Last week I made my first of three cold frames for the kitchen garden, using pallet wood, reclaimed 2 x 2's, a couple of old hedge laying stakes and some old aluminium double glazed windows that I had been keeping at the back of the wood store for this very project.
Each window measures approx 500W x 900L so I decided to fit two to each cold frame. Each lid measuring 1150W x 1000 D and due to the weight of the glass will be fitted with stout tee hinges.
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Making the lid from 50 x 50 reclaimed wood
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I had a look though my stack of pallet slats which I had denailed and chose 25 which were of a similar length and thickness and which after planing and thicknessing I ended up with 20 pretty much the same. Those that were cracked at the ends were cut down on the mitre saw and used for the side boards.
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| Fixing the beading to the inside of the frame |
The aluminium window frames were too narrow for fixings, so I ripped down some lengths of 50 x 50 on the table saw, into 15 x 15 beading and attached this to the frame with screws and waterproof PVA glue.
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| Marking up the top boards for the diagonal cut |
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| Cutting the diagonals for the two side boards with the Festool track saw |
In order to cut the diagonals for the top side boards I set up the Festool track saw on the MFT table holding the boards secure with dogs and rail clamps. Since installing the MFT top, I wonder how I ever managed without one!
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| Gluing the diagonals to the side boards |
I decided to glue each diagonal board to the one below with waterproof PVA glue. Due to my Titan planer thickenesser only having a 200mm wide bed, I was limited to gluing just two boards together. To make the clamping easier I glued the two opposite diagonals at the same time, which made up a rectangle and made for a very strong clamp. I left the boards to dry overnight and the next day the two sections were ready for planing.
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| Sanding the side panels |
After planing I assembled the side, back and front panels and sanded them with the DeWalt random orbital sander with 120 grit paper.
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| Dry fit with the glass panels in the lid |
The next step was to assemble the cold frame with the glass panels as a dry fit, to test for square and adjust as necessary! Then take the whole thing apart again and apply two coats of Danish Oil which works just as well outside, as long as a new coat is applied every year.
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| Applying the first coat of Rustins Danish Oil with a lint free cloth |
After the first coat had dried I denibbed the Danish Oil with a 240 grit paper and applied the second coat and let this dry overnight.
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| The cold frame sections laid out on the weed membrane |
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| Each panel came together easily |
The three cold frames will sit on a one metre wide weed membrane which will help keep slugs out, but allow the bed to drain easily. I was pleased to see that panels remained in square and screwed together easily and the lid fitted correctly.
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| Using a speed square to check for square |
The next day the cold frame was being made ready for starting seeds in trays and hardening off plants that had started arriving by post.
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| The heavy glass panels means there is no need for catches to hold the lid down in windy weather |
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| The lid is held open by two long and two short supports to regulate the temperature |
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| Now ready to receive plants and seed trays |
The build took about five days from laying out the windows on the bench to the cold frame being ready for planing. Had I been using new wood this could have been reduced by a couple of days, but considering this was made from rough pallets and an assortment of reclaimed wood, I am very pleased with the result.
