joe greiner
24th March 2010, 08:12 PM
Not the wheel itself, but one of its applications - a wheelbarrow.
Most cheap wheelbarrows, and some not so cheap, have a front cross-member secured to the frame by two bolts or carriage bolts, one for each side of the frame. The bolts line up well enough to allow rotation of the cross member when the bolts become only slightly loose. In storage, the wheelbarrow is often stood up, resting on the cross member. Rotation of the cross member can place the cross member in contact with the wheel. This is not good. Periodic tightening of the bolts becomes tedious. A better design would use two bolts on each side of the frame, at extra cost for materials and assembly labor, and I've rebuilt one wheelbarrow with such a new cross member.
A simpler fix, although not as robust, is to drill new holes in the legs of the cross member and the frame elements, and tie electrical wire for a secondary resisting component. Larger, solid wire would be somewhat stronger, and I'll use it when (or if) this first fix reveals its shortcomings. I wired both sides of the frame for redundancy.
Cheers,
Joe
Most cheap wheelbarrows, and some not so cheap, have a front cross-member secured to the frame by two bolts or carriage bolts, one for each side of the frame. The bolts line up well enough to allow rotation of the cross member when the bolts become only slightly loose. In storage, the wheelbarrow is often stood up, resting on the cross member. Rotation of the cross member can place the cross member in contact with the wheel. This is not good. Periodic tightening of the bolts becomes tedious. A better design would use two bolts on each side of the frame, at extra cost for materials and assembly labor, and I've rebuilt one wheelbarrow with such a new cross member.
A simpler fix, although not as robust, is to drill new holes in the legs of the cross member and the frame elements, and tie electrical wire for a secondary resisting component. Larger, solid wire would be somewhat stronger, and I'll use it when (or if) this first fix reveals its shortcomings. I wired both sides of the frame for redundancy.
Cheers,
Joe