Musings

Mundanities, Vol. 5

One of the curses(?) of occupying a space as large as the barn is that there is often little incentive to throw things away when their useful life is over.  Even if some artifact is no longer functional, you see, its carcass may serve as the raw material for some new application.  Such was the case with this simple project.

After many years of faithful service the old garden cart simply rotted away.  The wood panels forming the box of the cart were friable to the point of needing no tools for the disassembly, gloved hands were all it took to take the detritus and toss it into the fire pit.  The wheels and axel, however, remained robust albeit a bit rusty, and were kept in waiting in the basement of the barn for several years, just waiting for the new generation of use.

Once I got a new hefty riding lawnmower I realized that the homestead needed a tow-behind wagon for moving mulch, compost, etc., for Mrs. Barn’s gardening efforts.  So I made one.  Simple, sturdy and functional.

I ripped a pile of PT-SYP and assembled the unit with deck screws.  I will make and affix the tail gate at some point soon, depending on weather and other projects.  I’ll also fit it with a tarp liner so dirt and gravel can be hauled without falling through the cracks.

It was satisfying to get such a nice project in just a few hours of low-intensity work, requiring little precision and only a framing square and screw gun for assembly.