Restoring a 1940's Hay Wagon: COMPLETE OVERHAUL & REBUILD! (with our Woodland Mills HM126 sawmill)

[@oldiron4135]

I know it's an older video, but a mistake I see here, is you bolted all 4 corners of running gear to the main wooden beams. If you do that, it won't flex. When I did mine, I bolted the rear 2 uprights to the main beams, and then chained the front on one side. This allows the running gear to twist and move without busting your beams and or boards or running gear. The chain keeps the front of hay deck from flipping up off the running gear if it needs to flex a lot or you load heavy in the rear of wagon. We load hay on ours and it gets pretty heavy sometimes. Like approaching over 5 tons. Any slight of uneven ground and this whole wagon needs to flex. Just a heads up or i dont see something.

[@bergercreek]

This is perfect. I have a 30's or 40's hay wagon that needs restored, I have a bandsaw mill, and I even have tons of eastern red cedar. I might have to copy this, it turned out really well.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Berger Creek Homestead Thanks! We love it and use it a lot!!! Definitely restore yours especially if you have cedar:) that wood is amazing. We use it for almost everything!

[@bergercreek]

@@CollinsCountry it is my absolute favorite wood!

[@CollinsCountry]

+Berger Creek Homestead same! We love cedar! Good luck with your project!

[@donyager7253]

Great to see it come back to life.great job!!!

[@CollinsCountry]

+Don Yager Thank you! It was a blessing to get this for free:) We have used it A LOT on our farm. We will continue to use it for years and decades to come:)

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Nice job. Starting the same project today

[@CollinsCountry]

+Rockhill farm Thanks. And good luck with yours! We now use this to haul the wood around our farm that we saw on our sawmill. It’s perfect for that!

[@Tinkerbell227]

8:43 I hope you like cracked and broken joists. You NEVER bolt both ends of a floating deck. And that is Exactly what this kind of running gear is. You ONLY bolt the back with 1 bolt each. That is why you had to drill holes in the metal. It was designed for 1 bolt each. They are just cradled in the metal uprights. The cross members are what holds the width correct all the way down. (I recommend log cabin recesses to tie it on naturally between the joists and cross members.) Then planks put long ways on the cross members. And finish it off with a back stop and a 1"x2" board laid flat along all 4 edges. It has to float because it has no suspension. So it accommodates uneven ground and holes by not supporting the joists 100% of the time. The wood will flex but only so much and not nearly as much as the frame will. The front flexes the most because of the steering and that is why the bolts are on the back end.

[@Tinkerbell227]

Yes, do chain the front of the joist to the frame also. I forgot that part till I saw the other guys post.

[@CollinsCountry]

Wow. Thanks for the info. I did not know that.

[@Tinkerbell227]

@@CollinsCountry It is an easy fix. A rigid gear can be a safety thing also. It could lift a steer tire and cause a front end slide. Especially if you are on a bank. I did that first comment before you finished building the deck. So, I saw you did notch the cross members. I would have done it a little differently. Notch the crosses half as much and do the same depth notch on the joist that matches the crosses. .5"-.75" notch on both.

[@newholland68]

Looks great! Don’t forget to check the hub bearings to make sure the grease hasn’t dried up. It happens when those old wagons set a while.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Stuart M Thanks for the reminder and tip! James did that:) That was one of the many things I didn’t get footage of… Thanks for watching:)

[@TheCraftyCrowShow]

That’s the prettiest hay wagon in Kentucky! Great job guys, really enjoyed this one

[@CollinsCountry]

+The Crafty Crow Show Thank you!!!! We love it too! :)

[@jamesbasile9586]

Nice job on your rebuild. You sawmill is super nice.

[@CollinsCountry]

Thanks! And we love the sawmill. It has been our best addition to our farm.

[@brittanymason4998]

That is gorgeous 😍! I didn't have any notifications so I've missed a lot of y'alls videos so now I'm binge watching 😂.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Brittany Mason thank you! We love how it turned out:) And welcome back to the channel:) Hope you enjoy the positive and uplifting content of our hillbilly lifestyle haha

[@robertward553]

Nice.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Robert Ward Thanks! We have used this a lot on our farm. It was absolutely worth rebuilding!

[@jonbutzfiscina1307]

Nice rebuild. But why didn't you paint the frame before you started to reassemble to parts?

[@CollinsCountry]

+Jon ButzFiscina Hey! Good eye 😉 I should have… I was just working fast on this project and rushed it.

[@kevind3185]

Most truck spring shops can make "U" bolts if you ever run into that problem again.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Kevin D Oh wow. I didn’t know that. Thanks!!!! Will remember that for the future. Really appreciate the tip!

[@ActionNathanOakley]

First, I think Mr. Collins looks like actor Stephen Amell. 🤣🤣 Second, question: Should that wagon be painted with some kind of weather resistant laquer or something? Just curious cuz you know the elements is just gonna eat that up. Nice job though, looks awesome.

[@CollinsCountry]

+Bad Ass Videos of Pure Awesomeness! Oh my goodness! You’re right. James does look like Amell. Never noticed! And we don’t have to stain or put sealer on the wood because it’s cedar. Nature made cedar very rot resistant so it will last a very long time! :) It’s like treated wood:)

[@theshop5331]

Saw dust and stove pipe boots.

[@CollinsCountry]

+The Shop yup!

[@troykelso]

0:08 That's not irony. Irony would be a police car being stolen, or a fire station burning down.

[@CollinsCountry]

You are correct. But no big deal... When we are speaking with excitement, sometimes the wrong words come out:) We were very excited to get this hay wagon for free!!!

[@troykelso]

@@CollinsCountry It's a sweet wagon, no doubt. 👍

[@CollinsCountry]

+Troy Kelso Thanks!!! :)