Garden trug made from MDF

Garden trug illustrated

You will need:

– 9 mm thick MDF
– 18 mm thick MDF
– a plate and saucer
– a jigsaw
– wood glue
– nails and screws
– a hammer
– sandpaper
– a black marker and white pen

1. Outline

Take a piece of MDF with a thickness of 9 mm and mark out the outline of the tall, narrow end of the trug. Use a large plate and a small saucer to help you draw the round parts. Let your imagination run wild and design your own perfect trug.

Garden trug

2. Tall, narrow ends

First cut out one of the tall, narrow ends using a jigsaw. Then place this on top of the sheet of MDF. Draw around it with a pencil and saw a second end out. That way you can be sure that the two pieces are exactly the same shape.

Garden trug shaping

3. Base

Use a thicker piece of MDF for the base (18 mm). That way it will be easier to nail on the sides. Arrange the two tall, narrow sides at either end of the piece of wood and mark the width. Then saw the base out using a jigsaw.

Garden trug base

4. Long, wide sides

Make the long, wide sides from the 9 mm thick MDF. Use a plate to draw the curved parts again. Saw the first long, wide side out and then draw around it so you can cut out the second. Now you have all the parts you need and you can start putting your trug together.

Garden trug saw

5. Glue

Spread some wood glue on the sides and carefully nail all the separate parts of the trug together.

Garden trug glue Garden trug nails

6. Dividers

Two dividers will create three different sections for your tools. Copy the shape of the tall, narrow sides of the trug onto some MDF and then cut the dividers out with a jigsaw. You can simply glue these in place.

Garden trug dividers

7. Handle

You make the handle from a length of MDF secured to either side of the trug with a screw.

Garden trug handle

8. Sand

Finally, sand the trug all over to create a nice, smooth finished product. 

9. Illustration

Draw some flowers around the bottom of the trug with a black marker. Keep it simple. I added a little bit of white here and there too.

Garden trug with illustration