AusBonsai

Hi all,

I was wanting to have a workstation/bench that was at a good height so I could stand up straight when working on my trees. I found that the top of a wheelie bin was a suitable height, so I designed a work platform to sit on top. I made it a bit wider than the bin and left a gap at the back so I can sweep any branches or leaves straight into the bin. I have not seen this idea before and thought some of you may be interested.
Here are some pictures. What do you think?

regards, Matt

Hi Matt,

It does not look sturdy enough for me. It is ok for small pots, but for bigger ones, I am not sure if the top will hold.

I like the idea though. How do you attach the top to the bin? I imagine with nuts and bolts?

Thank you for sharing And enjoy bonsais

Cheers.

What a great idea...

Hey Matt

I have used the top of my bins to elevate a plant when spraying or examining.

I have thought of putting a sheet of wood on the top but shied off because of the uneven nature of the of the lid -- but now I see -- of course -- you just have to open the lid to get a stable surface -- off goes his head and on goes a pumpkin.

Thanks for sharing.

David

What a neat idea

Ken

Brilliant!
So simple yet so clever.
I think I'll make one myself.

Thanks everybody for your feedback! To answer some of your questions; I have braced the ply underneath so it is very sturdy and capable of holding anything I have put on it thus far; The whole unit just slides onto the bin from the front and sits on the border of the open bin. I plan to drill some holes through the back edge of the unit so I can thread some bonsai wire through and tie it to the handle of the bin (to stop it sliding forward.) This is my first attempt at making one of these and if I made it again, I would make some changes. Perhaps I'd attach a lazy susan to the centre?? I have found it very handy! You can move it around the garden by simply tilting it back as if you were taking out the garbage.

Cheers, Matt

Nice one Matt

There was something like this available a few years ago up here. It was for sale at one of the garden/home shows. A piece of sturdy ply bigger than the bin all around, but not much on the handle side. It had a routed groove the same as the top rim of the bin so it locked in, and had a hole at the edge for scraping rubbish into the bin. I thought was a brilliant idea and we had some at the nursery, but they musn't have taken off as I haven't seen them for years. Nice improvising.

Tony

Greetings, I used one for years until it fell to bits. I made it with some cheap timber and nails. It fell to bits when the nails rusted away. I'm sure a Brisvagas nursery, now closed, sold them. I now sit down to work on trees as I often doze. Bonsai is so relaxing.
Bimer AGM July 4th, see you there. Hear the tales about Peter Chan.
Happy bonsai,
Bruce

bonsaibruce wrote: I now sit down to work on trees as I often doze. Bonsai is so relaxing.

nice one Bruce

Good work Matt, should keep thing a bit tidier,,,

That's awsome.
I love the simplicity
How much will it cost to buy me one?

Tex

Tex,

I made mine out of a spare piece of 16mm ply, some 42x19 pine and a few screws. If you use recycled materials, you could almost make one for free. I also coated it in some decking oil to help the timber last.

Matt

Great idea......

as long as you don't have unsavoury things placed in your bins... such as the nappy bundles left by our 18 month son

good if you are lucky enough to have a green waste bin but not all councils provide that option.

Greetings, To correct a small typo in my prevoius post; The AGM of the Bimer Bonsai Club will be held tomorrow July 2nd 2011 at 1.30pm.
The formal part will be kept as short as possible, so the invited demonstrator Craig will have lots of time to show off his skills.
The prize for the raffle is a Black Pine that was styled by Peter Adams when he was at Bimer last year.
Visitors are always welcome and you will get a free cup of tea.
See you there,
Happy bonsai,
Bruce

What a great idea! We have a council green bin and if I used something like this I could throw/sweep all my prunings and weeds down the hole at the back saving heaps of time cleaning up! Just brilliant!

Chipper5