As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been searching for old wheelwright videos. I only found a couple of interest, until I started searching for “Radmacher” and other applicable German words. Score! It makes me wonder how many wonderful videos must be out there, if I only knew all the right language.
To my joy, this old German man seems to be making a wheelbarrow wheel. Somewhat more complicated than mine, but a wheelbarrow wheel none the less:
Is he slopping water onto his mortises and tenons at 5:08? I think I’ve seen old rake-makers dip their tines into water before driving them into the head…I wonder what the water does. I guess I’ll have to try it.
I love how he measures to see if everything is square at 6:00. Too simple! You can see a wheelbarrow on a shelf behind him.
I like the slip of metal he uses to connect the felloes at 10:40. Seems easier than those dowels I’ve been using.
This modern German fellow seems to know his stuff, though I’m a little dubious about the wormy wood he’s using. I love the huge wooden holdfasts he’s using to hold his wheel down at 3:37:
This beautifully filmed video depicts a wheelwright who is still living the 19th C. agrarian craftsman’s lifestyle. Lots of interviews in German, which don’t do me much good, but it’s worth watching just to see someone living such a simple life. I like how he makes his wedges with an ax.
Having tried using a scythe a couple times recently, I find his scythe work quite impressive. The video is really only 25 minutes long – the rest is random repeats: