Solving the Stuck Stacked Bucket Problem - It's This Simple

Storing five gallon, plastic buckets, because they have so many uses, is great, until you try to un-store one (pull one from the stack). Then you are reminded of the power of a vacuum, and how hard it is to overcome one when you are the only one in the room. In the end, you have to call three friends and uncle Tim (the Toolman type) to get one or two free.

Generally, you wrap your feet around the bottom bucket and it works, but that REALLY is a slippery slope. It, as often as not, doesn't go as well as planed and hoped. Likely as not, you manage to turn a stack of buckets into two stacks of buckets.

To overcome the vacuum problem, I've wondered why bucket manufacturers didn't add a straw down the side of the bucket. Actually, several, in case the one got crushed. That would allow air into the bucket and solve the super vacuum problem.

Meanwhile, lacking the drive and equipment to add those straws, I experimented. Like Edison and other great minds (come on, just go with it), I learned ways not to do it. For example, hot glue.

A hot glue line ran down the side of the bucket does create a gap between the bucket it's placed on and the bucket it's dropped into, but hot glue could, I suspect, be used to provide excellent tire traction of an icy road. In short, it solves the vacuum problem and creates a friction problem.

Just one more experiment in, I borrowed my first idea, which was, cut 1/16th inch pieces off a board and just stand a couple of them along the insides of a bucket, before dropping the next bucket in. This worked. However, it meant I had to keep the thin sticks upright, as I dropped the next bucket in, and not lose track of them, for later re-use, when I pulled a bucket out.

Then came my stroke of lame genius - hot glue the sticks in place, so they could be stacked, then removed from the stack with relative ease until their end of use date. The stick part was solid. The lame part came with [and, please, keep this on the down-low], I actually considered hot gluing the sticks to the inside of the buckets, before realizing they'd work just as well attached to the exteriors, and wouldn't affect the contents of the buckets, or be affected by the contents of the buckets.  

SIDE NOTE: This may be why we don’t store tubes of toothpaste and tubes of other, very dissimilar contents near each other in the bathroom.

In the end, this approach will work fine with round and square buckets.

Pick your poison (material you’ll use to add a gap making addition to your buckets):

Wood, from which to cut strips.

Para cord, or thin rope (approx. 3/16" to 3/8" diameter).

Paint sticks, old rulers or yard sticks. This is ideal, if you don't have a saw, or cannot safely cut the thin strips (e.g., use a zero-clearance-throat plate and a push shoe).

In a pinch, it may be you could accomplish building a gap maker on the side of your buckets by stacking layers of duct tape, or even cardboard, but it may not hold up as well as a strip of wood, or a cord.

(1.1) You need a table saw or a band saw to use the method I used, which was to cut, roughly, 1/8" by 1/2" strips cut to the length of the bucket.

(1.2) If you use a saw, use proper protection. For example: 

(a) eye protection;

(b) ear protection; 

(c) lung protection;

(d) a push shoe (to keep your fingers and hands away from the blade); and,

(e) a zero clearance throat plate, so the thin pieces don't fall into the saw (less a problem with the band saw).

SIDE NOTE: A push shoe is superior to a push stick for table saw work. They can be home made and disposable, or they can be commercially made. Both are used to push wood through the cut while holding the wood down and keeping your hand and fingers far above the cutting area.

A push shoe is at least 10" long, about 8" to 10" tall, and has a heel at the bottom back. It's used to push the wood past the blade, instead of using your fingers or hand.

(2) You need a hot glue gun and ammunition (glue sticks) for it.

(3) Razor knife (if you choose to split or cut stir sticks without a saw).

(4) Scissors (to cut the cord or rope, if you didn't opt for the razor knife).

(1.1) If using a saw, set the blade for 1/8" wide cuts.

(1.2) Safety equipment donned and push shoe in hand, run your wood through the saw and make as many strips as you think you’ll need (the number of buckets you anticipate needing to modify).

(1.3) Cut the strips to the length of the bucket (minus any ridges and things running around the circumference of the bucket. They should be, approximately 1" from the top and bottom of the bucket.

(2.1) If using paint sticks, you can cut them in half, the long way, with the saw or using the razor knife.

(2.2) If using the razor knife, scribe a line from the top to bottom, then run the line again, going deeper, until you either cut the stick in half or can snap it in half.

(3.1) Cut the rope or cord to the length you need, like you would if using the paint sticks or specially cut wood strips.

(1.1) If using wood strips, apply a generous amount of hot glue to the length of the wood stick.

(1.2) Before the glue begins to cool and set, apply the stick to the length of the exterior of the bucket, leaving about 1/4" gap at the bottom (so the stick will not come in contact with ground, to avoid it being pulled off);

(2.1) If using cord or rope, put a light dab of hot glue near the top of the bucket, where you want to start securing the rope or cord to the side of the bucket. Allow the glue to cool enough so that, lightly, tugging on the rope or cord will not pull it loose.

(2.2) Pull the rope or cord down the bucket and run a small bead of hot glue to weld the cord/rope to the side of the bucket. Try not to put so much glue on glue sticks above the cord/rope, to avoid the previously mentioned friction problem caused by the glue coming in contact with the bucket this bucket will be dropped into.

(2.3) When the rope is secured the length of the bucket, run a second, fine bead of glue down the other side of the rope/cord. Again, avoid getting glue above the rope line.

(3.1) Allow the hot glue to fully cool and your buckets are ready for use and storage.

(4) When using a glue gun, always allow time to blow on your fingers and to utter "words" after you touched the hot glue you were trying to avoid touching.   ;)