I scrolled all these same options around in my brain the other day, and finally settled on finding a nice 3 1/2 ‘ piece of 2x2 and screwed it to the side of the old broken handle with 6 construction screws, and back in business, add a little duct tape and probably wouldn’t even know it happened.
The actual moral of this is don't neglect your tools. If this had been stored inside a shed, oiled, and painted at any time in the last 15 years, it would not be in this state. Would the handles need to be replaced? Probably. But the hardware would have come off relatively easily, and proably have been reusable. Yes, you have to drill some holes. That's it, though.
Imagine taking the 4 hours to edit together a 10 minute video about how you can't be bothered to repair the arms of a wheelbarrow you clearly left out in the elements. What a world.
I replaced both handles and some of the hardware on a wheelbarrow with broken handles. It was quite the project, and cost about half the price of a new, equivalent model, but the broken handles ended up in the fire pit, so that was the only waste, and in my opinion, worth the trouble. You are correct, that assembly is much easier than disassembly.
Neighbor left an old one out in the alley for several weeks with flat tire & no tray. I dismantled it, repainted all the wood & metal parts, got a solid rubber wheel (flat proof) from Princess Auto for $9.99 on sale, put it all together with a spare plastic tray, then moved a few tons of dirt. This was at my folk's place, now my dad is complaining he's stuck with this wheel barrow that he doesn't need & parked on its nose beside the shed. Sell it for $40? Give it away back to the neighbor? Shrug!
I used to have a two-wheeled barrow and it was worth replacing handles on. I agree with you on regular one though. I always replace the front cross-brace in my wheelbarrows because they tend to act like plows and stop the barrow if I don't bend down to keep the barrow more parallel with the ground. It is dangerous to have a heavily loaded wheelbarrow suddenly dig into the dirt with that front brace. I use a piece of angle strut across the TOP of the handle instead of across the ends. then I round over the bottom of the handle ends so they are more likely to skid over anything they happen to hit. I also use airless tires...I hate having to inflate the stupid tire all the time and they never seem to hold air well.
Great video !Right off the bat , I see what we all have seen! Wheel barrows that left outside in the weather . Either they are left leaned against the house or a tree ,or better yet , standing up so the rain water can collect and rust out the barrow! We also need to top it off with not rinsing out the wheelbarrow when we mix concrete in it ! I did this one time and tried to replace the handles and cut the wedges myself . I got the handles replaced but you could look and see that the wedges were not perfect ! You make a very good point here. We know that you spend a good chunk of change on a 5 or 6 cu ft contractors wheelbarrow! Roll to the curb and someone before dark and do what you did!
I have never had a problem finding a handle for my wheelbarrow. they sell them long SO YOU CAN CUT THEM TO LENGTH!!! the bolts are sold a few isles over. again, you can buy them long and either CUT THEM TO LENGTH or just leave them, as it bothers nothing. for 25 clams, and an hour, I am back in business. this dad gets a thumbs down for being a mook.
I also hate the idea of throwing away something that can still be useful. I hate sending something to the landfill, especially something as useful, big and hard-wearing as a wheel barrow.
The only problem with buying a new wheelbarrow is the new ones are flimsy and poorly reinforced. Bought a new one a couple of years ago and tried filling it from the concrete truck and it folded like a shitty poker hand. My old wheelbarrow belonged to my dad and it still works as hard as he did, and can take a load of concrete where it needs to go
Unless you bought or was given it in that shape, the cost of repairing that wheelbarrow is largely one of your own making. If from the day it was new it had been kept dry, had the exposed wooden parts been given linseed oil once every two years, and had the metal parts been painted once every 10, it could look and work like new for 50 years. Counting the time of going to the store makes sense if its a rush cause your poor maintenance means it broke during work, but if you just do routine maintenance in an off-season where you don't use the barrow anyway you could have waited going until you need something else from the store; then the extra work of walking two aisles further for needed parts is a lot less than driving there just for that. You can definitely save by buying a new over refurbishing one that is close to going to wheelbarrow-valhalla. But its even cheaper to just never let it get to that point, to keep one wheelbarrow going for 50 years instead of ruining them and either refurbishing or buying every 10-15. I believe the English saying goes 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. Also loadbearing wood on wheelbarrows from the past half century seems to be one of those weird American anachronisms, where the US sprinted to a standard for a part in the late 19th or early 20th century and then refused innovation ever since. Here in Denmark I don't think I have ever seen structural wood on wheelbarrows that wasn't either homemade or from before the 1960s.
Wooden structural elements in a wheelbarrow? First time I see that, except for those really old ones that were made entirely out of wood. Over here, they're all made of bent metal tubing, and the bucket is either metal (galvanised or painted) or plastic. The only repairs we ever need to do on them is patch the inner tube on the tyre when it gets punctured, change out the outer tyre when it's dry rotted, or replace the plastic grips on the ends of the handles when they break. None of those are regular occurrences. I got two wheelbarrows here that have been with me for 17 years, and came from my dad, who owned them god knows how long before me. The tyres are starting to dry rot, but still have a couple of good years in 'em, and I recently had to replace the plastic grips on the handles. That's all the repairs in my 17 years of ownership + however long my dad owned them, except for patching the occasional puncture. With those wooden frame elements, I suggest protecting the wood with regular application of linseed oil. If they came varnished from the factory, scrape/sand that off, and apply linseed oil instead. I don't get why manufacturers of wooden tools _varnish_ their tools in the first place: it doesn't nourish the wood (making it age faster), it cracks over time, and it's harder on your hands. Hammers or axes with varnished handles are a recipe for blisters!
Well. At least now you can cruise around the neighborhood in your new wheelbarrow with its new wheelbarrow smell and shininess. Put some dingo balls around the perimeter. Add a low rider kit with a bicycle air pump and you're all set.
The problem with being in a throw away society is so many things come down to, "what will it cost me". OK, just replace it. Honestly, my very old wheel barrow has a better tray and steel frame than the new ones that are made with thin sheet stock. If it costs me more to rebuild, I'm fine with that. Let's stop just thinking about just the cost of our time and wallet and consider more the cost to the environment.
Why would you buy 79 dollars worth of parts for an old wheelbarrow? It would be way faster and cheaper to just drill some holes into a steel corner and attach that to the broken handle with some screws. Maybe some glue if you're fancy.
Or, Just drive around the block and pickup a couple of other old wheel barrows that are out for the trash and make one good one. I trash picked on with a broken handle the other day, a week ago I found one with no wheel, but with metal handles but a broken plastic tub. Yesterday I found one with a rusted out tub, but a newer foam filled front wheel. I took the wheel off the first one with the broken handle, put it on the second one after patching the tube and filling the tire with creosote and air to make it leak proof for life. I took the one with the broken tub and cut a piece of scrap metal and riveted it into the bottom. The best fix is to make metal handles from water pipe, wood will just rot again unless its stored inside. Tires on those have tubes, they're fine until they're not, and Harbor Freight has solid tires if you must buy new. A length of 1" pipe will make a good lifelong handle, if you take a long length of it, you bend a U shape forming both handles and the front cross brace, you can either bolt or weld the axle brackets to it. I welded to pieces of angle iron to each side to bolt the wheel brackets too. Since your making the handle, you can also make it longer, which makes the load feel lighter, and you can also bend upward loops on each end for handles which makes using the thing so much easier of your tall. I haven't spent anything on a wheel barrow in decades, right now I've got a dozen of them laying around, most have metal handles and foam tires now. Putting one together is easy if you have parts lying around too, and a small torch and some penetrating oil does wonders when taking apart rusty bolts, but so does a grinder and cut off wheel and a 10lb bag of bolts from tractor supply.
Could say that about most of my life! I've owned homes since 1983 and the only work I've ever hired out is a roof and a carpet install. Sure it takes me longer but it also keeps me out of trouble.
I scrolled all these same options around in my brain the other day, and finally settled on finding a nice 3 1/2 ‘ piece of 2x2 and screwed it to the side of the old broken handle with 6 construction screws, and back in business, add a little duct tape and probably wouldn’t even know it happened.
The actual moral of this is don't neglect your tools. If this had been stored inside a shed, oiled, and painted at any time in the last 15 years, it would not be in this state. Would the handles need to be replaced? Probably. But the hardware would have come off relatively easily, and proably have been reusable. Yes, you have to drill some holes. That's it, though.
Imagine taking the 4 hours to edit together a 10 minute video about how you can't be bothered to repair the arms of a wheelbarrow you clearly left out in the elements. What a world.
I replaced both handles and some of the hardware on a wheelbarrow with broken handles. It was quite the project, and cost about half the price of a new, equivalent model, but the broken handles ended up in the fire pit, so that was the only waste, and in my opinion, worth the trouble. You are correct, that assembly is much easier than disassembly.
Neighbor left an old one out in the alley for several weeks with flat tire & no tray. I dismantled it, repainted all the wood & metal parts, got a solid rubber wheel (flat proof) from Princess Auto for $9.99 on sale, put it all together with a spare plastic tray, then moved a few tons of dirt. This was at my folk's place, now my dad is complaining he's stuck with this wheel barrow that he doesn't need & parked on its nose beside the shed. Sell it for $40? Give it away back to the neighbor? Shrug!
This is precisely why I haven't fixed the cracked plastic wheelbarrow I inherited. It's a perfectly good stationary rock bucket as-is.
I used to have a two-wheeled barrow and it was worth replacing handles on. I agree with you on regular one though.
I always replace the front cross-brace in my wheelbarrows because they tend to act like plows and stop the barrow if I don't bend down to keep the barrow more parallel with the ground. It is dangerous to have a heavily loaded wheelbarrow suddenly dig into the dirt with that front brace. I use a piece of angle strut across the TOP of the handle instead of across the ends.
then I round over the bottom of the handle ends so they are more likely to skid over anything they happen to hit.
I also use airless tires...I hate having to inflate the stupid tire all the time and they never seem to hold air well.
Same dilemma. thanks for confirming the best option.
Great video !Right off the bat , I see what we all have seen! Wheel barrows that left outside in the weather . Either they are left leaned against the house or a tree ,or better yet , standing up so the rain water can collect and rust out the barrow! We also need to top it off with not rinsing out the wheelbarrow when we mix concrete in it ! I did this one time and tried to replace the handles and cut the wedges myself . I got the handles replaced but you could look and see that the wedges were not perfect ! You make a very good point here. We know that you spend a good chunk of change on a 5 or 6 cu ft contractors wheelbarrow! Roll to the curb and someone before dark and do what you did!
I have never had a problem finding a handle for my wheelbarrow. they sell them long SO YOU CAN CUT THEM TO LENGTH!!! the bolts are sold a few isles over. again, you can buy them long and either CUT THEM TO LENGTH or just leave them, as it bothers nothing. for 25 clams, and an hour, I am back in business. this dad gets a thumbs down for being a mook.
Yes I fixed mine with junk around the house
I also hate the idea of throwing away something that can still be useful. I hate sending something to the landfill, especially something as useful, big and hard-wearing as a wheel barrow.
The only problem with buying a new wheelbarrow is the new ones are flimsy and poorly reinforced. Bought a new one a couple of years ago and tried filling it from the concrete truck and it folded like a shitty poker hand. My old wheelbarrow belonged to my dad and it still works as hard as he did, and can take a load of concrete where it needs to go
And don't bother trying to save the bolts. Just cut them off with a grinder and save your time, you won't reuse them anyway.
Unless you bought or was given it in that shape, the cost of repairing that wheelbarrow is largely one of your own making. If from the day it was new it had been kept dry, had the exposed wooden parts been given linseed oil once every two years, and had the metal parts been painted once every 10, it could look and work like new for 50 years. Counting the time of going to the store makes sense if its a rush cause your poor maintenance means it broke during work, but if you just do routine maintenance in an off-season where you don't use the barrow anyway you could have waited going until you need something else from the store; then the extra work of walking two aisles further for needed parts is a lot less than driving there just for that.
You can definitely save by buying a new over refurbishing one that is close to going to wheelbarrow-valhalla. But its even cheaper to just never let it get to that point, to keep one wheelbarrow going for 50 years instead of ruining them and either refurbishing or buying every 10-15. I believe the English saying goes 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'.
Also loadbearing wood on wheelbarrows from the past half century seems to be one of those weird American anachronisms, where the US sprinted to a standard for a part in the late 19th or early 20th century and then refused innovation ever since. Here in Denmark I don't think I have ever seen structural wood on wheelbarrows that wasn't either homemade or from before the 1960s.
Wooden structural elements in a wheelbarrow? First time I see that, except for those really old ones that were made entirely out of wood. Over here, they're all made of bent metal tubing, and the bucket is either metal (galvanised or painted) or plastic. The only repairs we ever need to do on them is patch the inner tube on the tyre when it gets punctured, change out the outer tyre when it's dry rotted, or replace the plastic grips on the ends of the handles when they break. None of those are regular occurrences. I got two wheelbarrows here that have been with me for 17 years, and came from my dad, who owned them god knows how long before me. The tyres are starting to dry rot, but still have a couple of good years in 'em, and I recently had to replace the plastic grips on the handles. That's all the repairs in my 17 years of ownership + however long my dad owned them, except for patching the occasional puncture.
With those wooden frame elements, I suggest protecting the wood with regular application of linseed oil. If they came varnished from the factory, scrape/sand that off, and apply linseed oil instead. I don't get why manufacturers of wooden tools _varnish_ their tools in the first place: it doesn't nourish the wood (making it age faster), it cracks over time, and it's harder on your hands. Hammers or axes with varnished handles are a recipe for blisters!
The bolt holes will kill the wood, just store the wheelbarrow dry. I lent mine to the neighbor who cracked the bucket, for durability don't do that.
Well. At least now you can cruise around the neighborhood in your new wheelbarrow with its new wheelbarrow smell and shininess. Put some dingo balls around the perimeter. Add a low rider kit with a bicycle air pump and you're all set.
I admit it. I repaired my and I am an idiot.
The problem with being in a throw away society is so many things come down to, "what will it cost me". OK, just replace it. Honestly, my very old wheel barrow has a better tray and steel frame than the new ones that are made with thin sheet stock. If it costs me more to rebuild, I'm fine with that. Let's stop just thinking about just the cost of our time and wallet and consider more the cost to the environment.
I don't mind, I mean I just went through six minutes of video plus time for comment, where one minute is enough.
That's the typical content maker's MO...They like to cram two minutes of information into a ten minute video...
Some of us have more time than money.
I can't be the only one who thinks this looks like video game footage. Is this 'Wheelbarrow Repair Simulator' or something?
I replaced mine with the metal replacement handles...They're a drop in replacement and they'll out last me...
Buy a pressure treated 2"×2". Cut to length. Voila! $8.
Make sure it is hardwood, regular pressure treated 2×2 won't carry any weight
Why would you buy 79 dollars worth of parts for an old wheelbarrow? It would be way faster and cheaper to just drill some holes into a steel corner and attach that to the broken handle with some screws. Maybe some glue if you're fancy.
For "mydadavies"'s skill level it's not worth fixing... for more advanced users it can be worth it. Depends on the situation.
Bro, You can cut the handle.
That is silly as hell. How bad at diy do yo have to not be able to make the one handle and wedge you need?
Or, Just drive around the block and pickup a couple of other old wheel barrows that are out for the trash and make one good one.
I trash picked on with a broken handle the other day, a week ago I found one with no wheel, but with metal handles but a broken plastic tub. Yesterday I found one with a rusted out tub, but a newer foam filled front wheel. I took the wheel off the first one with the broken handle, put it on the second one after patching the tube and filling the tire with creosote and air to make it leak proof for life.
I took the one with the broken tub and cut a piece of scrap metal and riveted it into the bottom.
The best fix is to make metal handles from water pipe, wood will just rot again unless its stored inside. Tires on those have tubes, they're fine until they're not, and Harbor Freight has solid tires if you must buy new.
A length of 1" pipe will make a good lifelong handle, if you take a long length of it, you bend a U shape forming both handles and the front cross brace, you can either bolt or weld the axle brackets to it. I welded to pieces of angle iron to each side to bolt the wheel brackets too. Since your making the handle, you can also make it longer, which makes the load feel lighter, and you can also bend upward loops on each end for handles which makes using the thing so much easier of your tall.
I haven't spent anything on a wheel barrow in decades, right now I've got a dozen of them laying around, most have metal handles and foam tires now. Putting one together is easy if you have parts lying around too, and a small torch and some penetrating oil does wonders when taking apart rusty bolts, but so does a grinder and cut off wheel and a 10lb bag of bolts from tractor supply.
You probably shouldn't be renovating your backyard yourself either, since it could be done so much faster and easier by professional contractors.
Could say that about most of my life! I've owned homes since 1983 and the only work I've ever hired out is a roof and a carpet install. Sure it takes me longer but it also keeps me out of trouble.