Wooden Wheel Barrow

 Making a Wooden Wheel Barrow

Completed Wheel Barrow.

This is going to be a long-term project as I intend to use greenwood for the wheel. A good book giving some details of an early wheel barrow design written in 1917: "The Complete Woodworker" edited by Bernard E. Jones on pages:349-352. Interestingly he starts by saying that "the greatest drawback to the ordinary wheel barrow is that more than half the weight of the load and barrow are borne by the arms and shoulders of the user." The design he illustrates allows the greater part of the load over the wheel and "is much easier to handle, and therefore more suitable for female farm-workers and gardeners and amateurs generally, the greater part of the load being carried over the wheel, thus taking much weight off the arms. In fact in some Chinese wheel barrows, the wheel is placed in the centre so that the load is directly over the wheel. The barrow illustrated in Bernard Jones's book, is also shorter than modern versions, and narrow enough to pass through a 2 ft 6 in. doorway with deep sides, being desirable features for stable use. Unfortunately, he does not give much information about the construction of the wheel (the author advises to get the wheel from a wheelwright) but does give some dimensions and that it is constructed as four spokes (or two straight through spokes) one rectangular and the other square rather than round.

I chose to adopt the design illustrated by Bernard Jones with some modifications in construction and materials. As the wheel components dried over the summer, I purchased kiln-dried ash for the chassis elements (excluding the main barrow). The design intent for the wheel barrow was to enable easy disassembly for storage purposes when not in use. The materials used in the construction are listed at the end of this section.

Making the Felloes and Spokes.

The felloes are the pieces that make up the rim of the wheel. The four felloes were crafted from green ash that was felled in January 2024. The trunks of the ash, approximately 16 cm in diameter, were split  and then fashioned into rectangular slabs, roughly 9 cm wide, 5 cm thick, and 33 cm long, using a carving axe and a froe before being set aside to dry.

The green wood for the felloes left to dry.

I had originally planned to use eight spokes to connect the felloes and the hub but after reading the account by Jack Hill ( The Complete Practical Book of Country Crafts, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK, p 133.) about traditional wooden wheel barrows in England made with four spokes, I decided to follow that design. Although there are four spokes, they are really two pieces of wood that pass through the centre of the hub to connect to the four felloes. These two pieces are quite different. One is rectangular in the centre (3 inches by 1 inch) passing through the hub and then tapered at both ends to cylindrical spokes that pass through the felloes. The other is one spindle that passes through the hub and the rectangle section of the spoke to fix into the rim. 

I made the rectangular-sectioned spoke from a single piece of ash, split from a trunk and roughly shaped with a drawknife and axe. I levelled one wider face with a roughing plane and a smoothing plane. The opposite face was reduced to a thickness of 30 mm using a kerfing plane and a rip-frame saw, then finished with a smoothing plane. The narrower faces were planed to achieve a final size of 60 mm in width, 26 mm in thickness, and 450 mm in length. The final shaping will occur after the ash has dried. Although narrower than the 3 inches (75 mm) specified in Jack Hill's book, I believe this variance is not critical. The spoke ends will be trimmed to 25 mm on the pole lathe once the wood is dry.

Rectangular spoke left to dry. The two ends will be shaped to cylinders after is has dried.

The other spoke was prepared from a section of cleaved ash by cutting and shaping on the spindle lathe. This was about 30 mm diameter and will be adjusted to 25 mm after it has dried.

The spokes were made from the air dried ash that had previously been  roughly shaped. The rectangular cross-sectioned spoke was shaped at each end ready for mounting on the pole lathe. The ends were turned down to 7/8 inch diameter for the first 3 inches and then shaped using a spokeshave being careful to keep the rectangular section in the middle that will go through the hub mortice.

Shaping the ends of the rectangular spoke.

Spoke when near completion. The ends are 7/8 inch diameter.

When dry, the felloes were cut to shape. This was aided using a piece of underlaid plywood with a drawing of the wheel and 1/4 segments. Another piece of plywood was cut to the shape of a felloe and was used to mark the shape onto the ash dried sections. One face of each felloe was chosen to make flat and planed and checked with a ruler and winding sticks. The shape of the felloe was then drawn onto the flat face and then the outside edge was sawn leaving a little waste to plane to the exact shape needed. The outside edge was then planed to the line making sure it was perpendicular to the other edge. After this the inside edge was drawn, sawn and planed as needed. Finally the width of the felloe was marked to 40 mm and sawn to the line and then planed smooth.

A felloe clamped for sawing.

Sawing a felloe, hard work with a lot of further planing to get the right shape.

A felloe prepared and compared with the plywood underlay to check the shape. The underlay will also be used to mark the centres of the felloes and the positions of the axle through the hub.

The rim of four felloes braced to check the size before marking the spoke positions.

 

Drilling a felloe for a spoke tang to fit. 

Construction of the Wheel : Making the Hub and Connecting the Spokes and Felloes.

Ash trunk used to make the hub.

The hub was made from a trunk of ash using a draw-knife and axe in preparation for mounting on the pole lathe. Traditionally, the hubs were made using elm but this is now hard to come-by. The size was adjusted so that the central part of the hub was 77 mm in diameter and the ends were 58 mm in diameter. Final refinements will be made after the wood has dried.

Hub after initial lathing. The cylinder on the left is just surplus wood (later used to make a mallet). The central cylinder is 77 mm in diameter for a length of about 80 mm. The ends are 58 mm in diameter and the total width of the hub is 300 mm.

The hub was left to dry in the workshop and the mass measured at intervals over the summer of 2024. All greenwood parts had their end-grain sealed with wax before storage to reduce the chance of splitting and to minimise distortion. 

3 rd May: 1425g and 4 th June: 1290 g indicating a loss of 1350 g, i.e. 9% of original mass. On 8 July it weighed 1230 g and 1234 on 23 July indicating about 13 % loss in mass. It weighed 1236 g on 15 th August indicating it had equilibrated with the atmosphere and was ready for further work. For this purpose, the piece was returned to the lathe and the diameter was reduced to accommodate the fitting of the steel rims as shown below. I attempted to heat them before installation but discovered that it made very little difference to the fitting. This is probably because of the small diameters of the rim and so their expansion on heating was small.

Hub with the steel rims fitted and ready for the axle stubs to be fitted. The piece of wood on the right is the wood that will be shaped for the first through spoke.

The positions of the spokes through the hub were marked by drilling a hole in the underlaid plywood (see the description of making the wheel felloes below) and setting the hub upright through the hole so that the spoke positions were diametrically opposite and at right angles to each other.

Marking the hub for drilling and morticing for the spokes.

The hub through-mortice was started by carefully marking the rectangles on both faces of the hub and then drilling 1/2 inch auger hole through the centre, starting from each side and meeting in the middle. Further smaller holes were drilled to roughly define the mortice. The rest of the mortice was chiselled from each side and then the spoke inserted in stages to get a close fit.

The second ash spoke was finished on the pole lathe and adjusted to 7/8 th inch diameter. The mortice for the spoke was drilled using a number 13 (13/16 th inch diameter) auger being careful to meet in the centre of the hub. The spoke diameter was trimmed to get a close fit in the mortice. It is very important to get the spokes in the correct alignments with each other.

Having drilled the hub for the spokes, the felloes were drilled for the tangs. The rectangular spoke was fitted into the hub and the felloes laid in position for the tang positions to be marked and then drilled as shown above. Once the rectangular spoke was fitted, the cylindrical spokes were marked with the felloes in place. Great care is needed in getting the correct angles, positions and level of the drill holes. The wheel was then assembled, tightened and planed to its final shape ready  fitting the steel rim.

Finished wheel without the steel rim fitted.

The iron rim for the wheel was cold bent to a circle of approximately 400 mm diameter. To do this I made a semi-circular former of thick pine and using clamps bent the rim around the former as shown:

Forming the mild steel rim using a former and clamps.

The traditional method of making the rim would probably involved steel rollers or the Blacksmith's smithy and would have made a more perfect circle in circumference than I was able to by cold working. 

The next step was to complete the tyre by joining the two ends with a butt weld. The circumference measurement is important as the tyre is fitted when it is heated to several hundred degrees on a fire and then hammered onto the wheel. I calculated, using the linear expansion of mild steel, that the expansion at 400 C would be around 8 mm so that the inner circumference of the tyre had to be 8 mm shorter so that when expanded it would closely fit the wheel. I measured the relevant distances using a "traveller", a circular disc about 5 cm in diameter mounted on a handle, and then cut the tyre 8 mm short. I no longer have my MIG welder equipment, so got a local engineering firm to make the butt weld. I checked the size after welding by trying to mount the tyre when cold (about 10 C at the moment) but as expected the tyre was too small. 

The next task is I think difficult and one that wheelwrights would have had great experience, that is mounting the tyre on the wheel to get a tight fit and force the wheel components together. Remember that at his stage the wheel is not glued  at all and it will depend on the tyre to hold the components rigid. The tyre was bedded in a wood fire set in a large barbeque stand and heated for over one hour. The steel should reach at least 400 C and maybe as high as 1000 C before it was removed for mounting on the wheel. I think it is important to fix the wheel horizontally so that it cannot move  to enable the tyre to be hammered into position. Wheelwrights had a special metal jig for two people to do this and metal tongs to hold the rim and also prise it into position. 

The tyre embedded in the fire with the wheel clamped in position.

My first attempt was not successful, partly because I was not holding the tyre well enough, and also because the tyre deviated in places from a circular shape. In my second attempt, I was aided by my daughter, Emily, who was able to hammer and hold the tyre on the opposite side from me hammering it into position. Once it was engaged with the wheel all around it, it was just a matter of hammering into position and so tightening the wheel and pulling the felloes together. It certainly seems like a two person job especially with the high temperatures involved. The rig was then doused with water to cool the wheel. Much to my relief, the tyre did fit tightly. 

The wheel after mounting the tyre and during the cooling stage.

Construction of the chassis.

The plan for the chassis was drawn from the information given in "The Complete Woodworker". The angle of the strines (the two arms of the wheelbarrow) was calculated as 5 degrees from horizontal. 

Sketch of chassis of the wheel barrow. Dimensions in mm.

 Although it was tempting to make the chassis before the hub and felloes were dry, I decided to wait as the dimensions of the frame and axle mounting blocks depended on the width of the hub. 

Sketch of the mounting blocks showing the position of the steel tube for the axle and also the position of the hub. The height and width of the block is 50 mm and will be attached to the frame by bolts. The hub will run parallel to the frame and mounting blocks.

The ash mounting blocks were 250 mm long and 50 mm in cross section. A section was chiselled out to make the block flush with the hub and so allow the strines to diverge at an angle of 10 degrees, i.e. 5 degrees on each side. Holes were drilled 65 mm from the front for the stainless steel tubes where the axle will pass ensuring the correct angle. Holes were also drilled for the 10 mm galvanised bolts that will secure the blocks to the end of the strines. Finally, the blocks were shaped as shown. 

Axle trunnion  block showing the hole for the axle and the holes to attach it to the underside of the strine. Note that the axle hole is 5 degrees off normal to compensate for the divergence of the wheelbarrow arms.

The next job was to mount the wheel on the trunnions. This involved drilling holes in the hub to screw in the 20 mm stainless steel bolts. It is crucial that these holes are drilled in line so that the bolts pass through the trunnions and allow the wheel to spin. I don't know how the Wheelwrights did this ( I cannot find any written records of this) but after much thought I decided to clamp the trunnions in place and with the correct strine alignment, pass the auger through the tube in the trunnion and drill into the centre  of the hub with the wheel correctly mounted between the strines. In his way the trunnions guided  the auger. As the auger was going into the end-grain  of the hub, I used a bull-nosed auger (I had a no 8 or 4/8 inch auger available) to get to a depth of 10 cm and then opened this out with s normal no 9 auger to allow the bolt to thread into the hole in the hub. 

The underside of the mounted wheel with the stainless steel bolts (axle) in place passing through the trunnion steel sleeve into the hub. The mounting blocks were attached using two 6 inch 10 mm galvanised bolts.

The last stage with the no 9 auger and screwing the axle bolt, were done with the wheel mounted in a vice.

The trunnions (now attached to the wheel) were then attached to the underside of the strines using 6 inch length and 10 mm diameter bolts.

The next stage was to connect the two sloats in place and hence fix the geometry of the base of the wheel barrow. By doing this after mounting the wheel, allowed some slight adjustment in the strine alignment so that the wheel rotated freely.

The legs were made from 50 x 50 mm ash. From the ground to the bottom of the strine was 380 mm and from the top of the strine to the top of the leg was 380 mm. The bottom of the leg was tapered to 44 x 44 mm and the top to 44 mm x 25 mm. The leg was made if two pieces set at an angle of 16 degrees. This was calculated from the dimensions given in "The Complete Woodworker". The pieces were joined by a scarf joint. I found the best way to cut these was by making a kerf cut along the long side of the joint on both sides and then sawing down being guided by the kerf channels. The joint was glued and the legs fixed to the strines using 8 mm stainless steel bolts.

A leg fixed in position by a bolt to the strine. The top piece was scarfed to the bottom and diverged 16 degrees from vertical 

I am not sure how the legs were originally made. It is possible that wood grown with a curve was used so that the grain followed the bend. Otherwise the legs could have been cut from a wide board but this meant some possible wastage and a weakness in the grain at the bend. I decided to keep straight grain in the two pieces and use bolts to strengthen the scarf joints,

The ash standards were cut from 520 x 45 x 32 mm stock and tapered to a thickness of 22 mm (7/8 th inch) at the top. The standards needed to be at the same divergent angle from the strines as the top of the legs and to do this the standards were housed into the strines at an angle of 10 degrees and also tapered just at the joint by another 10 degrees. The alignment of the standards and top of the legs was checked using an adjustable bevel and also by sight. They were attached to the strine with a M8 stainless steel bolts; the housing joint also stopped the standard rotating on the strine and so improved the overall strength.

A standard mounted in a housing joint in the strine and shaped to an angle to match the leg top.

The main frame was treated with natural linseed oil and then three coats of yacht varnish. Further coats of varnish will be applied later. 

Some kiln dried redwood planks  ( 212 x 22 x 1000 mm) were purchased  for the wheel Barrow sides and bottom. My idea was to make the wheel barrow top so that it could be dismantled easily in order to carry different shapes and for ease of maintenance. The shape and size of the  sides and top on general was taken from "The Complete Woodworker". The bottom and two sides were first constructed. 

The bottom was made with the grain running length-wise to aid moving the contents in and out of the barrow. Using a jointing plane, the three sections were aligned and then glued and clamped. After finishing, the bottom was treated with linseed oil and the underside with varnish.

The sides were about a metre and their profile sketched with pencil before the first side was sawn and shaped with a spoke shave. The second side was copied from this and then the two clamped together for minor adjustments.

The next task was to make the sloping end-board near the handles. This is to be removable and so a groove on both sides was cut with a 1/2 inch dado plane (made in Glasgow by Carrick and Craig I think sometimes called a trenching plane or housing plane) and backed with a 20 x15 mm strip. As my dado plane is narrower than the required groove width, two passes of the plane were needed. Before using the dado plane, the edges were scribed and chiselled to facilitate cutting. The edges of the board were angled to lie flush in the groove. The height meant that two boards were glued together and a hand grip drilled and sawn.

Progress in making the bottom and sides. The first groove for the sliding end-board can be seen. Also note that the base board does not cover the entire front sloate but leaves space for the front board to be fitted so that it rests on the sloate and faces the edge of the bottom board. The same geometry was used for supporting the rear board.

Rear board placed in side grooves. Support strips will be added later.

The front boards are more complex as the aim is to get as much of the load of the wheelbarrow over the wheels. The lowest one meeting the bottom board is narrow (13 cm) and rises at a steep angle (about 60 degrees).The grooves on each side were cut to 7 mm depth using a plough plane and chisel. The edges of the grooves have to be angled (not the normal 90 degrees) to compensate for the slope of the two side boards) The front boards are difficult to shape and it did take time to get them right. I did this by removing the side boards on one side and then shaping the bottom of the board to fit the base. This meant planing at two angles as shown below. 

The shape of the edges on the bottom of the first front board. The bottom rests of the front sloate and faces the bottom board, The sides were also planed to fit the angle of the two strines. 

Then one end of the board was marked from a measurement with an angle bevel. Another bevel was used to measure the angle on the sides and then sawn to that angle and the mark already made across the grain. Final adjustments to this side were made after fitting the board to the base and into the groove. The other side was made in a similar way by marking the position of the groove on the side to match the other side and then making the housing as before. However, the tricky part is to make the final saw cut so that the board is the right length and fit tightly between the sides. The angle of the cut was taken using the angle bevel (basically the same angle as the first side) and the length was measured at the widest points between the grooves using two adjustable 6 mm dowels passing through a block, a simple internal measuring  stick. This was checked at the extremities of the housing at the widest points. This measurement should of course include the depth of the housing joints. The board was then sawn on the waste side following the marking across the grain and also at the correct angle to take account of the converging strines.

First front board set to raise the wheel barrow load above the wheel. The board meets the front sloate and base board and is housed in grooves ploughed into the sides. Marking for the middle front board are also seen on the righthand side. 

The next front board rises at a lower angle (about 25 degrees) and is 24 cm wide. Again, the shaping of the housing joint and edges of this board are challenging. The angle bevel and internal measuring sticks proved essential when combined with some trial and error making small adjustments to get a good fit. The edge joining to the first board was planed to give a close fit.

The second front board mounted in their housings (these are 7 mm deep on either side).

The third and final board was mounted in a similar way and matched with the second board  by carefully planning the edges.

A 8 mm galvanised threaded tie was set on the outside of the top board to prevent the top side boards bending under load. This is shown in the design in "The Complete Woodworker". The tie was placed in a narrow channel made with the dago plane and so prevented movement of the top board on both directions.

The third front board set in its housing and tied with a 8 mm  threaded screw set in a channel

The barrow top was then treated with several coats of linseed oil and further treatments later in the year.

Side view after the first treatment. The ash frame had already been treated three times with yacht varnish.

 

The barrow can be easily dismantled by releasing the steel tie at the front and then removing the rear panel (also easily removed for unloading if required), top front board and the top side boards. This allows the barrow to be used with smaller loads. The barrow can then be dismantled to the basic frame by removing the two front boards and the two lower side boards. Hopefully this will help in the longer term maintenance of the wheel barrow.

Wheel barrow with the top removed.

Materials.

Kiln dried ash was purchased as follows:

Strines: 50 x 70 x 1200 mm @2

Sloates: 34 x 67 x1200 mm @1 (these are the two bars on the bed between the strines).

Legs: 50 x 50 x1200 mm @2

Standards: 34 x 45 x 1200 @1 (two standards to support sides at the front sloat).

In addition the following ironware was purchased:

Bolts for hub/wheel: 2@ M16 by 150 mm long, stainless steel.

Bolts for legs and standards:4@ M8 by 110 mm, stainless steel.

Tube for trunnion block (block below strine that carries the axle): 20 mm OD and 16 mm ID, 100 mm long and stainless steel. The M16 bolts fit through comfortably).

Mild steel tubes for hub: 76.2 mm OD, 3.2 mm wall thickness, 50 mm length. These were cut in half to provide rings for each side of the hub.

57.2 mm OD, 1.6 mm wall thickness, 50 mm length (www.metals4u.co.uk).

Black mild steel flat bar for wheel tyre: 40 mm width, 3 mm thickness and 1300 mm length (www.metals4u.co.uk). This mild steel has a black scale formed by oxidation during hot rolling. It bends well when cold.

Book References for design features:

"The Complete Woodworker ", Cassell's Handcraft Library, General Editor:  Bernard E. Jones, 5th edition 1926.

The Complete Practical Book of Country Crafts" Jack Hill, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1980.