Wagons HOOO!
by
William
Advanced
The nursing home corporation I worked for as a Maintenance Technician had a Summer Fest at each facility every year for residents, family, and friends. This was a big wing ding! Live entertainment, games for kids, contests, and BBQ! We always had 300+ visitors at our facility. There were a total of ten facilities.They always had a theme. One year it was "Wild Wild West". Staff were to dress up in western garb.
Some wise guy at corporate decided to hold a contest among of all the facilities. They wanted a western style wagon as a center point of the fest. But it had to be handmade. The prize was $100 to every employee of the winning facility. Since many of the employees at my facility knew I was into woodworking, they threw the project on my shoulders.
Some wise guy at corporate decided to hold a contest among of all the facilities. They wanted a western style wagon as a center point of the fest. But it had to be handmade. The prize was $100 to every employee of the winning facility. Since many of the employees at my facility knew I was into woodworking, they threw the project on my shoulders.
I started looking online for pictures of wagons. I didn't want to make a Covered Wagon. Needed something that could be easily viewed. A Stagecoach was way too complicated for the short time I had. So I chose a Buckboard and settled on this design. I also took some concepts from other pictures, but this one look simple, easy, and quick to build. Didn't want to fail my coworkers.
It had to be smaller than full size, so I decided on 3' wide by 6' long wagon. Started with a 2X4 frame with 1X4 boards for the platform. The two long sides were 1X4's screwed to four 1X4 uprights and 1/2" plywood for the front and back for strength and stability. I turned the "box" over on saw horses and started work on the axles. The back axle was a 3/4" threaded rod wrapped in 1x4's and bolted it to the platform. The front axle had to be able to move and turn. So I made an "A" frame out of 2X4's and also a 3/4" rod wrapped in 1X4's. Attached the "A' frame to the bottom with a 6" bolt, washers, and nut so it would swivel. Added a 2X4 handle with a 3/4" dowel to pull the wagon. Was starting to look good.
The wheels took a little engineering. The rear wheels were two 20" discs with 1X2's for spokes screwed together and two disc for the hubs. Filled in the spoke gaps with pieces of 1X2's to make solid wheels. The front wheels were 14" discs to make up the for the 6" steering "A" frame. Put together like the back wheels. Drilled 7/8" holes in the hubs and mounted the wheels on the axles with washers and nuts so they would spin. Once I had it upright, I made a plywood upside down box for the seat. A plywood backrest mounted with two bent steel angles. A footboard also mounted with bent steel angles. Sprayed everything with three coats of polyurethane.
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4 of 10 comments
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What a wonderful end result!
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Wow and it’s a really great idea
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Thank you
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