So, how to fasten the grid together?

retired member 2 Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:11 pm

I am ready to put my grid on my boxes and am wondering what everyone did to hold the grid together at the intersections. I was going with the nut and bolt idea, but my husband says that is not the cheapest or the easiest. Ideas?

boffer Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:13 pm

another option is aluminum pop rivets

GlassHen Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:51 pm

This is what I did for our grid last year and it worked out perfect. I was able to reuse it this year too.

I notched out some cheap lathe with a circular saw so they "locked" together on their own...

I found a bundle of these 48" scraps for super cheap, so I picked it up. At first I was going to lie the grid flat and screw it together. But that to me seemed like too much work and a waste of 40 screws. I decided to make a self locking grid.

So, how to fasten the grid together? 09DSC_3189

So, how to fasten the grid together? 09DSC_3189

I clamped the wood together and using a circular saw I cut them down to size and made some notches. I made the notch directly in the center first and then I measured 12 inches out from the center for my second and third notches.

So, how to fasten the grid together? 10DSC_3190

So, how to fasten the grid together? 10DSC_3190

So, how to fasten the grid together? 12DSC_3198

So, how to fasten the grid together? 11DSC_3195

All I had to do next was slide them together in the boxes. No screws necessary.

So, how to fasten the grid together? 13DSC_3199

Hope that helps someone Smile

ashort Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:56 pm

GlassHen wrote:This is what I did for our grid last year and it worked out perfect. I was able to reuse it this year too.

I notched out some cheap lathe with a circular saw so they "locked" together on their own...

I found a bundle of these 48" scraps for super cheap, so I picked it up. At first I was going to lie the grid flat and screw it together. But that to me seemed like too much work and a waste of 40 screws. I decided to make a self locking grid.

I clamped the wood together and using a circular saw I cut them down to size and made some notches. I made the notch directly in the center first and then I measured 12 inches out from the center for my second and third notches.

All I had to do next was slide them together in the boxes. No screws necessary.

Hope that helps someone

Brilliant - nice job

to the OP - I just use string wrapped around screws on the frame...

sherryeo Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:01 pm

clb58,

I don't even know what an aluminum pop rivet is - but Boffer is very knowledgeable and I'm sure what he suggests works great. I am in awe of GlassHen's method. But my husband is really not very carpentry-oriented. We just used a staple gun and stapled our pieces of lath together and to the frame. It may not be as elegant as other methods, but it's good enough for me. The lath that we were able to find seemed pretty flimsy and I'm not sure it would have held up with heavy screws, anyway.

retired member 2 Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:14 pm

Boffer what are aluminum pop rivets?

kjenkins82 Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:25 pm

I used the straightest pieces of bamboo I could find and tied them with garden twine at 12 inch intersections. They may not be completely accurate but pretty close and I like the way the look. Smile

GlassHen Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:28 pm

Sherry Owens wrote:
I am in awe of GlassHen's method. But my husband is really not very carpentry-oriented.

My husband isn't carpentry-oriented either....doing this grid project is how I learned to use a circular saw. Smile

sherryeo Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:46 pm

GlassHen - You go, girl! I'm proud of you - getting what you wanted done even if hubby couldn't do it! I'm all for that - unfortunately my desire to be independent, self confident and pro-women's lib goes out the window when the threat of power tools arises - I'm afraid of the noisy things!

boffer Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:59 pm

GlassHen wrote:My husband isn't carpentry-oriented either....doing this grid project is how I learned to use a circular saw.

Good for you! Cutting boards in half is one thing. Cutting these kind of notches with a circular saw is something else altogether. Uh...I don't know if I would have been comfortable doing it with a circular saw!

Anyhow, rivets look like this, they come in different diameters and lengths:
So, how to fasten the grid together? Zrivet10

So, how to fasten the grid together? Zrivet10

They are installed with a tool that looks like this, about $25
So, how to fasten the grid together? Zpop-r10

If you need the grid to fold up (collapse) then nuts and bolts or rivets work well. If not, tying the intersections with string, or zip ties, or baling wire, or whatever, will work fine.

A lot of us are starting to use string or yarn for a grid. It's just too cheap and easy not to, and the plants don't seem to notice the difference! Wink

BackyardBirdGardner Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:18 pm

If money is of concern, a lot of us use string. Personally, I also like the look better. I feel string gives me more planting room than lath.

Measure every 12 inches around the perimeter of your bed. Drive either a nail, screw, or an "eye" screw into your marks. Just run your string lengthwise down and back and down and back. Then, do the width the same way. Your strings will obviously cross and you will have a grid in no time.

String and nails are cheap, relatively speaking.

quiltbea Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:33 pm

I've tried venetian blind slats last year, and they were pretty good, but they move in the wind so I had to put rocks on them to hold them in place.

This year I screwed 3/4" screws along the top at the foot marks on my raised beds and attached twine.
So, how to fasten the grid together? 04-12-14

So, how to fasten the grid together? 04-12-14

Like so. Easy and cheap.
I tried screwing inside the box but I found that the twine just wouldn't hold at that angle. It kept popping off. Instead I put the screws along the top and now it works fine.
The venetian blind you see inside my A-frame is just a temporary marker. I put in 2 tomato transplants so I have some maturing into late fall inside the A-frame, one at the tallest points on either side of the frame, so I don't put a twine marker there. The blind slat will be suitable there since its where I will put plants I am hardening off and where I'll start new lettuce until they can go in the garden..

Mirjam Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:49 am

hi, it depends on what you use for a gid; I used thin wood lath, and I just stapled them together with an electric stapler (the kind you use for upholstery and stuff, not the kind you use for paperwork).

Goosegirl Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:36 am

GlassHen wrote:
Sherry Owens wrote:
I am in awe of GlassHen's method. But my husband is really not very carpentry-oriented.

My husband isn't carpentry-oriented either....doing this grid project is how I learned to use a circular saw.

Mine either. I borrowed a drill from work to assemble my boxes (can't find my charger) over the weekend, but had to do a bit of cutting as well (circular saw). When Monday morning came around Hubby asked if I was taking the saw back as well, I just grinned and said "No way, that's MY saw!" He just gave me a disgusted look and shook his head...

yosoypanadero Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:02 pm

Brilliant - nice job

to the OP - I just use string wrapped around screws on the frame...

Same here, 2 1/2" wood (deck screws) to hold the box together, and hemp string wrapped around every foot to grid it off. I did that lath in the first year, it got old fast, started rotting, and i didn't like how soil stayed up underneath the lath, I wanted it all to be smooth.

CindiLou Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:52 pm

I use eye screws so I won't scratch myself. It and twine make a nice easy grid.

Dunkinjean Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:28 pm

My husband and I made a 4 x 4 for our son and family in NY state and used twine and thumbtacks as a grid and it worked fine! Very Happy

Dunkinjean

ashort Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:46 pm

yosoypanadero wrote:

Brilliant - nice job

to the OP - I just use string wrapped around screws on the frame...

Same here, 2 1/2" wood (deck screws) to hold the box together, and hemp string wrapped around every foot to grid it off. I did that lath in the first year, it got old fast, started rotting, and i didn't like how soil stayed up underneath the lath, I wanted it all to be smooth.

Didn't think about using hemp string... I guess when season is over, you just light it up... So, how to fasten the grid together? 53366

**Furbalsmom** Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:45 am

I used hemp string last year and it did not last the whole summer season. Sad

This year I am using nylon mason twine in some boxes and 1/2 inch thick cedar my husband ripped from scrap wood for at least one box. the cedar is put together with bolts, washers and nuts so I can collape the grid and put it away over the winter.

kevin95630 Fri May 13, 2011 2:17 am

I used the slats from a cheap set of vinyl blinds ($10 new, free if you can scavenge them), and held them together using plastic snap rivets. You can find the plastic snap rivets at a computer or electronic supply place. They use them for holding things in place in computer enclosures. They work great because you don't need a tool to push them together, they are plastic, so they last forever, they are small and easy to work with, and cheap (a couple dozen for $2).

Nicola Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:05 am

kevin95630 wrote:I used the slats from a cheap set of vinyl blinds ($10 new, free if you can scavenge them), and held them together using plastic snap rivets. You can find the plastic snap rivets at a computer or electronic supply place. They use them for holding things in place in computer enclosures. They work great because you don't need a tool to push them together, they are plastic, so they last forever, they are small and easy to work with, and cheap (a couple dozen for $2).

I know it's been a couple of years... Do you still use those? If so, can you post a picture? (I'm looking for replacements for the ones in the grids I got from the SFG Store. My mom says they used to use something like that, but metal, to hold legal papers in folders in the 50's)

jjlonsdale Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:18 am

I used 3/8" dowel rods from Lowe's. They were 76 cents each and they already come in 4' lengths. Then I used zipties (the small 4" kind, something like four bucks for 100) at the intersections. You just have to alternate the angle of your zip-ties: if you do one join with your ziptie at a / angle, the next one should be a \ angle, and so on. It was by far the easiest part of my whole garden setup!

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So, how to fasten the grid together?