Like you’ve never done something stupid with a hideously dangerous power tool.
Yes. I cut through the cord of my own saw. Happy now? Huh? A little electrical tape and nobody will be the wiser.
But after I repaired that, I went back to work. And for the record…
That’s how much stovewood you get from four 10′ lumber pallets. And it makes a nice pretty stack, too…
Unfortunately, though, it looks like an old friend and I are coming to a parting of the ways. Your average hardware-store wheelbarrow is good for a year or two of hard labor before it starts to fall apart. Four or five years ago I pieced one together from the parts of three worn-out barrows: A tub from one, handles from a second, the wheel from a third, hardware from wherever. You could say we’re exploring the outer limits of how much wear you can get from a cheap wheelbarrow.
I think we’ve arrived.
The tub’s been cracked for a long time, but the cracks are starting to come together to form a thing we desert hermits call a “hole.” So I’m going to have to look around for something I can do about that.
Oh Joel, you are so funny sometimes. My first husband had a number of electric tools with cords that looked like that. LOL
As for the wheelbarrow, I can sympathize. I’ve had so many come to grief, especially in the desert sun. The one I have now may last forever, except for the wooden parts, of course. I found a big contractor’s barrow “on sale” and bought it for some crack brain reason… I got it home, put it together, and realized right away that I could hardly manage to move it EMPTY. Put anything much in it and it’s going to all sit right there until someone lots stronger comes along.
This summer I bought a four wheeled garden cart instead. Wish I’d got it many years ago, since I can now actually unload things from the car and pull them into the garden or the front yard without too much effort… small batches, of course. The cart is as easy to pull as a kid’s coaster wagon. Love it!
Wish I could teleport this monster wheelbarrow out there to you.
Don’t feel bad. Just two weeks ago I mounted a nice cord reel to the side of my house to make it more convenient to trim my hedge. I did a nice job! I was proud of myself! I had been meaning to do that for years.
And then I got out the hedge trimmer to actually put my new installation to use. (Need I continue this story?)
Re the power cord, Been there, done that, got the tingle. :^) As for the wheelbarrow tub, any chance you could cut out the damaged/cracked section, find a hunk of sheet metal and rivet/bolt the sheet metal over the hole? Could buy you a little time…
Good luck, I’m pulling for you.
I’ve got a wheelbarrow that looks a lot like that – but in orange. ‘Rescued’ it from an abandoned property under foreclosure. I’ve been limping it along for several years now. First I tried Liquid Nails on it – worked for light duty for a year or so. Tried PVC cement a couple years ago and that failed a few months ago. I haven’t given up on it yet and keep calculating on how to repair it with what’s at hand here. I’d thought to experiment with a few short sections of 1″ by 2″ PVC trim – patching across the crack and secured with wood screws countersunk into the tub and into the trim pieces. I just haven’t found/made any extra time to take the tub off the frame to start the job.
Looking at your wheelbarrow I’m wondering why I don’t cut a piece of sheet metal to match the bolt pattern on the frame and just re-enforce the bottom from the outside with that. It’s not that I have to be so pinche with things – but I’ve got the time and the disposition for it…
We’ve got three wheelbarrows here – two construction quality and the one I just described. The best one has been sitting for years with some metal roof and soffet pieces stacked in it ’cause there’s no where else to put them where they won’t be in the way. My old reliable is sitting out front now with a couple inches of rainwater in it. Someone working here a while back thought it would be appropriate to drop a 75# chunk of concrete in it from a 12′ roof. Parts of the frame cracked and the tub was badly tweaked. After fiddling with the tub for a few weeks on and off with pipe clamps and judicious force I got it fairly straightened out again. The frame repairs resulted in a barrow that’s stronger than it was to begin with. I’m having a hard time wearing that one out! It’s ugly as you could imagine but it warms my heart every time I see it or grab the handles.
I fixed a tub that looked just like that by gluing a piece of scrap plywood to the bottom with leftover 99-cent caulking.
The saw cord looks normal to me…
Some valley tin and machine screws for the wheelbarrow? I used the hedgetrimmer to cut an extension cord. Works great, and tripped the circuit breaker, too. Nothing some solder, wire nuts and electrical tape can’t fix.
I like the idea about tin on the inside of the tub. I have a pop rivet gun, but no tin at all except flashing and corrugated roofing. Neither of those would work. I have some siding scraps, and so could use that under the tub’s bottom. But I’d need longer bolts. I may go with that, but now I like the idea of flat tin inside the tub. I’ll see if I can scrounge something.
Can you pass a strap up the sides, under the buck and rivet through the sides to help support the bottom ? Otherwise – yeah, the end draws nigh.
I haven’t cut the power cord to my tools (yet) but I’ve run over the water hose several times while cutting the yard in full view, thinking “I got this!”. The expression on my wife’s face when I tell her what happened is almost worth the price of admission.
“I have some siding scraps, and so could use that under the tub’s bottom. But I’d need longer bolts.”
Are there any old signs around that aren’t blasted full of bullet holes? A sign blank would be about the right stiffness and would be thin enough so you could re-use the original bolts.
Not suggesting anything illegal, just saying…