Newby need some suggestions & advice on a mini-project.

this is pretty confusing to me. a sand box only approx 2ft by 3ft that you want to carry? Sand is heavy so even that small of box may weigh 60-80 lbs and have maybe 6-10 cubic ft of sand. so you must only stand in it with those dimensions. If the weights not an issue you will need to build it out of 2X6 material in affect is only 1.5 inches X 5.5 inches and then you will need a floor made from 3/4” plywood big enough to be nailed or screwed to the bottom.approx, your out side dimensions of 3’6” X 2’ and if you are going to store this were you don’t want cats to use it as a litter box , you will also need a top the same size. I really don’t get what the other measurements are about. If you but a relatively smooth wood for the frame say 3×6 cedar decking then it should be smoother than say fir or pressure treated wood . If you don’t have tools to cut or nail this together you will need to borrow or buy those also.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Sorry for the confusion. It wouldn’t be to carry very far seeing as how it would only stay in my garage. I did figure the sand would be heavy, but not anywhere near 60-80lbs.

I thought as an alternative, making 2 smaller boxers roughly larger than each foot might be better. I’m not sure if it will be cheaper, but it definitely shouldn’t be as much sand. I’d assume all things stay the same except the outside dimensions, which would be more around 1’ X 2’.

If you got confused about the other measurements in regards to question #4, that’s completely unrelated. I just wanted something to stand on for extra height. I thought wood is an easy enough platform to go out and buy then some fancy fitness marketed product.

Thanks for the help Jim, and sorry for the unclear description I gave initially.

One each foot would limit you in exercises. Make it something you can do anything; from dead-lifts to jumping jacks, even put a bench for bench press. Stretching is something you may need room for. I think Jim is on to something with cedar.

-- Edward

I think the cedar would be more spendy and apt to split if a dumbbell were to be dropped on it. I think I would make a 3/4 plywood bottom, then frame the sides with 2×6s or 1×6s depending on how strong you want the sides and how likely the are to get hit by the dumbbells. I wouldn’t bother to finish it. I would glue and screw it together to keep it sand tiight.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Your box is 2.9 cuft. Sand weighs about 100 lbs/cuft. Just moving it from one place to another would be exercise enough!!!

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

What Lew said. The charts I have looked at shows 100-120 lbs/cu ft.

-- David, Southern Indiana

That’s why we have wheels :-))

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

The only way you could move something that heavy is with friends or wheels. If you don’t have a yard or somewhere to keep it, make it the inside measurement of the car that parks there -minus a few inches for driver error. Check the height between the deck (floor) and the lowest level of the vehicle, give it an inch or two clearance, so the car’s wheels can fit on either side and drive over it. Buy the sand from a cement mixing establishment, should be cheaper. If you need height above the sand, can you put a board at either end which would allow the 2 X ? to support it? I’d make it with 2×6, It will give you 5 1/2 inches in height. I’d also put something down over the plywood bottom on the inside -single ply membrane (rubber roofing), plastic tarp, something to protect your feet from splinters. Oh and either outside or inside, I’d put a cover over it -keep the cats and/or oil out. :) Have you checked to see if there’s a child’s sand box on craigslist or in the neighborhood that would fit the bill cheaper?

-- Elaine, Conover, NC