DIY cheap/efficient “stackable” composter!
After reading many articles and reviewing many composters, I came up with an idea to make one using mostly free materials. First off, I will not get into the theory and practice of composting since there are so many excellent articles all over the net. However, I felt that there was room for improvement in both design, funtionality, and costs for the DIY ones.
I thought of this idea because a few years ago I found a ready source for free short pieces of wood (both cypress and pressure treated). That source happens to be the many fence makers found in many cities. 
As it turns out, they have stacks of this wood lying around, and they will usually give you all you want if you ask them. Here is a picture of the common “trimmed” pieces that are usually available. They are a couple or so feet long, about 8″ wide, and 3/4″ thick. These are nice pieces of wood and can also be used for many other projects or crafts (I will be posting plans for a “worm tower” made of these soon).
Basically, you just want to take a saw and trim the chamfered ends off and cut all pieces to the same length. Following this, just butt the edges of four pieces together and assemble with exterior screws or nails (I got lazy and used a air brad gun). 
The next step is to rip some thinner strips of this same wood (about 2″ wide) that will be used as both a stabilizer for the wood “box” we just assembled, and also will serve as “breathing” seperators for the different layers of compost tower (see pic on right). Note that I have a framing square placed inside the box as I fasten the stabalizers (be sure to get square before fastering etc). Also note that I have painted the outside of the boxes black. I just used cheap exterior black paint and a brush, and the idea was to absorb the maximum heat from the sun in order to spead up the breaking down of compost materials.
Here is the completed bin loaded with compost and “cooking away” in the sun. Note that I made four stackable layers and have set in on bricks. Also, if the black color is objectionable, I am sure that a dark green or brown would produce similar results without compromising much on solar heating. Of course, you can only use the amount of sections needed to accomodate your compost materials and you just keep stacking sections as it fills. Mix in nitrogen by adding manure or coffee grinds to help heat the pile, and if you are so inclined, add a little diluted urine to really speed it up! This complete project only took me about 2.5 hours! Next time I will be outlining the ease of operation in loading and moving the pile.
