Implement for a Different Kind of Horsepower

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm planning another build. I invited my dad and brothers to come on the day after Christmas to have a project party and build a two wheeled horse cart. Between us there are a half dozen horses or so that we'd like to train to pull. Dad has a NICE carriage, but we don't want to hitch the young ones to the high dollar carriage. The goal of this project is to spend time together more than anything, but if luck holds out we'll end up with a nice cart to share between us.

I have most of the materials laying around from various projects. The Wheels will be from motorcycle forks I got when I traded an old parts bike that was my youngest brother's. The frame steel is from some ATV shipping racks that another brother got when he worked at a dealership. The wood is left over from my porch railing. I bought some foam rubber and some vinyl to do the seats, and I bought a few sticks of steel for the shafts and braces, etc.

Since you all have been so helpful on other projects I've done, I thought I'd post the plans here for critique and feedback. If the basic build goes well, I may end up adding a receiver hitch on the back and hydraulic brakes. The shafts are designed to be removeable. This will make the cart easy to transport in the back of a pickup truck. We'll also likely build a tongue someday to allow hitching a team.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

True to predictions, we started building today. I think my dad and brothers were a little frustrated that we didn't make more progress than we did. We got a great head start, though, and I think I can finish the rest in good time on my own.

There were four of us working. Cutting pieces was the bottle neck. There were times when three of us would be waiting for the next pieces to be cut so we could drill, weld, etc. We were making cuts according to the angles needed rather than in the order we needed them. The result was that I have a bunch of pieces already cut for the next time I get a chance to work on this project.

Here are some pictures of what we got done so far. The first picture is of the completed mounting frame for the wheels. The second picture is the pile of some of the parts we got cut.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Another note about the welder in case it helps someone else out...

Toward the end of the day my Millermatic 135 wire feed welder started developing a mind of its own. It would not always shut off when I let off the trigger. After dinner when all of my crew had left, I took some time to tear it apart and figure out the problem. I found that the connections to the trigger switch had frayed a bit. I'm assuming that some of the frayed ends were making contact with the other terminal and activating the welder. I taped the frayed ends and put the gun back together. I haven't welded with it yet, but it's not feeding wire unless I press the trigger.

As a bonus I've included a picture of my daughter helping us today. She loves working with me. She's actually a pretty big help.

 

[Craig Clayton]

My neighbour built a wagon to be pulled behind his Belguin horses. The length was around
14' long by 5' wide with 13" car tires and hydraulic brakes on Front or Rear or both??.
He said the brakes worked if the horses wanted to stop ,but if the horses wanted to run because they were scared they could drag it.

Craig Clayton

 

[NormL]

Another note about the welder in case it helps someone else out...

Toward the end of the day my Millermatic 135 wire feed welder started developing a mind of its own. It would not always shut off when I let off the trigger. After dinner when all of my crew had left, I took some time to tear it apart and figure out the problem. I found that the connections to the trigger switch had frayed a bit. I'm assuming that some of the frayed ends were making contact with the other terminal and activating the welder. I taped the frayed ends and put the gun back together. I haven't welded with it yet, but it's not feeding wire unless I press the trigger.

As a bonus I've included a picture of my daughter helping us today. She loves working with me. She's actually a pretty big help.

I'm watching this thread so I can poach ideas for a utility trailer that I need to build for around the yard. I have one that I built using a pallet for the basic platform. It works great! I need another for hauling stuff that needs a box to hold it in place and then maybe a dump as well.

I wish you well with your welder fix.:thumbsup: I had issues with mine last summer. I was able to patch it up and it has been working well ever since.

Looks like you have about as much snow as we did up until yesterday afternoon. Now its all white again - just a little late for Christmas.

Congrat's on having an enthusiastic helper! My granddaughter wants to be a helper at times and I can just see her in the picture of your daughter in a year or so.:thumbsup: All the best in the New Year!

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...He said the brakes worked if the horses wanted to stop ,but if the horses wanted to run because they were scared they could drag it.

Craig Clayton

Brakes on a horse cart are definately a training tool rather than a safety feature. They are helpful in reinforcing the rein queues to the horse. They are also helpful to steady things when someone is getting on or off.

I'm watching this thread so I can poach ideas for a utility trailer that I need to build for around the yard. I have one that I built using a pallet for the basic platform. It works great! I need another for hauling stuff that needs a box to hold it in place and then maybe a dump as well.

I wish you well with your welder fix.:thumbsup: I had issues with mine last summer. I was able to patch it up and it has been working well ever since.

Looks like you have about as much snow as we did up until yesterday afternoon. Now its all white again - just a little late for Christmas.

Congrat's on having an enthusiastic helper! My granddaughter wants to be a helper at times and I can just see her in the picture of your daughter in a year or so.:thumbsup: All the best in the New Year!

Feel free to poach any ideas you want. I don't think the motorcycle tires are a good idea for a utility trailer. They're not really made for carrying much weight.

Did you ever read my dump cart build thread? I got a bunch of help and ideas on that thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/87841-dump-trailer.html The actual build starts around post #45.

 

[NormL]

Feel free to poach any ideas you want. I don't think the motorcycle tires are a good idea for a utility trailer. They're not really made for carrying much weight.

Did you ever read my dump cart build thread? I got a bunch of help and ideas on that thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/87841-dump-trailer.html The actual build starts around post #45.

When I get started, the wheels will likely come off header "floaters" of an old mo-co. This utility trailer will be for towing behind a garden tractor so we're not talking about tonnage for weight capacity.:laughing::laughing: Yes, I need to check out that dump cart build thread for inspiration.:thumbsup:

 

[grsthegreat]

I have 7 horse carriages... had 9 but sold 2 of them.

Brakes are great on the 4 wheeled carts...but kinda useless on the 2 wheeled rigs...as the horse simply drags the cart with the wheels spinning.

I had a training cart very much like the one your planning on building...an easy entry cart. It worked just fine.

I only sold it cause i train the new horses on the 4 wheel marathon carriage instead as its super heavy duty AND has brakes that demand respect from the horse
Now i only have two remaining 2 wheel carts, one is a show cart and the other is a forecart for pulling the team and the manure spreader.

your plans look totally doable . Brakes also add tremendous strain to the welds and can really over torque cheap wheels. Ive seen bicycle style spoked wheels explode using brakes and a fast moving horse.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I have 7 horse carriages... had 9 but sold 2 of them.

Brakes are great on the 4 wheeled carts...but kinda useless on the 2 wheeled rigs...as the horse simply drags the cart with the wheels spinning.

I had a training cart very much like the one your planning on building...an easy entry cart. It worked just fine.

I only sold it cause i train the new horses on the 4 wheel marathon carriage instead as its super heavy duty AND has brakes that demand respect from the horse
Now i only have two remaining 2 wheel carts, one is a show cart and the other is a forecart for pulling the team and the manure spreader.

your plans look totally doable . Brakes also add tremendous strain to the welds and can really over torque cheap wheels. Ive seen bicycle style spoked wheels explode using brakes and a fast moving horse.

Thanks for the advice on the brakes. I hadn't planned to hook them up initially. Maybe I'll postpone the brakes indefinately based on your advice. These tires are off a motorcycle. I'd think a motorcyle would handle some strain since it's made to brake from 60+ mph. The most helpful info is your experience that brakes on a 2 wheeled cart really don't do much.

Here are some more pics of my progress. You have to use your imagination a bit to pick out the cart from all the stuff in the background. My tiny little shop sure is cramped. Tonight I got the seat brackets all welded up. They are just setting loose on the frame in the picture. I'll probably find some time tomorrow to get them welded to the frame.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

A little more progress. I doesn't look that much different than it did yesterday, but I did a lot of work. I welded in temporary brackets to hold the shape while I welded the wheel supports in place and screwed the seat on. I finish welded the places I had only tacked earlier. And, I cut out a few more pieces like the straps that will hold the seat together.

I'll remove the seat and back the next time I work on this project and attach the foam and vinyl.

 

[grsthegreat]

its coming along nicely :thumbsup:

 

[NormL]

Thanks for the advice on the brakes. I hadn't planned to hook them up initially. Maybe I'll postpone the brakes indefinately based on your advice. These tires are off a motorcycle. I'd think a motorcyle would handle some strain since it's made to brake from 60+ mph. The most helpful info is your experience that brakes on a 2 wheeled cart really don't do much.

Here are some more pics of my progress. You have to use your imagination a bit to pick out the cart from all the stuff in the background. My tiny little shop sure is cramped. Tonight I got the seat brackets all welded up. They are just setting loose on the frame in the picture. I'll probably find some time tomorrow to get them welded to the frame.

Man, it's comforting to see someone else works in a shop that's cramped for space. Every few months I have to go looking for the top of my workbench. That means putting away tools from old projects either completed or set aside for later, sometimes a lot later.:laughing: Then I'll start something else and you'd never know that anything ever gets tidied up.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Man, it's comforting to see someone else works in a shop that's cramped for space. Every few months I have to go looking for the top of my workbench. That means putting away tools from old projects either completed or set aside for later, sometimes a lot later.:laughing: Then I'll start something else and you'd never know that anything ever gets tidied up.

I liken my workshop space to a travel trailer. In a travel trailer, you make dinner in your kitchen. Then you convert the space into a dining room and eat. Then you convert back to a kitchen to wash up. When it's all done you convert the space into a living room to hang out until bed time when you make the space into a bed room.

It's the same in my workshop. It's a cutting area. Then it's an assembly area. Then it's a woodshop. Then an assembly area again. Then a paint booth...

 

[grsthegreat]

I used to have plenty of space in my shop. Then i had to add shelving to store my parts for my electrical contracting work. that took a large portion of my working room.

The 5x9 plasma table also takes up a good portion of floor space.

i think i need to totally empty out my shop , add insulation to the outer walls and re-organize the entire thing

but every time i think of starting this, i sober up and go take a nap:laughing:

 

[colinc]

Cute Fjords!

I have 7 horse carriages... had 9 but sold 2 of them.

Brakes are great on the 4 wheeled carts...but kinda useless on the 2 wheeled rigs...as the horse simply drags the cart with the wheels spinning.

I had a training cart very much like the one your planning on building...an easy entry cart. It worked just fine.

I only sold it cause i train the new horses on the 4 wheel marathon carriage instead as its super heavy duty AND has brakes that demand respect from the horse
Now i only have two remaining 2 wheel carts, one is a show cart and the other is a forecart for pulling the team and the manure spreader.

your plans look totally doable . Brakes also add tremendous strain to the welds and can really over torque cheap wheels. Ive seen bicycle style spoked wheels explode using brakes and a fast moving horse.

 

[grsthegreat]

Cute Fjords!

thanks... there spoiled rotten too :laughing:

 

[otis whitehead]

Just a Quick Note. Get your helper (daughter) some cotton work clothes. Looked like she was in a snow suit or some such outfit. As a welder of 20+years cotton is your friend and everything else not.cotton will burn yes but everything else melts and sticks to skin. Other than that looks like on cool/nice build.

 

[colinc]

cotton is your friend and everything else not. cotton will burn yes but everything else melts and sticks to skin.

An off-topic nugget of trivia: we chemistry types favor cotton lab coats for the same reason.

 

[grsthegreat]

An off-topic nugget of trivia: we chemistry types favor cotton lab coats for the same reason.

meth labs???

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Thanks for the heads up on the cotton clothes for the helper. Usually she's not that close when I'm welding. She helped me last night and she'd go to the other side of the shop and look away during the few minutes that I'd weld stuff.

I've never caught myself on fire welding. It's always when I'm grinding that I catch myself on fire.