Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/623

 Buckboard Driven by Motor Wheel

Detailed description of how to make a buck- board to be propelled by a push-motor wheel

B\- Frank AV. \'rm

��NATURALLY, the first part of the work upon this buckboard is the frame. The material to use is per- fectly dry, straight-grained ash. If this wood is not obtainable, well-seasoned hickory ^ $ ^^- thick may be used. It will require five pieces of ash, each 0^4 ft. long, 2 in. wide and Tg in. thick. These are joined together at the ends with cross pieces, the front cross cross piece should be 18 in. long and the rear one 24 in. long; both should be 3 in. wide

��and

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��8 in.

���The finished buckboard presents a very neat appearance and will carry its load as fast as a motor wheel runs

��thick. These are fastened to the under- side of the long pieces with wood screws, or, better still,

^;v'ith some small bolts. Another cross piece 21 3 s in- long and 2 in. wide is placed across the frame pieces at the point where its length corresponds to the width. This piece is to hold the ends of the strap iron braces which support the outer ends of the rear axles.

The axles are made of 1-in. square bar machine steel, each 3 ft. long with the ends turned down to ^ ^ in. in diameter for a length of 5 3 2 in. These are threaded to take a bicycle wheel cone snugly. Holes are drilled 6 in. in from the shoulder for a small bolt to fasten the frame to the axle. The rear axle is placed directly be- neath the cross piece and the front one is fastened to a piece of oak 2 ft. long and 1^4 in. ^^•ide. Bore a hole in the center of this oak piece to receive a bolt -^g in. in diameter. This bolt is 4}^ in. long. As regular bicycle wheels are used, the axle ends are threaded to receive the cones front and rear and nuts on the ends to

��hold the adjustment. The front wheels are 24 in. and the rear ones 28 in. in di- ameter. Non-skid tires should be put on the rear wheels.

The easiest way to equip the machine with mudguards is to utilize the regular stock guards used for bicycles. Second- hand guards can be purchased at a rea- sonable price and they will do as well as

new stock.

The steer- ing post con- sists of a piece of gas pipe 2H ft. long and ^4 in. in diameter. A block of oak, or other hard- wood, long en o u g h to reach between the center slat and the next one to its left, has a slanting hole bored in it which brings the other end of the pipe at a position most convenient for the operator to handle the wheel. The angle is about 45 deg. The best way to find this angle is to incline the pipe with one end touching the block under the slats and to tip the other end until the distance, at the right angle, between it and the frame measures 19 in. This brings the steering end at a convenient position for the average person. The block should be well up in front. Another block should be set on top of the slats at a point where the pipe will intersect it. The pipe must be allowed to turn freely in a hole bored into its center. This block should be halved, or sawed through the center lengthwise and held together with an adjustment screw in each end. For additional support, a piece of strap-iron should be bent over a pipe the size of the post and the parts riveted together like a clamp.

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