Barden Cart Question

[Donn Hewes]

Carl, or anyone else, I have seen and even ridden on Carl’s Barden cart, and as I am preparing to make myself a new forecart I wanted to ask a question about them. From my limited exposure it is obvious to me that they have some unique features. The one’s that I see are the high tongue placement, the low evener attachment, the walk through design, and the flush back. I am sure there are more details than that. The slip and grab hooks on the back as well.

I guess my main question is how does the high tongue placement effect the rest of the cart or its use? Does that tongue placement serve a particular purpose, or more than one? I know for example that a low evener attachment can make hooking D ring harness easier; but does the high tongue effect that as well?

Any thoughts appreciated about that, or any other aspects of the cart that you would say are the “key” to making it a better cart? I have been salvaging some steel and a good trailer axle!

[Carl Russell]

Donn, primarily the pole is high because the hitch point for logs is high. There is a straight line of draft from the hooks on the back to the evener on the front. I suppose one could put the pole under the evener, but that would not make the hitch any lower for the d-ring harness.

Carl

[wild millers]

Would one of you mind explaining what you mean when you say it is easier to hitch lower with the D-ring? My log arch has a high pole as well, with the evener on top of the pole. It doesn’t really seem harder to hitch than on my regular for cart with a lower evener. With the evener under the pole it might even be a little harder to hitch for having to reach down under and around to get the links hooked in.

My slip and grab hooks on the back are at the same height as the evener in the front set on top of the pole. Is this what you mean by a straight line of draft?

[Carl Russell]

Joel, you are correct about the line of draft; Evener set at the same height as the hitch.

Whether the evener is above or below the pole is immaterial, as far as I know.

The point about the lower hitch being easier is that when the evener is low, the angle at the D-ring is sharper than when the hitch is high. When the arms of the triangle created by the rear trace, and forward side strap are nearly flat (high hitch point), there is less movement for tensioning the hitch, because you are basically trying to stretch leather. When the evener is low, the triangle can be extended, thus allowing the tensioning to be a function of the swing in the arms of that triangle.

When hitching in with the D-ring, one should be able to see the neck yoke, and front of the pole, rise up when forward pressure is put on the outer side of the single tree. That is because in essence you are stretching the hypotenuse, and widening the angle at the D-ring.

If the neck yoke and evener are already near or at the D-ring height, the angle is close to 180, so there is no movement left in the hitch, making it difficult to hitch tight enough to utilize the D-ring. When the angle is sharper, say 120, then it takes very little effort to extend the hitch so that pole weight can be carried at the D-ring.

Carl

[Author]

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