I just completed this conversion into a trolley/barrow. I was going to throw out the body anyway, due to rust starting to penetrate next to the left handle mount but decided to try making up a trolley out of stuff lying around the home. Despite appearances, it turned out very sturdy. I plan to do minor mods to front to make it a bit stronger, but it's ready to go.
Last edited by CyberJack; 23/09/1802:08 PM. Reason: Broad Posts
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Good one mowerfreak, I use same base to carry besser bricks etc, save my back............. I was going to screw a couple of bits of wood on to make flatter base, ....... but I might find an engine... speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
Makes me cry seeing a good set of wheels being used like that, wheels are the most difficult component for me to find.
Hi Norm K, The front treads are quite scrubbed on the inside, they don't look as good in real life and the bearings have a bit of play. Yes they are passable and I have much more worn older ones that will do the job just as well so I can save these.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
G'day Mowerfreak I wish more folks would do this. Good job!
My folks tell the story of how Dad, with an expanding family, extended the house. He cut the roof and used an old Qualcast pushie to move the roof section along wooden rails. It worked!
I do draw a line, though, when some folks re-purpose lounge chairs as ride-on seats. Just ask Norm about my HATE of this. It is against the order of things - like pineapple on pizza.
G'day CyberJack, looks like I have another supporter in this polarizing project of mine. Glad you think it's cool.
That's a great story of your father using it like a train and really demonstrated how sturdily they are built.
Regarding my contraption, I was going to replace the wheels with a set of the worst ones I could find, only to discover all but the front left one have a hairline crack along the shaft of the wheel which house the bearings. I have left them on and removed the only good one and replaced it with an old one with a radial crack in the tyre running from the white plastic rim ask the way out. It still works fine for this task. Now ready to use and abuse with impunity.
PS: I added pics of a wheel I was going to fit but painted first to disguise its wear, only to discover the faults with the existing wheels.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hey there CJ, I refer to it as the wheel-barrel. One advantage of the Victa barrel is it's four wheels means less work having to support and balance it as you push it along. I decided to just put back the original plastic front wheel, as I figured it won't be subject to the same punishment as mowing duty, and I can always remove it if I need to put it on a mower. Plus, why have one odd wheel after the work I put into it?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I might add, I appreciate both practical and artistic re-birthing ... as seen in the two gallery images below.
Many thanks --------------------------------- Jack
p.s. the annoying thing in the second image - of the Pope flowerbed is the composition. Almost perfect, but why wasn't the gnome moved forward, and be central in the lower mower handle frame? This would have added another artistic layer!
Otherwise, look at the ordered geometry of the wheels (top left), to the jumble of bits (top right).
I saw a good one today (not quite in the same way as your creation Mowerfreak) but ingenious none the less.
It was a old briggs powered lawn edger (like a little wonder lawn edger from the 70s) morphed with a stihl leaf blower. What the guy had done was made a mounting brace that he could place his stihl leaf blower on. Then there was a pipe, terminating with a right angle towards the edger blade. That meant when he edged (with the leaf blower on) it blew the cuttings onto the lawn that he would then mow over.
Probably not an original idea, and wouldn't safe him much time, and made a lot more noise, but I thought it was a good effort.
G'day CyberJack, G'day Tyler, that sounds like more trouble than it's worth, albeit logical -on paper. I presume the Stihl had a fixed throttle position, otherwise that would require some coordination to operate. It's good to see what other repurposing has been done as a result of my post, just to learn new ideas.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
If I get a chance tomorrow I will get a pic of my Victa Victa trolley.
p.s. the annoying thing in the second image - of the Pope flowerbed - is the composition]. Almost perfect, but why wasn't the gnome moved forward, and be central in the lower mower handle frame? This would have added another artistic layer!
Otherwise, look at the ordered geometry of the wheels (top left), to the jumble of bits (top right).
Jack I can't believe you snuck this in and nobody noticed, very clever.
This is my Victa Victa trolley and yes MF the trolley is an alloy base and a bloke wanted to buy it a few days ago but I told him I needed my trolley. I don't think he was too happy that I wouldn't sell it to him. I think I need to build another trolley so I can stack some more bases because it makes it easier to move them around. If I could just get wheels I could put a lot of these bases back to work
Hey Normie, don't despair, there must be enough rotted out bases with decent wheels to eventually see them out. You must be using bolts to make that balancing act.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, no bolts they just sit there happily waiting for a rebirth, I don't move it around much but I can if I need to. Problem is I think the base sitting on the bottom is rusted out and needs to go to the scrap, I guess it will have to wait till the next trip. Can't see me ever finding enough wheels, I do use other wheels from time to time but that means I have to cut the axles off and weld or bolt 1/2 inch ones on. Bit of a pain but helps solve a few of the problems.
