The Bakery Wagon

[Carl Russell]

Excellent work Erik. What about having a removable panel so kids could add/change the design….you know kids activities while parents are shopping!!

Can’t wait to see it rolling.

Good Companion Rolls on Wheels.

Carl

[near horse]

Hi Erik,

Your wagon looks great! I would like to know how you’re planning the roof. Curved “rafters” w/ ply over?

[goodcompanion]

@near horse 18664 wrote:

Hi Erik,

Your wagon looks great! I would like to know how you’re planning the roof. Curved “rafters” w/ ply over?

Exactly. Just about to do the roof. It will take two pieces of plywood since the roof is about 9′ long. The curve of the roof is a simple curve up to the frame immediately behind the driver. Then it dives slightly, becoming a compound curve. If you have dealt with plywood much, you’ll know it won’t bend like that. But, by using SCIENCE, we will attempt to make it bend! That is, the plywood will be cut into little fingers, the layout and dimensions of which will be determined by some basic geometry. The fingers all lay on the frame side by side and form a sheathing for the curve.

Long ago I had some training as a lute-maker. This roof technique is the exact same thing. Except that lutes aren’t made out of plywood. And they don’t have wheels. And you can’t play motets on a bakery wagon roof. Otherwise exactly the same.

[jac]

Erik you’re wagon is shaping up great. It is very similar to the light delivery vans used by the railway companies in the UK in the early 20th century. Are you cutting a round or oval window at the drivers station ?.What will you seal the roof with, I think the early ones had canvas bonded to wood.. im not sure how they were sealed it though..
John

[goodcompanion]

All right, here’s a query. I just finished working on the running gear. It’s all painted and ready to go, just not attached to the box yet. The box is still in the shop and needs a bit more work. I am thinking ahead to hitching the horse to the shafts. Problem is, I have never put a horse in shafts before. I use new england d-ring harnesses.

My understanding is that I will use shaft loops and holdback straps. I get the bit with the holdback straps. I have a lot of extra lines around and it seems like any strong strap with a buckle will do the job. But where and how to attach the shaft loops to my harness? I assume that the shafts need to be sort of hugged towards the horse’s sides for good steering, just never seen it done. I am using some new shaft loops bought from Meader’s. Any help appreciated.

Another batch of pictures coming up soon.

[OldKat]

@goodcompanion 18674 wrote:

All right, here’s a query. I just finished working on the running gear. It’s all painted and ready to go, just not attached to the box yet. The box is still in the shop and needs a bit more work. I am thinking ahead to hitching the horse to the shafts. Problem is, I have never put a horse in shafts before. I use new england d-ring harnesses.

My understanding is that I will use shaft loops and holdback straps. I get the bit with the holdback straps. I have a lot of extra lines around and it seems like any strong strap with a buckle will do the job. But where and how to attach the shaft loops to my harness? I assume that the shafts need to be sort of hugged towards the horse’s sides for good steering, just never seen it done. I am using some new shaft loops bought from Meader’s. Any help appreciated.

Another batch of pictures coming up soon.

Kind of a silly question, but has the horse you are hitching to this wagon ever been driven in a set of shaves before?

[Roscoe]

@goodcompanion 18674 wrote:

All right, here’s a query. I just finished working on the running gear. It’s all painted and ready to go, just not attached to the box yet. The box is still in the shop and needs a bit more work. I am thinking ahead to hitching the horse to the shafts. Problem is, I have never put a horse in shafts before. I use new england d-ring harnesses.

In middle europe, it was common to use long shafts for the single horse. Often they used just one strap (for each side) to attach the shaft to the hame. It was shaft loop and holdback in one. In hilly country, they use shaft loops at the hames and holdback straps from breaching to shaft as well. For my single horse harness, the holdback straps reached to the shaft loops, very similar to the new england d-ring harness. Hitching goes very quick.

Sorry for my clumsy english:o

[jac]

Its western box breeching harness I use and any time I need to hitch a single I just use 2 extra straps.. one each side. these go around the shafts at the back pad line and up onto the buckle on the pad. these should only be to hold up the shafts. The quarter straps then come forward to steel loops on the underside of the shaft about 12″ back from the back pad to act as hold backs. traces then go to a singletree set at the required height on the implement/vehicle. Dont forget a belly band from the two shafts for reversing.. The shafrs should be about 3′ 2″ at the rear, tapering to about 2’4″ at the shoulder and idealy sweeping out and down at the ends..
John

[Carl Russell]

Here is a photo showing the shaft loops off the jack saddle, and hold-backs coming off the britchen ring.

Carl

[near horse]

Hey Erik,

There’s some good pics, descriptions and explanations on safety in Steve Bower’s book “Farming w/ Horses”.

[goodcompanion]

Some more pictures from the installation of the roof sheathing.

Here you can see how we slit the plywood sheathing into ribbons which allowed us in conform it to the compound curve of the front roof.

Also in there is a shot of the cargo compartment, with a rubber matting type thing on the floor. I’m off to the fabric store to buy some canvas for the roof and some awning material.

[J-L]

Looking great Eric. This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. You might have to go into business building these!

[goodcompanion]

On wheels at last. The roof is covered with canvas and oil paint. Note–it takes a lot of oil paint to saturate a piece of canvas. More coats than you’d ever imagine. But I bet that sucker is pretty waterproof.

Prior to doing so, we hooked Bobby to the running gear and ground drove the gear around the neighborhood. Bobby was totally easy about it, as if he had been working in shafts his whole life. So I felt confident enough to fasten the gear to the box, which we did this morning. We are close to the end now, mostly just accessories to go, an awning, crates and shelving, a few bits of hardware. And a basic electrical system, and lettering on the side panels.

The springing with the added booster wagon seat springs seems fine, and all the wheels spin very freely.

The VPR radio show “Vermont Edition” has taken an interest in the wagon and its work.

You saw it here first!

[Andy Carson]

Beautiful work! Truly amazing! I have one concern. Maybe it’s the angle, but the shalves look lower than I am used to. On my forecart, the shafts would swing a little at that height and be somewhat annoying to my horse. I am not sure if this is a concern on a wagon, and I suspect it would matter less… I am more concerned about the height of the shalves near the breeching. Again, it might be the angle of the photo, but it looks as though the front ends of the shafts might be pushed up if you are stopping a moderate or heavy load. This might poke your horse is the side pretty hard and/or let the cart run up from behind… It’s not exactly the same thing, but on my forecart I expend much more thought on how I’m going to stop rather than how I’m going to go forward… Again, this might all just be the angle of the pictures, but I thought I would share a little of my cart experience… Again, wonderful work and I am excited to see how this venture goes.

[goodcompanion]

@Countymouse 18757 wrote:

Beautiful work! Truly amazing! I have one concern. Maybe it’s the angle, but the shalves look lower than I am used to. On my forecart, the shafts would swing a little at that height and be somewhat annoying to my horse. I am not sure if this is a concern on a wagon, and I suspect it would matter less… I am more concerned about the height of the shalves near the breeching. Again, it might be the angle of the photo, but it looks as though the front ends of the shafts might be pushed up if you are stopping a moderate or heavy load. This might poke your horse is the side pretty hard and/or let the cart run up from behind… It’s not exactly the same thing, but on my forecart I expend much more thought on how I’m going to stop rather than how I’m going to go forward… Again, this might all just be the angle of the pictures, but I thought I would share a little of my cart experience… Again, wonderful work and I am excited to see how this venture goes.

That is a good point and I think you are right. I may need to swap these shafts for ones with a “riser” in the rear. Part of this is probably due to the fact that I swapped the original wheel (44″) for a 34″ wheel, thus losing 5″ of height. Plus I am using a tall horse.

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