"What are you going to do with that?"

Ever have a desire to simply do something for no reason at all?  I get those feelings, especially when I have a little time on my hands.  My last project has triggered many of my friends to ask; "What are you going to with that?"   Quite frankly, I don't know, I just wanted to build it!  That is how I learn. 

We have friends out in the country and Larry found an old spring wagon in the grove that had deteriorated to almost nothing; just the metal and a few rotten boards were left.  He rebuilt it for a landscape feature in his yard.  The first time I saw it he was working on it and it caught my eye; what a neat project.

I started asking around if anyone else had a similar wagon that might need some tender loving care and I found one less than half a mile from home.  Hitting the community garage sales last year, Mel told me he had one setting along the creek and that I could have it if I wanted to dig it out of the trees.   I DID!

I dug through the parts and found the wagon's manufacture or name plate; it was a "Bain."  I check them out and the company started in 1850 in Kenosha, Wisconsin and became one of the premiere wagon companies in the mid-west.  I even found a illustration of one.  This particular model was referred to as a 10 by 3 (foot) or 26 bushel model.  They were very popular.

The Bain

This spring I pulled out pieces.  It was in sad shape, the wood had mostly rotted away but it appeared most of the metal parts were there.  Parts of the metal still had orange paint and some of the boards were still dark green.  I pulled the axles apart, pulled the wheels and dug through the debris for metal parts and hauled them home. 

The Beginning

I learned it was a "hybrid" of sorts; representing the transition from an early wooden wagon toward a more modern style using metal and rubber wheels.  The wheels were standard wooden hub and spoke wheels but the spokes were cut off to accommodate a steel rim and rubber tires.  This appears to have been a factory conversion.  While the wagon's axles, supports and spine were made of wood, the cradle supports that held the wagon box were made of metal rather than wood in the old style.  This was a farm wagon designed to haul grain.   Mel said he had paid $10 for it on a farm sale and used it to haul junk.

Amazingly, the wheels turned but the spokes had rotted and couldn't be repaired.  I had purchased some metal wheels last year and they fit the tapered axle bearings just fine.  There was enough of the original wooden parts left to provide me the patterns necessary to make replacement parts. 

Rebuilding the Axles

I soaked all the bolts in WD-40 and remarkably all but one broke free.  The rear axle was in good shape but the front axle had quite a bit of rot.  The bad portions of the axle was replaced with new oak and a new collar was made out of pine.  I didn't have oak for all the wooden parts so I used treated pine instead.  I didn't plan to haul a load of grain so strength wasn't a primary concern of mine.  Before I new it, I had all the pieces of the running gear and it came together.

Taken Shape!

I got some orange paint and painted the running gear before starting on the box.  I had some old barn wood on the farm and thought that would be appropriate.  Some of this wood is 90 years old and dates back to when this wagon was probably built.  The original wagon was constructed using iron rivets, but I couldn't find any locally so I used carriage bolts instead. 

The one item that was missing was a spring seat.  Honestly, I doubt it had one but that was something I wanted.  I checked Craig's List and low and behold, there was a set of seat springs for sale from a guy in Arkansas.  I bought them and they arrived.  It took no time at all to build the box and seat.

A Bain 3 by 10 Box Wagon

Now I'm in a quandary; do I leave it rustic or paint and pinstripe the wagon box?  That is going to take some time and quite frankly I'm in no hurry.  Its kind of fun watching those reruns of Gun Smoke and Wagon Train and then wander out and sit in my spring seat and imagine the old west. 

"What are you going to do with that?"  normally snaps me out of my dream as neighbors and friends ask me that question.  For the time being, I'm going to enjoy it.  It will be used by the Bennington Historical Society during Bennington Dazes (June 15-17) this year and who knows??  Maybe I'll try to come up with some type of covering for the iron wheels so we can pull it in the parade next year.   Its been fun!