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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Tallahassee FL USA
    Age
    82
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    0

    Default Re-inventing the Wheel

    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
    Of course truth is stranger than fiction.
    Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    North Of The Boarder
    Age
    68
    Posts
    0

    Default

    Joe a new cross member with 2 bolts would fix it all and maybe some new wood too.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Munruben, Qld
    Age
    84
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    0

    Default

    Simple solution to the problem Joe and if it works, so well and good. Must admit I was thinking more along the lines of wheelinround. There's more than one way to skin a cat eh?
    Reality is no background music.
    Cheers John

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Tallahassee FL USA
    Age
    82
    Posts
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by wheelinround View Post
    Joe a new cross member with 2 bolts would fix it all and maybe some new wood too.
    BTDT, on separate occasions.

    In a more perfect world, an entire new wheelbarrow would make more sense. This is just a case of waste reduction. BTW, that's a new wheel on it - cheaper than having an inner tube installed.

    Cheers,
    Joe
    Of course truth is stranger than fiction.
    Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain

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