Initial Reassembly

As you can see, I started reassembling the wagon.  It turned out better than I was expecting.  The brass hoops over the bamboo rims on the wheels are holding the wheels together nicely.  The brown/black patina on the brass makes it look like iron.  New leather harness tethers are attached.  I'll finish those up when I remake the harness.  I even put patina on the metal eyelets to give it a more authentic look.  Overall, I am pleased.

I will be taking a break for a while.  I have gotten this far and just have the horse's harness to do.  But I have some family business to attend to and cannot get to it for a week or so.   I also have to buy the leather and cut strips.  I'll be remaking the design of the harness.  It will be in keeping with the style of a wagon harness.  My grandfather's version was too bulky and awkward.  I'm sure he won't mind.  Besides, my cousin is a horse person...she'll know what the right harness looks like.

Wheel Bands in Place, Some Assembly Required

I was able to make all four wheel bands and slip them onto the wheels.  All are tight fits and this should now hold the wood splices in the bamboo securely and prevent the wheels from deforming over time.

The enamel paint did not seem to set up properly, and it remained soft after four days.  I did not remove the paint prior to slipping the bands on, hoping that the soft enamel on the bamboo will eventually harden and adhere to the bands, adding further stability.  However, the paint on the rest of the wheels was damaged slightly by all the extra handling.  So with soft enamel and paint damage, I decided it was best to begin stripping the paint I painstakinly applied, down to the bare wood.  I used an Exacto knife as a scraper, sandpaper, and finally a wipedown of lacquer thinner to remove all traces of paint.  Two of the wheels are now primed with Kilz multipurpose primer.  I have yet to strip the remaining two wheels.

A third reason to strip the paint was that I am still not satisfied with the pale yellow.  It still looks too intense.  I wish I could remember what brand of paint I used on my wagon's wheels.  It was a perfect match to what Granpa originally applied.  I can still remeber the shape of the jar it came in, short but larger in diameter than the Testor's paint bottles, about the diameter of a 50 cent piece.  I have some white to further blend with the pale yellow to get the desired color.  I will also add some thinner so I apply thinner coats.  That way each coat is thin enough to dry and cure properly between coats.  I will wait for the weather to break so the temperature and humidity are lower.  Currently, the temperature outside is in the 90's with dew points in the 70's.  Not ideal for painting.

In between working on the wheels, I have begun reassembling the wagon.  The new eyelets I bought look "too new".  It struck me that since I am applying a patina to the wheel bands, I should replace the zinc plated eyelets with brass ones the same size.  A little steel wool to break the surface on the brass will work for applying the patina to the brass hardware.  It will then all match the wheels, and together, it will look pretty cool, I think.

I have the wagon mounted to the undercarriage and the splash fenders reattached to the wagon.  I cannot do any more until I have the wheels done and on the wagon.  The last bit to be redone will be the new harness for the horse and the leather straps from the harness to the connection on the wagon.  Originally, these leather straps were looped through a leather loop incorporated into the harness Grandpa made.  I bought some tiny rings and will sew them onto the harness for the leather straps to be attached to instead of adding the bulkier leather loops when I make the harness  It will make making the harness easier, but also it will reduce the bulk and give it a sleeker look.  I found some examples of harnesses on the internet and will pattern the new one both on the old one, and the pictures I found. 

All these changes are making me reexamine my wagon.  Someday, I'll probably put metal bands on the wheels, and I may eventually change the harness to give it a sleek look.  I did not change anything when I refinished my wagon, and stuck completely to Grandpa's original design.  But the necessity of strengthening the wheel splices and other subtle changes on my cousin's wagon have me thinking that it would be OK to modify it a bit.  So far, I am liking the result of these changes.

I Must Be Lucky!

I bought all the things I'd need to make the brass hoop for the wheels and came home.  I bought extra brass strips because I knew I'd have to fiddle around with it and a couple would be trashed.  First bit of luck is that the brass strips are exactly the width I need, so I don't have to trim them down.  I carefully soldered a lap splice after measuring three or four times to be sure I had the right length marked.  The splice was made to make the hoop the tiniest bit smaller.  I cleaned the surface and applied the patina. 

Unfortunately, the patina rubbed off as I slipped the hoop over the wheel, ruining the paint job.  With a bit of light force, I got it secured around the bamboo.  It looks great!  Now I don't have to worry about the bamboo splice coming undone.  I do have to strip the new paint off of the wheel and repaint it.  But that's a small price to pay for fixing a problem like this.

Funny how the techniques from plumbing (soldering the brass), stained glass (the patina), woodworking, and knowledge of how wheelwrights applied the iron hoop all came together to make this work.  Now only three more to go.

Wheel Trouble

Somehow I knew those wheels were going to give me problems.  Even though I used the strongest wood glue to bond the splices in the bamboo, and clamped it in a circle for hours to set, two if them started coming loose slightly.  I used superglue to rebond them, but I am afraid that heat and humidity over time, will weaken them again.

My cousin had purchased leather in the hopes that one day she would redo the wheels and secure them by gluing skived leather onto the outside of the wheels.  Unfortunately, I think the leather will be too pliable.  In the end, the expanding joint will overcome the strength of the leather, and the joint will still deform.  Leather also becomes brittle over time, so it's not a permanent fix.  After thinking about this, I've come up with a solution I will try.  I can purchase thin strips of brass and fashion a hoop.  The lap splice can be secured with solder.  Once I clean the surface and buff it, I can add a patina to the brass hoop to darken it to look like iron.  If I make the hoop the slightest hair smaller than the bamboo hoop, I can borrow a technique from the old wheelwrights:  Heat the brass hoop in boiling water to expand it, and then quickly slip it over the bamboo hoop.  As it cools, it will contract for a friction fit.  The metal will not allow the bamboo joint to deform and it should hold it in a circle.

While not in the original intent of my Grandfather, it is in keeping with the technique and look of wagons from his childhood, which he used to pattern his replicas. 

The thing is, I'll have to be precise in my measurement, and quick in applying the hoop. If I fail, I have to come up with a different solution. 

New Wheel Pin

While the yellow paint is giving me fits because of it's transparency, I moved on to varnishing the stained wood and applying a coat of satin lacquer to the parts painted red.  Definitely, the dull finish is more pleasing.  I have to wait for the yellow enamel to cure for 48 hours, and with the varnish and lacquer are drying, I decided to cut a new wheel retaining pin from the aluminum stock I purchased.

It required a lot of hand filing after cutting it out with my saw, but I think I got it to the right width.  Fortunately, my wife has a pair of rounded nosed pliers for jewelry bead work that I could use to make the rounded top.  The pin on the left in the picture is mine, the other three are my grandfather's.  The rounded nose pliers did "too good" of a job as the top is nearly a perfect circle.  It appears Grandpa just used flat needle nosed pliers to shape his.  But this way, it will be easy to spot the replacement pin if one looks closely enough.  I haven't cleaned and polished the other three pins yet.  I will clean each aluminum piece as I reassemble the wagon. 

For now, I'm watching paint dry.  Once the wheels are lacquered and dry, I can start reassembling.  I still have to buy a bit of leather to remake the horse's harness.  Over time, it has aged and cracked to the point of falling apart.  I also found a place where I can purchase an acrylic display case for the wagon.  Not really sure I will like the effect, but I wanted to give it a try.  I have dusted mine in the past, and it's a pain in the neck.  So a case will keep it clean.  If I like it, I'll get a second one for myself.

Progress Photo

Here's a progress photo.  The red base is done.  The wheels need some touchup, and the wagon compartment only has stain and one coat of varnish.  I like the colors, but am unhappy with the gloss finish the enamel paints yield.  I have decided to finish the painting and then get Testor's Dullcote lacquer top coat to dull the finish to a matte appearance as well as protect the paint.  To me, the gloss makes it look more like a circus wagon than what my Grandfather originally intended.  I was unable to find a matte or flat finish in the colors I needed to match, so a clear topcoat will do the trick.

The wagon and other stained pieces will get a satin finish varnish to keep the whole appearance subdued.  The four lighter flakes that appear on the wagon's back seat were originally there.  It looks like there was a tear-out or defect in the wood Grandpa used, and by the looks of it, he glued in a veneer of oak to fill it in.  The glue and different grain accepted the original finish differently, and it remains visible, and even a bit more pronounced with the first coat of varnish.  I had tried to blend it in with more stain, but the pores of the wood were so closed, it did not accept the touch up.  It adds character to the piece and in a way, I like it.  Now you know why I accepted the imperfection in the floorboard I created to fix my overshot of fitting the new piece in.  Each imperfection lends more character, but does not detract from the overall aesthetic.  I had considered painting the back seat black, to cover the veneer, but I only considered it for a split second.  I am thinking of making a seat cushion from green fabric, though.  It would be my own little added touch, and it completes the color scheme of the Lithuanian flag.  Grandpa chose these original colors to mirror the Lithuanian flag, so it would be in keeping with his intent, I think.

Stain Color Chosen

I took a piece of the wagon to the hardware store to match up the color with the stain chart, just to be sure.  I thought Minwax's Speical Walnut #224 was a good choice and I had that on hand.  But I wanted to be doubly sure.  Yes, that color was a very close match, given the age of the wood and the fact that it did not have coat of varnish or lacquer on it.

Confident in my choice, I came home and sanded the whole compartment of the wagon with 220 grit sandpaper to freshen the surface.  There were also some minor marks that would darken too much if I tried to blend in the stain, so sanding these would help.  I didn't let the stain stay on the old wood very long, just enough to blend everything together.  The new floorboard was stained, but I let the stain soak in longer to get closer to the old wood in color. 

I now have the floorboard in and the seat glued in place.  I decided not to glue the floorboard, but let it float in the bottom to allow for expansion and contraction.  When I varnish it, the varnish will seep in the cracks and hold it in place further.  But for now, the seat will hold the floorboard into place as I work on it.