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How to Build a 4 Wheel Cart

Whether you want to build a pull cart for your child or make a small pull cart for your garden, constructing a four-wheel cart is actually an easy wood-working project that almost anyone can accomplish. When complete, your cart will have wheels that spin easily and can travel over rough ground. You'll find lots of uses for your four-wheel cart. It will be something you can be proud of because you built it with your own hands.

Things You'll Need

4 wheels with a 6-inch or greater diameter
2 3-foot steel rods that fit through the wheel center
8 bushings with setscrews
2 2-by-4-inch boards, measuring 6 feet each
1 bolt, 1/2-inch thick and 3 inches long, with a locking nut and two washers
Lazy Susan hardware
1 2-by-8-inch board, 4 feet long
Additional 2-by-4-inch boards as needed
Table saw
Chisel
Power drill
Rope

Instructions

- 1
  Fit two bushings onto each end of one steel rod, placing them where you want the inside of each wheel to be. Use the setscrews to tighten them in place. Fit a wheel onto each end of the rod and attach another bushing on the outside of each wheel. Do the same for the other steel rod and wheels.
- 2
  Cut one 6-foot 2-by-4 in half so you have two 3-foot lengths. On one side of one of the 2-by-4's, use the table saw to cut two 1/2--inch deep cuts the length of the board. The cuts should be centered with a 1/2 inch between them. Use the chisel to carve out a channel between the two cuts.
- 3
  Sandwich the back wheel axle between the 2-by-4 with the channel and one without the channel, so the axle is in the channel. Use the drill and screws to secure the two boards together around the axle. Do the same steps for the front axle, but don't put it together yet.
- 4
  Drill a 1-inch hole, 1/2-inch deep in the center of the unchanneled board. Then finish drilling the hole through the board with a 1/2-inch bit. This will allow you to insert your bolt through the board, countersinking the head.
- 5
  Attach the Lazy Susan hardware to the center of one end of the 2-by-8-inch board and to the top of the unchanneled 2-by-4 of the front axle. Make sure you attach the Lazy Susan to the side of the board without the countersunk hole for the bolt and that you center it over the hole where the bolt will come through.
- 6
  Pass the bolt through the two boards and the Lazy Susan securing it with the washers and locking nut. Complete the front axle by screwing the channeled 2-by-4 with the wheel axle inside to the 2-by-4 you just bolted to the Lazy Susan.
- 7
  Screw the opposite end of the 2-by-8 board to the back axle to complete the cart's chassis. Screw a 3-foot 2-by-4 to the bottom of the chassis about 8 inches back from the front axle.
- 8
  Complete the cart by screwing additional boards to the axels to make a wider floor and to add sides if you desire.
- 9
  Drill two holes through the front axle, one on each side of the Lazy Susan. Thread the ends of the rope through each hole and knot it on the underside, creating a loop that you can use to steer or pull the cart.

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