Pioneers Were Innovative Wheelwrights | Engels Coach Shop
As eastern built wagons headed west, the wood dried and shrank, so adjustments had to be made to wheels in the drier climate. This shows one innovative method often used by pioneers who may not have had a blacksmith or wheelwright near by. Building and restoring horse drawn vehicles often reveals many hidden stories of the past.
These are some of the tools you see me use regularly in my shop;
The Rasp I like to use - 14” amzn.to/2wclyTI
The Big Hoof Rasp - 17” amzn.to/3nMh5NL
The Rebar Leatherman I use amzn.to/2vuvWpH
The silk scarf I wear amzn.to/2wGqKQf
My metal marking pencil amzn.to/2Hu75oB
Metal marking pencil refills amzn.to/3744EDP
Many of you know I am a Makita tool user.
I use Makita Cutoff blades amzn.to/39gln8f
I have several 4½” Makita angle grinders amzn.to/377snTp
I have several 7” Makita grinders amzn.to/3biF0hP
4½” Flap wheels amzn.to/386TyPy
My Makita cordless drill amzn.to/2OxQZ1e
My Milwaukee ½” cordless drill amzn.to/31BopBB
My Makita 3¼” Electric plane amzn.to/2OBkVcV
My Makita Leaf Blower, revolutionized my shop cleaning amzn.to/2Uywh5d
My Makita ½” drill, very powerful amzn.to/377uEhp
Helpful books concerning the carriage trade;
Carriage Terminology: An Historical
Dictionary amzn.to/2Hfoq4H
The Brewster Story - amzn.to/2wzrUNq
Practical Carriage Building amzn.to/3cJALfR
Wheel making: Wooden Wheel Design amzn.to/2TIxfK8
Carriage and Wagon Axles amzn.to/3aGDXav
An Interesting account of an early English Wheelwright Shop amzn.to/39sAICR
The Wheelwright Shop, in Kindle form amzn.to/3bxYOhd
All these Amazon links help support the channel if you choose to use them. It doesn't cost you anymore, they just send a referral commission to the channel. Thanks
#Wheelwright #WagonWheels #HorseWagons
Thanks for the corrections pronouncing Stoughton with a "oh" sound and not an "ah" sound. Locals are the best.
From one young man to another⁉😋👀....Thanks very much...👍
where do you get that thick leather from? can it be ordered online?
@@johndowe7003 There's a leather outlet in .Billings where I found it.
@@johndowe7003 montanaleather.com
Thank you for preserving the past. I am redoing a freight wagon, the rivets you are using for the box where would a guy get those.
This guy is the only real blacksmith on u-tube. Thanks for these videos.
That is one sharp knife
I was thinking that exact same thing. May e Dave can show us some of his tools and how he maintains them.
Indeed! I had a need to cut some leather way back when. Did not go nearly as well. The knife shape reminds me of a Japanese pull saw...
Dave, you're not only preserving these old wheels, you have preserved an example of what one man with a trade can accomplish when he has a purpose in life. Once again, thanks for sharing!
And he is also preserving the skillset in a manner that, at some time in the future, a young man/woman interested in the trade can actually begin the process of learning it from his videos. Not many people care enough about their trade to undertake something like that & you've gotta respect him even more for doing that!
One of those "temporary" repairs that are only temporary until they stop working... 200 years later.
This channel is not only about all the craftsmanship but about the history of the wagons and all their components!!!
Unsure how this channel showed up on my recommended, but what an informative video. A true showing of craftsmanship and art. Outstanding
Y’all realize how strong this guy is? Wagon wheels are a lot heavier than you’d think. Too bad this guy is likely the last wheelwright. I’m glad he is documenting it.
I hope his daughter carries on with the trade
I was thinking the same thing watching him carry those hot steel tires from room to room at arm's length without making physical contact with them. That's not easy for a man half his age. I wouldn't want to arm wrestle him for anything worth more than a dollar or two.
He's not the last. There's always gonna be a need for someone to build, rebuild, fix and maintain these things for niche industries and such.
I guess there must be some wheelwrights left in the Amish community. They use horse drawn wagons daily, so I guess they're able to repair them.
@@horatiohornblower868 and luckyly their Religion does not forbid offering their service to outsiders.
I always find it cathartic watching you work on these wheels.
My dad was born in 1911 and he told me how he watched the method of the steel tire being heated up and mounted on the wheel. Back in those days such things were still part of daily life. Thanks for sharing your craftsmanship! Nice to see how the old ways of doing things still matter today.
I just had to watch this video clip, again !! You are a true wheelwright expert, Dave !!
It's late on a Friday evening. It's time for my weekly fix of Dave and his wagon-building. My week is complete. My best wishes to you all.
You are the Master!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏👏👏👏👏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Watching you repair these old wagon wheels, I could just imagine them, old-timers, setting around a campfire, cutting the canvas, and fixing the wheels. Everything has a story to tell if we only look for it. Thank you, Dave.
Thanks Dave for telling us the stories behind these wheels, so we can appreciate and respect the lives of those who once depended on them. I love the history in your videos.
a master at his trade, like poetry in motion
Thank You Dave 73 AB7RR Bob God Bless America
One of the coolest channels on KZhead!!
Glad you added more wheel videos. I know you needed the break from them. But at 68k views it don’t matter what you dish up. We all come running with our plates out. But I can say don’t recall you covering this in past episodes. Glad you are sharing either way.
Peace and Joy! Your work is appreciated as preserving our past into the future.
In addition to inginuity, necessity is the mother of invention. And frugality is another trait of our forebearers. All are demonstrated in the settlers maintaining these old wheels.
I certainly hope that someone is learning from you how to do the same things you do! Thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you for showing how much the wood shrank by showing how much metal you had to cut off the tires. I always knew wood shrank. But I didn't know it would be that much. It's made me a better woodworker because now I totally understand why it's important to the use the techniques in cross grain furniture applications. 👍. Sending lots of love 💖 from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵.😷
Learn something new every day.
This is cathartic to watch. Glad we have the same name
That was super awesome!!! 👍👍😊
Once again thanks for the video.
I want leather that thick, holy cow!
Good morning to all from SE Louisiana 12 Feb 22.
Fascinating history and ingenuity. Survivors.
Absolutely fascinating to not only watch a skilled Artisan at work but to also admire the tools he has developed from old bits and pieces over the years to assist him in his craft. I could watch this for hours....and I do.
Thanks for your nice movie and thanks for looking to the futur with your art of making/rebuilding these wooden wheels ! regards from Brussels Europe
Another great Video Dave. Well, it only took 63 years for me to get my answer. When I was 16 yrs old I worked in a Tannery in Pittsfield ma. and I can remember some of the old timers sitting around during lunch break, talking about using chunks of leather to repair wagon wheels. but I never really got an direct answer as to how!? I just did !.thanks for solving my 63 year old conundrum. Now I can put my mind to rest on that one and go after the million other ones stuffed in there. Thanks for easing my mind Dave and a great video and for sharing. ECF.
Thanks for filming. Stay safe
Preservation instead of restoration should always rule when possible. Great work!
Very interesting video. I'm amazed how ingenious our pioneer folks were.
I am a machinist/ toolmaker and I am truly amazed at the shear amount of specialty tools that you have made or acquired to do what you do. You are the definition of a true Craftsman. I don’t know why, but ever since I was very young I have always had a fascination with wagon wheels and how they were made. I appreciate your videos.
Bravo, sei un maestro! Lavorerei con te anche gratis.
My grandfather had a Ford model-T with wooden wheels which would dry out and wobble. He'd park the car in a mud puddle to soak up the wood and tighten the wheels.
My grandpa used to pee om them regularly, grandma did not.
My grandpa had a 1919 Model T truck and my dad had a bucket and big brush and when they got loose he'd soak 'em with the brush and they'd tighten up. Millennials would have no problem doing that stuff now.
@@SuperSrjones you sure?
@@waterboy8999 My grandma was tough, she was putting wood under clothes boiler tub one day and one piece would not go in. It seems when she picked up a handful of sticks, one of the sticks was a snake. But she stuffed it in the fire anyway.
@@SuperSrjones that's a great story Steve, sounds a bit mine in some way but we done have many snakes here in Scotland, I miss her a lot.
Fascinating. A wheelwright who wheel wrought.
I love that you can fix an old wheel and leave it looking untouched. Very impressive.
thank you for your videos I really appreciate see you soon.
Thanks Dave! You have helped me out with the wheelwright passages in my book before, and now my editor has come up with the idea that our main character is going to be fixing a wagon wheel along the trail in Wyoming. You have given us both the reason (eastern made and it has dried out) and the method (using leather from an old boot he found.) Thanks again!
You're welcome!
I watched a more recent video of yours, and I now know , or at least think I know why your daughter became so talented as a welder. You're a great role model !
Ah, got my Friday afternoon wheelwright fix!! Thanks for sharing, Dave!!
At the end of a hard week, there is something about watching you work on wheels that is mesmerizing and relaxing. They are simple and complex and require to the details. Thankyou for another great video.
late again but here. Wow, one of your best.
Love this mixing of history in your video's!!!
That's awesome, reminds me of my Mom. She makes authentic canvas floor rugs. Back before linoleum was invented, the pioneers would use canvas from sailboats or their wagons by stretching and sealing them on the floors. My Mom had brought that back, she stretches, cures, decorates, and seals them as rugs. This is just awesome because you can see another use for canvas, the original pioneer handyman's secret weapon :)
In the theater, most notably opera, we use full stage ground coverings that are exactly that, full stage 'rugs' painted to look like tile, marble, or whatever floor covering is required. Sometimes in several layers which are peeled off one by one during scene changes
Thanks Dave. You stay very busy.
That knife must be unbelievably sharp
Presente: Cordial Saludo; Desde. Zapopan, Jalisco, Mx. Siempre fiel y Pendiente.
Thanks for the great lesson today. Still have the humidity problems with the wooden things being buit in the East and going to the dry land in Colorado too. You did an awesome job with the preservation of the wheels . Appreciate your skills Dave.
Watching your excellent work. Trying to make 4 wheels for a buckboard for daughter to place in front yard. Wood is expensive. Lol.
To bad we have lost the use what you have culture. Thanks for the look into the past.
There are still a few of us who are either too stingy or too stubborn to buy nails when we have a whole pail of perfectly good (?) used nails in the shed.😆
GREAT JOB, GREAT VIDEO, SEE YOU NEXT WEEK...
Excellent....as usual! Thanks Dave!
When a man knows what he's doing, it looks easy.
Thanks for allowing us to look over your sholder, I really enjoy all of your videos.
Until watching you I never realized there was so much to being a wheel wright. I like to build a model water wheels, and that explains why I have so much trouble building the water wheel, ----- thank you
I would love to spend just one day with you in your shop.
Wow 👏 it awesome watching and is good to know that rere Wells still existing today cool 😎. Kind regards from London UK 🇬🇧
I love every bit of content you produce on any topic... and I know you feel these are done to death but I have to admit I said: "Yay! A wheel video!!!" I am still amazed watching you assemble wheels after all these years. Seems like magic to me they end up as strong as they do. Thanks!
This is a dream job for me. I hope someone who is much younger and smarter then me will pick these skills up. I wanted to 20 years ago, but chose a different profession that was just as satisfying. At that time I didn't have the Internet to see there were choices.
Brilliant very interesting it’s a pity we couldn’t get some youngsters interested in this tradition to may be keep it alive
I feel like I learned more in 20 minutes watching him than I could in a lifetime on my own.
Your wheel work never get old. There always seems to be a new story to be told which underlies the reasons behind your method and the application of those skills required to accomplish the desired results. As always another excellent video!
I really enjoyed this, Practical History.
Great demonstration of wheel repair, thanks.
I'm reading Josiah Greggs "Commerce of the Prairies" and he describes this very issue crossing the Cimarron trail.
You sir…..are a maestro
Thank you Dave for another great video!
Is there anything this guy doesn't know and can't do. Can't be too many people left with his knowledge skills and experience
love that punch. your rivet tool ...Nice use for an old crow bar.
Those red wheels makes me think of the movie High Plains Drifter where the entire city of Lago is painted red.
What a pleasure to watch! Although I am not a Stellmacher as they are being called here in Germany nor do I know one personally but I do own some pretty old wheels from my ancestors. Nowadays they are being used as some kind of beautification to the farm only. But as long as I have been following your great craftmanship I’ve developed a certain kind of adoration for your and their skills that goes far beyond simple nostalgia. Thanks so much for sharing. In this episode I must confess I loved your hoolahop turning the wheel move at 21:24 the most! Waggon building is a Fountain of youth.
A true master..kudos to you... respect
Thanks for some good history on how a loose wheel can be fixed in the field in a manner that will last for years. And if the leather wedge gets noticed, I doubt it will, it is a good period field expedient repair.
Dave, Haven't commented much lately, however it is not because you don't deserve it! What you do is pretty special to the rest of us mere mortals! Thank you! Tom in Ceres
Fascinating, you are a very clever man. Thanks for your videos, they are very enlightening.
Wow, that was really interesting about the canvas!
Nice video. I have one ''kulichka as named here in Bulgaria, set of four wheel to repair here in old style, from my neighbor, who will sell me his one. They are very common in Bulgaria and Romania, but mostly they are repaired with modern tyres and metal axes. Kulichkas are not heavy and can be moved by a donkey. Certainly I will use one horse, and make it a all purpose one including a small home for keeping my goats and sheep. For now, I make drying wood, because I don't know how deep insects had eat the wood of the weels. Chassis is metal partly, assembly parts also, actually the kulichka is under a collapsed roof, so I can't see close every detail. But your way to repair, and how ancestors were repairing is very interesting for me, because this is an economic in time way to be able to use it without lot of material.
Cool trick with the leather.😉
Once again this old dog has learned something thank you again, Dave.
It is so educational show. Never knew how the pioneers keep those wheel functionality longer. Since you had remove several artifact (patches), have you consider preserving those things for any museum to display to visitors so they can be aware of how those people from the past lived?
I've worked with my hands, my feet, my back, my shoulders, and my head. But have you seen Dave work with his BELLY? Amazing! 🤗
The yellow wheels look like the ones we use on our carts at our shipyard to move mooring lines around.
That belly activated wheel rotator mechanism is pretty fancy. As always , nice work. Thanks for sharing.
Dave was looking like Bad Santa giving pinball lessons. kzhead.info/sun/i5iTfdOxo3Zmfps/bejne.html
Amazing work. I'm so glad you do what you do! Thanks for sharing your time and talent! KANSAS
Hi Dave, When I was a teen back in the 1970s, I grew up in the small town of Niwot, Colorado. The town is not so small anymore. Anyways, there was a Blacksmith shop on the main street in the middle of town. I had a couple of opportunities to visit the shop to have some metal bent for a project. The inside was dim, the floor of the shop was dirt and most if not all the machinery was run with belts and pulleys. I kind of wish I had been able to spend more time there. I remember he was a nice guy and didn’t charge me anything for bending the metal.
We hear about the rough time pioneers had going west, food shortage, bad weather, rough terrain, sickness and death. This video brings to light one more thing they had to contend with. Love your videos.
Thanks -- fun video. You're a good felloe!!
I do believe back in the day when people are poor you do what you had to do to get by.. the video thank you for posting such a wonderful video supposed to walk in but I enjoy all the videos you put out..👍👍😁😁💓
Great job looking great keep up the good work love your videos
Dave is sort of the "Last of the Magicans". May God give him many more years of life!!!
I never get tired of seeing this type of work
Very good idea 👍👍👍👍👍
نشكرك من مصر نحييكم 🇪🇬💐👍🇪🇬
I like your nice honest ways. And you're good solid all American work ethic. Keep it up.
Thanks, again!