Hand Truck
I have an old, light duty hand truck that had been abused over the years. It was used at the laundromat that my parents used to own for moving commercial washers and other machines beyond its weight capacity. It probably would have held up if the machines were just rolled across a flat floor, but we used it to go up and down an 8" high stoop into the back storage room. The downward force on the hand truck increases beyond the weight of the machine being carried when the wheels impact the ground. This impact force could be several times the weight of the machine depending on how well the descent was controlled. The axle brackets are the weakest point of this hand truck's design. The weaker of the 2 started to bend with every impact. As it bent further, the whole frame began to twist and the center cross brace bent as well. The pictures were taken after I straightened the cross brace using a vise and my hands.
I used a grinder to cut through the welds holding the old axle brackets on and redesigned them using thicker steel. Most of this repair was done with a bandsaw, belt sander and drills. I don't have a welder, so I bolted the new brackets to the frame. This will be the weak point because all the force is being transferred through the thin walls of the frame tube to the bolts. If the holes start to elongate, I will weld the brackets to the frame. The axle was cross drilled for cotter pins to retain the wheels, but the new brackets pushed the wheels out farther and they covered the holes. I used the lathe to drill and tap holes in the ends of the axles for wheel retainer screws. I cut some pieces of conduit to keep the proper spacing between the brackets and the axle was slipped through. Finally, the whole lower section got a few coats of industrial grey enamel. That will help keep the rust at bay and I think it looks better than the original orange color.
I used a grinder to cut through the welds holding the old axle brackets on and redesigned them using thicker steel. Most of this repair was done with a bandsaw, belt sander and drills. I don't have a welder, so I bolted the new brackets to the frame. This will be the weak point because all the force is being transferred through the thin walls of the frame tube to the bolts. If the holes start to elongate, I will weld the brackets to the frame. The axle was cross drilled for cotter pins to retain the wheels, but the new brackets pushed the wheels out farther and they covered the holes. I used the lathe to drill and tap holes in the ends of the axles for wheel retainer screws. I cut some pieces of conduit to keep the proper spacing between the brackets and the axle was slipped through. Finally, the whole lower section got a few coats of industrial grey enamel. That will help keep the rust at bay and I think it looks better than the original orange color.