Homemade replacement wheelbarrow handle?

[Jenn]

I'm cheap, have free time, and lots of wood on the property. Sadly no proper wood working tools. Any advice for a 4' long wb handle? Figure I'll just get it to fit the hardware and work on a comfortable hand grip. I DO have hickory on the place but might not be able to get any branches from it- lowest branches 20'+ up and I'm NOT taking the tree down.

[agmantoo]

Get a dogwood sapling that is near the size you need and make a matching pair of handles. Work the wood while it is green.

[watcher]

What's left of my wheelbarrow has an old 2X2 as one handle. Works fine.

[HermitJohn]

I had major icestorm last winter so lots of downed stuff. Finding something straight enough and long enough in such branches to use without slabbing it isnt all that easy, but I did. Handles in mine now are just sections of branches that I notched with chainsaw and drilled in places where necessary. One is hickory and definitely the best. Could tell when I was working with it. Other is some mystery hard wood but holding up ok. Looks kinda hillbilly, but hey it was free except for my time.

You can also go to lumber yard and look for a couple 2x4 studs with no knots on a section long enough, then rip it down to necessary dimensions. I would probably be generous making it full 2 inch or little wider as its soft wood and not going to be as strong as hardwood. Or you can go metal, look for 1.5 or 2 inch diameter steel wiring conduit. Its thinner than water pipe and lot lighter but still strong. When you tighten bolts through it, dont squish it or you create a weak spot.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Get a dogwood sapling that is near the size you need and make a matching pair of handles. Work the wood while it is green.

You can certainly feel free to do that ifn ya wants to......... but there is NO WAY you would ever catch me cutting a Dog Wood. I value my life far too much to risk it cutting a sacred Dog Wood. I have seen too many times what happens to folks who were foolish enough do that, and its never pretty.

[Jenn]

YH better tell me why dogwoods are sacred- they do so poorly here I am often tempted to take them all down to the ground instead of just trim off the increasingly large amounts of dead wood.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by Jenn

YH better tell me why dogwoods are sacred- they do so poorly here I am often tempted to take them all down to the ground instead of just trim off the increasingly large amounts of dead wood.

There was a brutal custom a couple thousand years ago of tieing criminals to a pole and hanging them up to die in the sun. One of those "criminals" had committed the heinous crime of being the Son of God, and the cross he was hung up on was made from a Dog Wood, which is also why they no longer grow tall and straight. They are now a rather short, and usually pretty crooked trees, more like large bushes. Note the blood stain on each petal of the cross shaped white blossom. I had heard this story (the bad luck thing) when I first moved into this area, and scoffed a bit at such silly superstitions myself, but it didnt take long for me to understand. I personally know of three separate occasions where good folks died within minutes of deliberately cutting a Dog Wood, and I personally wound up with a broken leg within minutes of accidentally running over a small sappling once. One fellow had a tree fall on him and squish him, another was run over by a log skidder, and the other was squished by logs rolling off a truck. Each of these fellas were experienced professional loggers but each had cut a Dog Wood just minutes prior to being killed. I have given those trees a wide berth when working in the woods ever since the first fella was killed.

I would hunt me up a nice ash tree, or walnut would be better, its quite rot resistant and very strong.

[65284]

I bought a wheelie with broken handles for cheap. Sawed a treated 2X4 lenghtwise mounted the handles and then rounded off the handgrip ends with a rasp and sandpaper. Cheap, easy, durable, and comfortable to use.

[agmantoo]

The dogwood tree that I am referencing is a native to North
America. I doubt that it was imported to Israel back then.
Here is a copy and paste referencing the flowering dogwood
The dogwood tree has been rumored to have been the wood from which the crucifixion cross of Jesus Christ was made in the year 33 AD. This rumor is ridiculous in several respects: first, there is not Biblical record of dogwood trees in the Scriptures of the Old Testament Bible or the New Testament. Most plant references in the Bible are very vague except for a few references to the date palm tree, olive tree, pomegranate trees, fig tree, and grape vines. The identity of those plants and trees is obvious, because of their fruits that are produced, but accurate plant identity could not be done easily until Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish physician, suggested rules on naming plants in the early 1700's.

There are many species of dogwood trees and shrubs, but it is unlikely that any of the Mideastern species of dogwood trees grew trunks large enough to shape into a crucifixion cross. The wood of the dogwood tree is so hard and dense that nails driven into the wood would split the wood. That tree definitely could not have been the North American dogwood tree, Cornus florida, since that tree did not grow in Israel at the time of Jesus Christ.

[clovis]

What kind of tools do you have on hand?

I would think a person could use a draw knife, a rasp, or even a wood plane to fashion a more comfortable handle if needed.

[Jenn]

Saw drill bastard file sand paper- so I'll look for a likely pole, beat it into fitting the hardware, then soothe it into fitting my hand safely. However since I have two otehr wheelbarrows not currently full of something I want to leave in them this may take me several months.

You can always tell a dogwood by its bark.

[Gercarson]

I had to replace my wheelbarrow's handles a couple of years ago and just bought the right sized 2 X 2s (maybe had to trim some) and they work great - no problems at all.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

The dogwood tree that I am referencing is a native to North
America. I doubt that it was imported to Israel back then.
Here is a copy and paste referencing the flowering dogwood
The dogwood tree has been rumored to have been the wood from which the crucifixion cross of Jesus Christ was made in the year 33 AD. This rumor is ridiculous in several respects: first, there is not Biblical record of dogwood trees in the Scriptures of the Old Testament Bible or the New Testament. Most plant references in the Bible are very vague except for a few references to the date palm tree, olive tree, pomegranate trees, fig tree, and grape vines. The identity of those plants and trees is obvious, because of their fruits that are produced, but accurate plant identity could not be done easily until Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish physician, suggested rules on naming plants in the early 1700's.

There are many species of dogwood trees and shrubs, but it is unlikely that any of the Mideastern species of dogwood trees grew trunks large enough to shape into a crucifixion cross. The wood of the dogwood tree is so hard and dense that nails driven into the wood would split the wood. That tree definitely could not have been the North American dogwood tree, Cornus florida, since that tree did not grow in Israel at the time of Jesus Christ.

Very informative, but like I said in my original post, YOU feel free to do what ya want, I am not takin the chance when I have plenty of safe trees to select from.

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

Most likely The Cross was made of pine.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_wood_...cross_of_Jesus

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20000208.htm

RF

[NostalgicGranny]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

The dogwood tree that I am referencing is a native to North
America. I doubt that it was imported to Israel back then.
Most plant references in the Bible are very vague except for a few references to the date palm tree, olive tree, pomegranate trees, fig tree, and grape vines. The identity of those plants and trees is obvious, because of their fruits that are produced, but accurate plant identity could not be done easily until Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish physician, suggested rules on naming plants in the early 1700's. Christ.

Myrtle, palm, cypress . . .
also:
Acacia , Algum, Almond, Ash , pine, Pomegranate, Poplar, Hazel, Hemlock, Box tree, Bay tree, Chestnut, Sycamore, Mulberry, Terebinth, Wormwood, willow, oak, and Tree of life.

[Newfie]

I replaced my handles about a month ago with some 2x White Oak. Simply used the old ones as a template and used a spokeshave and drawknife to shape the handles.

I think you could pretty much use any hardwood you have available.

[GoldenCityMuse]

In TX you could use some petrified palmwood....... o rmaybe KNot