*The Red Waggin’*

By Jaden

19 February 2005

Due to growing "cool idea, I gotta make me one" posts on the board, I guess I’ll whip out a quick article on building a red waggin’.

I recently started a new job and walked right into the middle of somebody else’s project of getting an apartment ready for a new tenant. The past caretaker had left all the cleaning stuff in the apartment and it was scattered about. Even when in a couple of boxes the only way to move it around the complex was to carry it. I thought "There must be a better way."

We have a pretty small budget and I didn’t want to spend $$ to buy a wagon or something similar. I thought about it for a while and decided to use a lawnmower frame.

I went and scrounged up a frame minus the engine. Then I looked around and found some scrap plywood and strapping and a couple pieces of short 2x4’s. I scraped the grass off the underneath and then blew it all off with the air compressor.

I dug through a couple of "catch all" cans and found a few bolts and nuts and screws.

Here’s what I came up with.

I wanted a fairly big platform, so I used the 2x4’s to raise the plywood to clear the wheels, shown below.

I got the plywood and 2x4’s laid where I wanted and then drilled through the existing engine mounting holes in the frame and right through the wood. Then I bolted it all to the frame. Good and sturdy.

Then I used the strapping and screwed it on the edge of the platform. This will give something to screw the sides in to. (Don’t try and screw into the edge of a piece of plywood or into the end of any wood…it won’t hold)

I cut the corners off the front…anticipating bashing my ankles into them.

Well it ain’t pretty, but it works. It feels pretty sturdy. Sure beats carrying stuff.

So it cost $0.00 in materials and about 1 hour in time and it works. 101 uses for a lawnmower frame.

If I can find some red paint I think I’ll paint it and write "My Red Waggin’" on it.

Jaden