Loooong weekend

This weekend is a long one for me. I am taking this Friday and Monday off for some much needed rest and recreation.

Now that the forge is completed, I can start planning some other stuff that I’ve been wanting to do.

A while back I made some wooden wheels that were going to be used on a water rocket carriage. The water rocket project went into hiatus (mostly because of time and cost issues), but the wheels were completed. I am thinking of using the wheels as a forming jig for making spoked wheels for a goat cart. I’ll need to drill some holes into the perimeter of the wheel so that I can attach the steamed wood to the jig using some clamps. I’ll need to rip-cut some timber that I have in the feed shed (blackwood, sassafras, Huon pine, leatherwood … etc.) and then I’ll steam and bend the wood around the jig. After the wood has “formed” I’ll bend another and then glue it to the previous lath. I intend to make each wheel from about 7 x 3mm thick laths. This will make each wheel about 21mm thick and about the same width.

I’ll make the rims for the wheel using steel hoops (made on the forge). I need to make some hubs and spokes as well … but I’ll get around to that later, for now, the wheel rim is the target project.

I will make one wheel rim and see how that goes. If it all goes pear-shaped, then I will rethink the plan.

When the wheel rim is crafted, I will need to cut it up into sections so that it can be hammered onto the spokes … but that is probably thinking about it a bit too early.

Also, I am picking up some aluminium roofing from a friend on Friday, so I will also need to do something with that. The aluminium roofing is intended to be the roofing of a new goat shelter that I am building in  the bottom paddock. I will need to buy some timber posts for the frame and some stud timber for making the wall and roof structure. Ideally, the new goat house will be only about 1.8m high. The goats won’t be able to use it until I have sorted out the fencing in the bottom paddock … but that is still a job for later when I have enough spare cash for fencing material.