Pioneers Were Innovative Wheelwrights | Engels Coach Shop
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- As eastern built wagons headed west, the wood dried and shrank, so adjustments had to be made to wheels in the drier climate. This shows one innovative method often used by pioneers who may not have had a blacksmith or wheelwright near by. Building and restoring horse drawn vehicles often reveals many hidden stories of the past.
These are some of the tools you see me use regularly in my shop;
The Rasp I like to use - 14” amzn.to/2wclyTI
The Big Hoof Rasp - 17” amzn.to/3nMh5NL
The Rebar Leatherman I use amzn.to/2vuvWpH
The silk scarf I wear amzn.to/2wGqKQf
My metal marking pencil amzn.to/2Hu75oB
Metal marking pencil refills amzn.to/3744EDP
Many of you know I am a Makita tool user.
I use Makita Cutoff blades amzn.to/39gln8f
I have several 4½” Makita angle grinders amzn.to/377snTp
I have several 7” Makita grinders amzn.to/3biF0hP
4½” Flap wheels amzn.to/386TyPy
My Makita cordless drill amzn.to/2OxQZ1e
My Milwaukee ½” cordless drill amzn.to/31BopBB
My Makita 3¼” Electric plane amzn.to/2OBkVcV
My Makita Leaf Blower, revolutionized my shop cleaning amzn.to/2Uywh5d
My Makita ½” drill, very powerful amzn.to/377uEhp
Helpful books concerning the carriage trade;
Carriage Terminology: An Historical
Dictionary amzn.to/2Hfoq4H
The Brewster Story - amzn.to/2wzrUNq
Practical Carriage Building amzn.to/3cJALfR
Wheel making: Wooden Wheel Design amzn.to/2TIxfK8
Carriage and Wagon Axles amzn.to/3aGDXav
An Interesting account of an early English Wheelwright Shop amzn.to/39sAICR
The Wheelwright Shop, in Kindle form amzn.to/3bxYOhd
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#Wheelwright #WagonWheels #HorseWagons
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Thanks for the corrections pronouncing Stoughton with a "oh" sound and not an "ah" sound. Locals are the best.
From one young man to another⁉😋👀....Thanks very much...👍
where do you get that thick leather from? can it be ordered online?
@@johndowe7003 There's a leather outlet in .Billings where I found it.
@@johndowe7003 montanaleather.com
Thank you for preserving the past. I am redoing a freight wagon, the rivets you are using for the box where would a guy get those.
This channel is not only about all the craftsmanship but about the history of the wagons and all their components!!!
Y’all realize how strong this guy is? Wagon wheels are a lot heavier than you’d think.
Too bad this guy is likely the last wheelwright. I’m glad he is documenting it.
I hope his daughter carries on with the trade
I was thinking the same thing watching him carry those hot steel tires from room to room at arm's length without making physical contact with them. That's not easy for a man half his age. I wouldn't want to arm wrestle him for anything worth more than a dollar or two.
He's not the last. There's always gonna be a need for someone to build, rebuild, fix and maintain these things for niche industries and such.
I guess there must be some wheelwrights left in the Amish community. They use horse drawn wagons daily, so I guess they're able to repair them.
@@horatiohornblower868 and luckyly their Religion does not forbid offering their service to outsiders.
It's late on a Friday evening. It's time for my weekly fix of Dave and his wagon-building. My week is complete. My best wishes to you all.
Watching you repair these old wagon wheels, I could just imagine them, old-timers, setting around a campfire, cutting the canvas, and fixing the wheels. Everything has a story to tell if we only look for it. Thank you, Dave.
Unsure how this channel showed up on my recommended, but what an informative video. A true showing of craftsmanship and art. Outstanding
Thanks Dave for telling us the stories behind these wheels, so we can appreciate and respect the lives of those who once depended on them. I love the history in your videos.
This is cathartic to watch. Glad we have the same name
a master at his trade, like poetry in motion
At the end of a hard week, there is something about watching you work on wheels that is mesmerizing and relaxing. They are simple and complex and require to the details. Thankyou for another great video.
Thank you for showing how much the wood shrank by showing how much metal you had to cut off the tires. I always knew wood shrank. But I didn't know it would be that much. It's made me a better woodworker because now I totally understand why it's important to the use the techniques in cross grain furniture applications. 👍. Sending lots of love 💖 from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵.😷
I certainly hope that someone is learning from you how to do the same things you do! Thank you for sharing!!!
In addition to inginuity, necessity is the mother of invention. And frugality is another trait of our forebearers. All are demonstrated in the settlers maintaining these old wheels.
Good morning to all from SE Louisiana 12 Feb 22.
Thanks Dave! You have helped me out with the wheelwright passages in my book before, and now my editor has come up with the idea that our main character is going to be fixing a wagon wheel along the trail in Wyoming. You have given us both the reason (eastern made and it has dried out) and the method (using leather from an old boot he found.)
Thanks again!
You're welcome!
I am a machinist/ toolmaker and I am truly amazed at the shear amount of specialty tools that you have made or acquired to do what you do. You are the definition of a true Craftsman. I don’t know why, but ever since I was very young I have always had a fascination with wagon wheels and how they were made. I appreciate your videos.
Fascinating history and ingenuity. Survivors.
Thanks for the great lesson today. Still have the humidity problems with the wooden things being buit in the East and going to the dry land in Colorado too. You did an awesome job with the preservation of the wheels . Appreciate your skills Dave.
Love this mixing of history in your video's!!!
Absolutely fascinating to not only watch a skilled Artisan at work but to also admire the tools he has developed from old bits and pieces over the years to assist him in his craft. I could watch this for hours....and I do.
Thanks for your nice movie and thanks for looking to the futur with your art of making/rebuilding these wooden wheels ! regards from Brussels Europe
thank you for your videos I really appreciate see you soon.
One of those "temporary" repairs that are only temporary until they stop working... 200 years later.
One of the coolest channels on RUclips!!
That was super awesome!!! 👍👍😊
love that punch. your rivet tool ...Nice use for an old crow bar.
Learn something new every day.
We hear about the rough time pioneers had going west, food shortage, bad weather, rough terrain, sickness and death. This video brings to light one more thing they had to contend with. Love your videos.
Wow, that was really interesting about the canvas!
This is a dream job for me. I hope someone who is much younger and smarter then me will pick these skills up. I wanted to 20 years ago, but chose a different profession that was just as satisfying. At that time I didn't have the Internet to see there were choices.
Watching you work on wheels never gets old for me. Thanks and best wishes.
Until watching you I never realized there was so much to being a wheel wright. I like to build a model water wheels, and that explains why I have so much trouble building the water wheel, ----- thank you
I never get tired of seeing this type of work
*- Dave, it was nice to see the clever ingenuity you brought to the table to keep the wheels 'original'.*
I watched a more recent video of yours, and I now know , or at least think I know why your daughter became so talented as a welder. You're a great role model !
Hi Dave, When I was a teen back in the 1970s, I grew up in the small town of Niwot, Colorado. The town is not so small anymore. Anyways, there was a Blacksmith shop on the main street in the middle of town. I had a couple of opportunities to visit the shop to have some metal bent for a project. The inside was dim, the floor of the shop was dirt and most if not all the machinery was run with belts and pulleys. I kind of wish I had been able to spend more time there. I remember he was a nice guy and didn’t charge me anything for bending the metal.
Cool trick with the leather.😉
I'm reading Josiah Greggs "Commerce of the Prairies" and he describes this very issue crossing the Cimarron trail.
A true master..kudos to you... respect
I never get enough of watching what you do... Thanks for the video!
I feel like I learned more in 20 minutes watching him than I could in a lifetime on my own.
Dave is sort of the "Last of the Magicans". May God give him many more years of life!!!
Very interesting! I'll never be in the market for this type of service, but your video was fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
I'm grateful to you for your effort to share this trade and preserve the knowledge of it. Thank you.
Makes one appreciate how much wood can shrink over time and kudos to those in the past back then without a shop or the tools of today to repair wheels with what was at hand...
I like your nice honest ways. And you're good solid all American work ethic. Keep it up.
You are the Master!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏👏👏👏👏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Preserving old wheels is like preserving the Mona Lisa, you are preserving history. The old sometimes is better than new. Keep up the great work dave.
Amazing skills than and now
Love the hip-shimmy to spin the wheels
You do a really good job.
I'm not surprised they shimmed the tires with something, but I am surprised it was canvas. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
The yellow wheels look like the ones we use on our carts at our shipyard to move mooring lines around.
I occasionally have the same issue as those pioneers, no blacksmith in town when I need an 90 year old tractor or implement part repaired. At least through the 30s, a lot of farm stuff was still designed around the assumption of having a local blacksmith rather than swapping out parts. Some modern tools can substitute of course but a few things just need to be worked by someone skilled with a forge and anvil.
You sir…..are a maestro
Adding leather between the felloes in the old wheels reminded me of reading about Ford Model T owners using strips of leather to replace main crankshaft bearings to keep the engine running. I think that was from by John Steinbeck
Phil Irving, also in his Autobiography. I think, the bearings in a motorbike, pillion passenger, world trip...? Get his book, a fine read.
Opening King Tuts tomb revealed an original chariot. Leather was used to make the hubs. I think this was from a Nat Geo monthly if you’re interested in the details.
I knew an old, wealthy (and also incredibly cheap) farmer that had an 8n Ford. Every winter he tore it down and placed checks (like you write to make a purchase) between the main bearings and crankshaft. He just couldn't bring himself to spend the money to rebuild it correctly.
Outstanding video!
Another excellent video Dave. You are a true “craftsman” and I enjoy learning from your example!
That knife must be unbelievably sharp
Have you thought of having an apprentice? This art/craft must never be allowed to die. Much to learn from the Japanese, who have kept their ancient arts alive to this present day.
Yes, Dave has described how he has tried that, but unfortunately there seems to be only one Dave, so he is recording as much as he can for posterity.
The pioneer lives in the modern man when he too uses innovative ways to preserve history while creating new history from history. Thanks. (JF)
Thanks for sharing another video of things not so far gone, preserving these things, this way of life gives me hope of a better future, without these somehow our future suffers to needless tech and mass everything.
Thanks -- fun video. You're a good felloe!!
I really enjoyed this, Practical History.
Whoa, that knife is atom sharp! Awesome episode and history on the ingenuity of Pioneers.
Thank you sir for preserving our history. What would those wheels say if they could talk.
FL Wheel: Oh man! I thought I was gonna be able to retire to a life of just sitting there and looking old.
FR Wheel: You're always complaining. I remember you squeaked half way down the Santa Fe Trail just to get the grease.
Rear Wheels: Would you two just shut up. You're like an old married couple.
Lol
Hi Dave ☺ thanks for another interesting video, it's a wonder the burlap lasted so long, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
Wonderful
During the Beaver/fur trade era in the West, Fur Companies would construct French 2 wheeled carts that were pulled by only 1 draft animal so they were very manuverable in rugged terraign. Early on the carts were built entiely of wood with wooden pins as fasteners. The wheels were bound by Buffalo rawhide when it was wet. The dry climate would shrink the rawhide "tires" to hold the wheels tight. Caravans of these carts, laden with trade goods, would travel to the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous and return with pelts and hides. The Metis of the Red River settlements would also use these carts on their seasonal Buffalo hunts to bring hides, jerky, pemmican, and horns back to their settlements.
Once settlements grew and had black smiths and wainwrights available, proper wagons with iron bound wheels and boxes were used. The unique settler rebound wheels you showed us saved good wagons and wheels built in Pennsylvania from becoming useless once they dried out on the Western trail.
another great video !!
thank you
Thank you sir
You do wonderful work. While watching you work, I think of similar work done hundreds of years ago, using similar techniques, but without the modern equipment you have. Not to diminish your efforts, but I’m thinking how awesome they were.
Cool episode! Thanks Dave!
Thanks, Dave.
Thanks for sharing 👍
I’ve been enjoying your work what seems to be 4-5 years now and it leaves me with a thought of how many hammers you go through in a years time. Anyway keep up good work its very educational thanks again
Hammers can last a lifetime. Just for the heck of it, I went to his first video in 2015, he was using that same hammer.
He's changed a lot more than the hammer.
A cautionary note: that iron you use on the hub bands worries me greatly. I know your only doing light taps with a small hammer. I had a cousin that was splitting fire wood with a sledge and wedge. A piece of the knurled over wedge popped off and shot him through the heart, dead. I also know two other men hit by the shrapnel from pounded over wedges . One shot in the leg. The other missing an eye. Please grind that thing down.
I have never actually seen it happen but I have heard plenty of horror stories of it happening yours is now another one.
A true craftsman
Yet again a brilliant video Dave. I always learn something new every week. At some point I might reach a level of knowledge comparable with, maybe, 20% of yours. Stay safe and well.
Very well done ! I love what you have done. WHy put away old things when you can fix them.
Dave, When you were heating the hub bands with the paint still on the outside I noticed white smoke coming off. Given the age of these wheels, and especially the red color, I would guess that it is lead paint (red lead was a common paint). The fumes from heating this are dangerous. It would probably be best to remove all the paint first. I don't want you to do anything that can cause you a problem. Take care.
This is some of your finest camera work and editing- you are always improving! Dropping the tires off the wheels seems like a toe chopping opportunity that should make a wheelwright light on their feet and probably a good dancer. I think that yellow paint made those wheels a little rough. Thanks for the great videos!
I love the combination of traditional and modern, the jigs and fixtures would be instantly recognizable to an 1850s wheelwright, but he'd be gobsmacked by the gas torches used to preheat the wheels. And he'd _want_ those torches so badly...
that is a sharp knife.
and the repair held at least 100 years. not too shabby
Yes you had to be a bit of a Jack of all trades out in the western days to be able to fix things when they wore out or broke ! It's good to see wheels from way back still being used an preserved
Undoubtedly, but, definitely, it takes years to build a fully equipped, functional workshop to meet ,precisely , the demand of achieving perfection.
Hola. Hermoso trabajo gracias desde argentina cap fed
Necessity is the mother of invention, it surprised me is that the canvas packing lasted so long.
It is awesome how much you have to cut out of the metal tire to become a tight fit
I just noticed the International Harvester wheel weight holding down your wheel stand. Clever repurposing.
Hit play on this video and watched the commercial that normally precedes the videos, then was watching what I thought was the beginning of Dave's video of snow covered mountains and all of a sudden there was dinosaurs being herded by people on horses, modern-day cowboy. WTH Dave's lost his mind. New movie on jurassic Park, looks interesting.
I always find it cathartic watching you work on these wheels.
Wouldn’t a film depicting life in the 1880’s have newer looking wheels then wheels looking like they are 100 years old?... anyway, amazing history , knowledge and skill..
My old metal work teacher would get onto you choking the hammer. He said the hammer makers made the handle long so use it. His favorite saying was they could have saved a lot of money if they had made the handle shorter.
Just a question. What problems could you expect with a wheel built in the dry climate of Montana but then taken to Wisconsin for use?
shouldn't be any issue unless the iron has rotted away to the point it's about to collapse regardless
It surprises me that folk expect to see an old looking wagon in an old movie.... would it not be relatively new looking in those days?
Dave, if you are speaking of "Stoughton" in Wisconsin, it is pronounced with a long "O" i.e., Stoeton
That's one of those spellings that you need to hear how the family says it. I bet there's families with the same spelling of the name that say it like "Ow", and "Oh" and "Oo". I'm not arguing your information, I'm sure the wagon family does say it like you tell us. The British motorcycle company Brough pronounces it "Bruff" but a lot of people not knowing better say "Broh". And in Germany, the aircraft manufacturer Dornier, it's an Alsatian name where French is the native language so it's correctly pronounced "Door Nyay", but it's a German company so most people think it's pronounced "Door Neer". Thanks for your information, I jumped to the conclusion it would be pronounced like "Stau ton". I won't any more!
@@Mishn0 I live 20 miles from Stoughton, WI. Thus, I have heard the pronunciation all my life. I knew about the pronunciation of "Brough" from my interest in motorcycling history. And German was a second language so "Dornier" was known.
There are no real hard and fast rules for proper name spellings and pronunciations. It all depends on family usage and history.
@@billj.widmann112 As a German speaker, do you pronounce it the German way or the French way?
@@royreynolds108 Exactly, if your name is spelled "Raymond Luxury-Yacht" but you say it should be pronounced "Mangrove Throat-Wobbler", then it's pronounced "Mangrove Throat-Wobbler"; to borrow from Monty Python.