What to make a pole out of ?

[frdzeller]

Hi, I am new here so please excuse my lack of horse sense. I am going to build a two wheeled forcart. Why can’t I make the pole out of one and one half or two inch galvanized pipe.? Wouldn’t it last longer? There must be a reason why most use wood. I just don’t know why.? Thank you for your advice in advance. Fred

[carl ny]

You can, but a pipe bends,it doesn’t have what we call”memory”. If you bend pipe, it stay’s bent. If you bend wood it will spring back to original, to a certain extent.

Carl nny

[Brad Johnson]

Fred-
Metal is used but I do not like a metal pole at all. First, it gets cold and slippery in the winter. Second, a little flexibility in a pole can be a real safety measure if things get out of hand. Third, good poles are everywhere in the woods and easy to make and replace whenever you need a new one. Try a good piece of hornbeam – it will last you a very long time!
-Brad

[Donn Hewes]

Steel is a little more expensive than a wood. I would make the steel tongue strong though. square stock might be better than galvanized pipe. 2 x 2 with 3/16 wall thickness might be good. !/8 wall thickness might be alright with 2 1/2 x 2 1/2? Just thinking out loud. Do you use a D ring harness by any chance? All my tongues on new carts are not attached at all, just slide into a socket. This makes them very easy to change. I would not do this with any other harness type.

[frdzeller]

Thanks to you guys. I have some idea what I should do now. If you want to know the facts. Ask the people who work with draft horses. thanks again. Fred

[dominiquer60]

We have poles of various types, wood, square stock and round pipe. I prefer the wood for the reasons above, and also because it is quieter than metal. When I am cultivating or another relaxing task, the last thing that I want do is drown out the sound of the Veery with a loud clanking metal pole. Sam has a few pieces that like Donn he can interchange a square stock pole between, and like Donn we use good snug D-Ring harness. Part of the success with these poles and harness relies on proper harness adjustment. There are a lot of good conversations here about that topic if you do a search for D-ring harness they will come up.

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