build this clever garden sink
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Make outdoor cleanup easier with this clever garden sink
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By Paul Lewis, photos by Roger Yip, illlustration by Len Churchill
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You won't remember how you lived without it-this outdoor sink is a perfect place to wash grimy hands, or as a work area for potting and watering plants
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When working in your garden, it often isn't long before you need to wash your hands, rinse off some pots or give a plant a good soaking. I built this outdoor sink to make all these jobs more of a pleasure. The sink can be installed close to the action, and beyond its water-related duties it also provides a work surface and storage shelf for garden bits and pieces. The simple faucet makes cleanup easy without any complicated plumbing. Add a “Y” fitting to your hose connection and you can leave the plumbing hooked up to the sink all season long. My design is based on a 10"-tall stainless-steel bucket. Buy a bucket before you begin work, just in case you need to adjust the project's dimensions.
Prepare Your Materials
Start by milling enough cedar for the parts from 2x6 or 2x8 lumber, resisting the temptation to make this project from off-the-shelf 2x2s. While they might work, the factory-rounded edges won't look as good as the crisp edges you'll get by sawing parts from wider boards. You should even rip off the milled edges on the wider lumber first to make the unit's appearance the best it can be.
Another reason to begin with wider stock is wood quality. You're more likely to get straight, sound project parts by beginning with wide boards that allow you to cut out defects, such as wavy grain and big knots. All this makes wider lumber a better choice for an outdoor project that will see a lot of water.
Start with the Uprights
the backbone of this project is the uprights. They're the pieces from which all the other components are hung, so preparing them accurately is crucial. Start by cutting the four uprights to length, refining them with 1"-wide chamfers on the ends. Next, mark the position of the five notches that will accept the shelf supports, the angled brackets and soap shelf.
There is a trick to improve the speed and accuracy of the crucial notching operation; clamp the four uprights together, then use a carpenter's square to mark notches across all the pieces at the same time for accuracy. I cut the notches on my sliding compound mitre saw all at the same time as well. To do this properly, you'll need to extend the surface of the fence toward you with a scrap piece of 2x2. This is necessary to make flat-bottomed notches across all the uprights. Without it, the arc of the blade will leave a little ramp on the bottom of all the grooves closest to the fence.
Set the depth of cut on your saw to 1/2", then take multiple passes to clear out the waste. I like to cut the dado a hair shy of my layout lines and do a test fit with an accurately sized scrap of wood. This process results in a snug-fitting joint every time. Clean up the bottom of the notches with a razor-sharp chisel if necessary. Saw all of the 90° grooves first, then adjust the bevel angle of your saw and reset the depth of the cut to 1/2" to mill the 45° dados.
Once the uprights are complete, cut the shelf supports to length and cut 45º chamfers on the outward-facing ends. Cut the angled brackets to length next, adding 45º angles on their ends as well.
Before cutting notches on the underside of the shelf supports, dry-fit the shelf supports into the uprights and use the angled brackets to mark the position and depth. Before assembly, smooth all parts using 150-grit sandpaper.
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