This post-apocalyptic wheel assembly uses a wooden axle and spare tires (donuts) to provide the basis for a handcart, simple wagon, or trailer. Short of metal, and tools, this is also a perfect repair for a broken trailer. After I made it, I realized a solid axle has some trouble turning, so I would recommend actually cutting the axle in half and mounting each wheel independently so that a two-wheel arrangement can pivot.
The parts for this are all recycled, and very cheap, if not free. Sustainability starts with re-use, especially when the factories collapse and no new ones are being made!
If you enjoy this Instructable, check out my new website at Object Guerilla for more projects and musings on the end of the world.
You will need these materials:
2 compact car wheel hubs
2 compact car spare tires (donuts)
Several pieces of scrap plywood, appox. 4 sq. ft. in total
Hefty chunk of douglas fir, spruce, oak, walnut, hickory, pecan, or similar
Wood glue
Handful of 1/4"-3/8" through-bolts, nuts, and washers
Handful of 1/4" x 5" lag bolts
1-1/2" hole saw
Wood glue
Wax
You will need these tools:
Table saw
Jig or Bandsaw
Block plane
Drill/driver
If you live in a wood cottage in the middle of a forest, or maybe it's enough you like country style, you would like this trivet too. It's made cutting some disks from a little wood branch, and linking them together with short cord segments. You can arrange the disks in variuos shapes, in this instructable I show you some choices, but there are infinite, also you can start from a bigger branch, and make a kitchen carpet instead of a trivet ;-)
As material it's better choose a seasoned wood, so it will not cracks with time, and it will not expel humidity exposed to the heat of the pots. You can also let it seasoning after the end of the making process. I've started from a branch with a regular circular section, but you can obtain good results, and maybe better ones, with a more rough shape (it depends on how much deep you live in the forest...) You have also the opportunity to leave the bark or to remove it, I've left it in some of my trivet, as you can see in the first picture, but I removed it with sand paper in this bigger disks.