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26th July 2017, 03:00 PM #1Intermediate Member
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Reccomend me a timber for a bike box
I want to make a box to go on the back of my bicycle to put shopping etc in. I plan to put a bit of time into it, cut dovetail joins, etc. Can you reccomend me a timber that is:
- Nice to look at once oiled.
- Is not too heavy, I don't want to add too much weight onto the bike.
- Is inexpensive.
Cheers
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26th July 2017, 05:28 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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Softwood pallet boards of an appropriate thickness. Might pay to study up on the meaning of the various markings you get on pallets though. Some of them can be treated with some nasties.
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27th July 2017, 11:22 AM #3Intermediate Member
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Pallet boards are made from pine aren't they? I was hoping for something a bit more sturdy and something that will oil up nicely.
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27th July 2017, 04:13 PM #4
your best option is probably 3/8" ply with nailed or screwed butt joints
regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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27th July 2017, 09:41 PM #5Senior Member
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As Ian says, ply is the best choice. If it's just a carry box on the rear rack, 6mm hardwood marine ply is plenty strong enough and will finish nicely. The Dutch cargo bikes called backfietsen use 12mm ply for the box but are strong enough to carry 80kg or more, a rack box might hold only 10-12kg of shopping in comparison. Cut some timber strips to glue in the corners for extra bracing.
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28th July 2017, 11:26 AM #6GOLD MEMBER
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Ply is what I would use for strength and weight considerations.
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28th July 2017, 12:06 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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I feel like the requirements you've specified are at odds and vague.
words like nice, heavy and inexpensive are all subjective.
I also feel like your requirements are at odds with each other, as nice and inexpensive often do not go hand in hand. Plus given that the average bike probably weighs around 10kg, a solid wood box would weigh approx 5kg which IMO is considerable amount of weight.
However given that the requirements are as is, i'd also recommend Ply would be your best option. Obviously this won't satisfy your requirements of spending some time on it, but you could get around this by making a solid wood frame with whatever joinery you wish to use and line the inside with ply.
I'd also avoid using any hardwoods, as you'll want something that has some flex in it, given that its going on the back of a bike which will be subjected to bumps and shocks having a hardwood will ultimately end it with it potentially splitting. Plus hardwoods are also heavy.
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28th July 2017, 01:23 PM #8
Marine ply is strong, light and the endgrain is pretty oiled.
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29th July 2017, 03:04 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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I'll bet you can't walk your bike through the stores. Outside, how secure is your lock? How attractive is the box? How tempting is the theft?
Every day, you will find "just one more thing" to haul along in the box and it will begin to show some wear and tear.
You can't put your fist through pallet pine. Strong enough and economical. Some of it should show really attractive knot patterns.
All I see here (the village is railroad flat and level) are really big wire mesh basket carriers.
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29th July 2017, 10:16 AM #10
Give cedar consideration.
On gumtree I have an active search for cedar and it comes up most days. Nice wide beams for nix. It's easy to work, super light and is attractive. Here in Canberra it was massively used for windows, decks and pagodas, often unpainted and occasionally oiled... If it lasts 20 years in the weather it will be fine on your bike.
It is being replaced with renovations, so often just given away, so the price is right.
it can be a bit problematic on machining though, so just be careful with tear outs, but with hand tools it's fine.
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29th July 2017, 12:28 PM #11
Some North American pallets are made from timbers like oregon, spruce, hemlock, white pine, etc and some pretty, fine straight grained timbers can be found if you keep looking. They come up quite well with an oil finish, check out some of the pallet projects here and elsewhere on the net. I think they'd be a quite suitable source for the smallish sizes you would need for a bike box if you want cheap and don't want wire or plastic.
Franklin
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29th July 2017, 01:31 PM #12
Pallet wood assumes the OP has tools and skill to turn pallet wood into boards suitable for making a light weight box.
regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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29th July 2017, 02:47 PM #13GOLD MEMBER
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