How to!!
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Right this is a quick and cheap "How to" for making a portable, fixed height breaking board holder for around £30-£40.

I have tried to make this step by step guide, and parts list as simple as possible, and all the photos are from me making this very thing in August 2009.

Parts list:
1 Sheet of 12mm thick Plywood 120cm x 60cm
1 Sheet of 6mm thick Plywood 120cm x 60cm
32ft of 3"x2" planed timber
4ft of 2"x1" rough sawn timber
2 x 1 metre lengths of M10 threaded rod
4 x 120mm long M10 Coach Bolts
12 x M10 Wing Nuts
12 x M10 Repair Washers
1 Box of 2" long wood screws
1 Box of 1" long wood screws
Wood Glue

Tools:
Wood Saw
Hacksaw
Hammer
Wide Wood Chisel
Power Drill
10mm Drill Bit
2 x G Clamps
Philips Screwdriver
Sandpaper & Electric Sander

Right here goes for the main event:

Making the Box & Legs
Step 1
Cut 2 pieces 30cm x 60cm, 2 pieces 28.8cm x 30cm, 2 pieces 28.8cm x 28.8cm, and 2 pieces 4cm x 30cm from the 12mm Plywood.
Step 2
Cut 4 legs from the 3x2" timber (I made mine 120cm (4ft) long and they worked out great for me)

Step 3
Take the 2 30x60cm  and the 4x30cm pieces, and glue together as shown below, and hold in place with the clamps. Once the glue is set secure with screws.

Step 4
Take the 28.8x30cm pieces and carefully cut an arc in one end on the 28.8cm edge of both pieces.

Step 5
Cut 4 pieces of the 2x1" timber to length so that they are 24mm shorter than the distance from the straight edge to the centre of the arc cut previously and attach to the top and bottom edges of the pieces from step 4, 12mm from the straight edge, with screws and glue.
Step 6
Next attach the pieces assembled in step 5 to those made in step 3 so that the steped parts are facing inwards.

Step 7
Now fit the 28.8x28.8cm pieces to the front and back to complete the box as below

Step 8
Cut 1 piece 15cm x 30cm, 2 pieces 30cm x 5cm, and 2 pieces 30cm x 2.5cm from the 6mm thick plywood.
Step 9
Draw a pencil line along the bottom of the box 5 cm from each long edge.
Step10
Glue one of the 2.5 cm pieces from step 8 to the inside of each line, so you have a 15 cm gap between them. The glue the 5 cm pieces on top of this to create a slot for your board support.
Step 11
Secure the the above pieces with screw, being carefull that no points stick out through the surface on the other side, and slide the 15x30cm piece into the slot created in step 10.

Step 12
Sand all the edges to remove any sharp corners or splinters, round the corners of the board support and "jaws"

You should now have a fairly sturdy box and 4 legs. At this stage the box can be tested on the floor by placing a board on it while it is facing upwards, and breaking with a downward kick etc...

The board support installed in the bottom should be a "loose" fit, and may require sanding and a little white grease to free it up. It is also long enough to hold 8-9 boards depending on thickness and weight!!!

Making the Base
Step 1
Cut 2 pieces 120cm long from the 3x2" timber.
Step 2
Lay the Box you made on its side and place 2 of the legs on top of it one on top of the other, and measure carefully the total width of the box and legs.
Step 3
Cut 4 pieces of the 3x2" timber to the length of the measurement in step 2 PLUS the width of your timber.
Step 4
Mark a line the exact width of your timber away from each and of the pieces you cut in step 1, and carefully cut with the saw half way through the timber on the lines.
Step 5
Repeat step 4 for the shorter lengths you made in step 3.
Step 6
Using the hammer and chisel carefully remove the end pieces from each length of timber in steps 4 and 5 to leave a step in each end.
Step 7
Measure 40cm from each end of the longer pieces and make a mark. Lay one end of a short piece centrally on this mark and draw 2 lines to mark the width of this piece. Repeat until all four have been marked out.
Step 8
Repeat the processes from step 4 and 6 to remove a recess for each of the pieces marked.
Step 9
Join all the pieces together with screws to create a frame as shown below.

Nearly there now!!! You should have a box, 4 legs and a base ready to put together.

This is the hardest part to get right!!!

Assembling the Board Holder
Step 1
First lay the base frame on the floor preferably flat and level!!! Take 2 legs and stand them inside, one at each end so that they meet at the top in the middle. Mark a line across the legwhere it meets the base.
Step 2
Cut the bottom of the leg off parallel to the line you drew in step one, cutting from the corner so that you end up with an angled end. repeat for the other 3 legs.
Step 3
Place all the legs in position and drill a hole through the base and leg. Secure using the Coach Bolts and wing nuts as shown. (I numbered each one so they always go in the same place and will always fit)

Step 4
Mark a point on the box exactly in the centre between the arc cutout and the rear edge.
Step 5
An assistant is recomended for this part. Line up the mark made in step 4 with the point where the 2 leg meet and hold in position.
Step 6
Drill a hole through each leg and the box, 3cm from the top. Repeat this for each leg making sure that the box is kept parallel with the base at all times.
Step 7
Cut one of the M10 threaded rods in half and one through each set of holes all the way through the legs and box. Secure in place with repair washer and wing nut on each end.
Step 8
Repeat step 6 & 7 further down the leg approx, 3cm from the bottom of the box.

You now should have a fully assembled and ready for use Breaking Board Holder.


All that is left is to cut the excess ends off the threaded rods, and maybe add an elastic strap to hold the boards, oh and HAVE FUN!!!

I hope you have all found this usefull, any feedback greatly appreciated. If you have any questions then feel free to ask, i will try to help if I can.

Written by: Alasdair Walkingshaw - 5th February 2010
[Comments: 2]

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