Restoring Grandpa's 80-year-old Family Heirloom Wheelbarrow

[@CatalystRestorations]

Someday we'll all look back at this video and laugh at my welding together. .....right?

[@SudosFTW]

If this was 10-12 years ago, welding youtube would have had your head for those welds, as in full on cancellation through malicious flagging and the like, I've seen it happen to a friend's account and it basically ruined him, so even now, he doesn't show his welding on video until after it's all done, even after getting better and the haters finding someone else to bother. But, it's your first time. you've had no formal training that we the viewers know of, and you still need to practice, and practice, and practice... if possible, find someone locally that can teach you to weld properly with the welder you have. You'd be surprised what a quick post on facebook or the like will lead to, plenty of retired old kodgers that have been welding for years that are willing to pass on their skills to someone else. hands on training with someone way more experienced than you will help you a great deal in the long run. Bonus points if you find soemeone that knows how to weld aluminum, that's a life skill AND a highly marketable skill to put on your apocalypse resume.

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@SudosFTW great recommendations and advice, thanks!

[@rudybriskar5267]

Well, you asked to rate your welds..... Hideous. The fact that you are restoring your Grandpa's wheelbarrow, priceless ❤️

[@CatalystRestorations]

10/10 comment for honesty and sentiment 😊

[@28Cryptic743]

in my opinion, you can tell a quality wheelbarrow by the fact that there is a crossed bar between the back supports (like this one). if you buy a new wheelbarrow now adays you will be lucky to get a single horizontal (and usually narrow) bar going across, which doesn't keep the supports from twisting

[@CatalystRestorations]

Great point! Those cross braces do REALLY boost the stability.

[@metallurgymike1568]

Your welds have great personality

[@CatalystRestorations]

What a coincidence, that's what people say about my face!

[@owne6609]

I think that your channel is very underrated.

[@CatalystRestorations]

I might be biased, but I think so too!

[@thesquirrelchroniclesakare7808]

Nice job son. Grandpa would be proud ! 👍🏻

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! ❤️

[@Car-bq5bw]

Grandpa would be proud!

[@CatalystRestorations]

I wish he could've seen it, but I'm just glad I get to keep using it and remember him every time I use it.

[@shedmanx3640]

Your welding looks like mine. As my dad used to say, “It looks like Cocky shit son”; (Cockatoo, we’re Australian). A nice restoration to kick off your channel.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Hahaha, love it. I'm okay with being cockatoo for a while 🦜

[@medicbabe2ID]

A warrior in a garden, right there. Great work. As others have said, spraying truck bed liner in the bottom would be super tough! I make tubular wind chimes and I love that hammered finish paint. It's beautiful, especially in copper. 🤎

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! My dad has always wanted to make his own tubular wind chimes! The hammered copper does look nice, I just wish it came in more colors. I might have to experiment to make my own.

[@LittleRestorers]

That Mig Welder from VEVOR looks like a fantastic tool to have in the workshop. Well done 😉

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! 😉 It really packs a punch for how small it is!

[@7jackaloper7]

Fantastic! Love to see it brought back to life!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Jack! It's going to be used a lot this year!

[@brysonalden5414]

Another thoughtful restoration. Welding thin tubing for your first welds was, um, optimistic! Burn through happens more often than welding, until you get the welder and skills dialed in. Ask me how I know!

[@CatalystRestorations]

What can I say, I'm an optimist (and over confident in my skills sometimes)

[@rickb3225]

Excellent work! My only critique is not sticking to the original color scheme. But that's just me nitpicking. It's a new and improved version, your grandpa would be proud!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! I would've loved to stick to the original color scheme! I even bought the paint for it and everything, but ultimately I decided to go with a black and gray scheme because the paints were just more durable in those colors choices.

[@tecumseh22]

outstanding!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks, Tony!

[@jozsefizsak]

That was touching. A while back, there was an episode on the great superfast matt YT channel in which he showed his welding abilities before and after taking a one day course. He was genuinely good afterwards. The less said about before, the better. 😉

[@CatalystRestorations]

The best part about recording every thing I do is we should see my progress over time! 😊👍

[@MarkMeadows90]

Hey, not bad CR. I remember looking at the thumbnail of this video, and thought, did Restoration Station re-upload his video of the wheelbarrow he restored a few months ago? LOL! Glad you were able to get yourself a welder. They do come in handy with certain projects. I first learned to weld back in high school. When we still had shop classes. Learned to GMAW and MIG. But TIG classes were more advanced. You had to go to a trade school for that kind of stuff. I even taught my dad to weld better with his GMAW machine. I'm no expert when it comes to welding, just the small things I can do. I see that the original paint on that wheelbarrow appeared to be green? And the wheelbarrow had silver/aluminum handles and brackets? I wonder why you went with the hammer tone gray and black? Would've been nice to go back with the original colors. Just curious. Other than that, nicely done!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! If I had a powder coating setup I'd go with as close to original as possible because it'd be durable enough. But since I'm limited to spray paints (which truthfully isn't durable enough until it's fully cured in like a year) I have to go with what's most durable because I'm using it regularly immediately. And hammered paints are the most durable out there (besides epoxy spray paints, but they're super expensive and a pain to work with).

[@MarkMeadows90]

@@CatalystRestorations understandable

[@renatabianchi8044]

Il nonno sarebbe stato orgoglioso del tuo lavoro 👍👏👏👏

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thank you! ❤️

[@austynlang6522]

Excellent work! its nice to see an upstaged restoration. Im a fan of the colors you chose aswell. But most importantly as a tip from a welder id recommend turning your wire feed down a bit and practice lines on clean metal first.rust is never your friend. You want the welder to sound like bacon sizzling in a pan. It should feel likes its pushing you or having trouble keeping up. But all and all once its sanded down though, so are all the sins😂. Great work!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thank you! This welder's feed speed is tied to the amperage (I can only adjust voltage and amperage, but maybe that's common?) so I haven't quite been able to dial it in on thin metals like this. I originally practiced on some nice clean steel slabs and of course those came out clean after just a few attempts and I was like 'this isn't so bad!' and got really confident and then went straight to the thin stuff 😅. Thankful that my grinding skills are better at least!

[@petepeterson4540]

nowadays we have truck bed liner works great on wheel barrows too you want tough thats as tough as you can get.

[@CatalystRestorations]

That's a good point Pete! I'll have to keep that in mind when I re-restore this one in 20 years or I pick up another one!

[@charlesK001]

a grinder and paint make you the welder you aint....nicely done :) disagree on the replacement wheel, all the best wheelbarrows are still solid rubber, and the hub has thicker steel than has been used since the 80s, which is why it has already lasted 80 years.

[@CatalystRestorations]

I debated it for sure. I opted for a pneumatic tire because I have lots of bumps, steps, etc throughout my yard/garden and I need all the help I can get getting that tire over those bumps!

[@jt9498]

I hope you greased those wheel bearings! And....keep working on your welding. You'll get there some day! ;)

[@CatalystRestorations]

Greased and ready to go! And practice does make perfect (although I'm not sure anyone is really ever absolutely perfect at welding!)

[@paulshelley7664]

1 out of 10 for the welding!

[@CatalystRestorations]

10/10 comment for being honest

[@ramo2056]

Perfect

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks!

[@alessandrofionda8272]

Why didn't you cold bluing also the little pieces like screws? Anyway wow, you're so much detailed and accurate 🔝✨🤝🏻

[@CatalystRestorations]

Great question! Cold bluing is mostly aesthetic, but does provide a little bit of rust protection. It's fragile though and can easily scratch/rub off. Hot bluing on the other hand creates a much thicker, stronger layer of protection that is more resistant to scratching/rubbing. Sometimes though you can't safely heat up certain parts without them distorting or warping and causing them to be less precise, so that's where cold bluing would be preferable.

[@alessandrofionda8272]

@@CatalystRestorations thanks a lot! I love restoring tools but I don't have an appropriate space for it, so I would be glad to let you see my two vintage toolboxes. If you want, I'll be pleased to take advices for the restoring!

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@alessandrofionda8272 send me an email with some photos! [e-mail]

[@random_duck1]

"archivement unlocked : make things worse" 😂😂😂

[@CatalystRestorations]

It's what I do best!!

[@walterrobbins4470]

Thin metal is very easy to burn through

[@joshmyers2873]

Your first ever welds aren't bad for someone new and on thin tubing.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thank you for being gentle 😎

[@Phil197]

Oh No that wasnt the redbud was it ! LOL

[@CatalystRestorations]

Hahahahaha oh my, I never even considered that possible implication! I will use this comment as a public service announcement to confirm that the redbud is still very much alive and standing! 🌳

[@Vault57]

Grease those zerk fittings on the wheel bearings, and your bearings will last longer.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Absolutely! 💯

[@mskayla7747]

Nicely done. But your welding needs some practice. 🙂

[@CatalystRestorations]

Practice makes perfect! Although it's hard to be perfect at welding! 😉

[@Dino_Buk]

Spray paint is not good paint for this. You will have to re-spray it once every 6 months. That original paint was an oil-based high gloss paint and it really protected the metal very well after all these decades.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Yup - totally. It'll work fine for light duty use, which is what I intend to use it for. I already have another powder coated wheelbarrow for any seriously heavy duty use.

[@bulfin21]

Though myself that the blue paint held up very well for over 60 years old, I'm painting mine every 2 years

[@rogerpatrongonzalez5800]

🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏🥃👏👍🥃👏👍

[@CatalystRestorations]

🍻🍻🍻👍

[@walterrobbins4470]

I would have stayed with a solid tire. Getting a flat tire on a wheelbarrow is a pain

[@CatalystRestorations]

Good thing I kept it! Might switch it back!

[@unclerobert7532]

You should use a newer model of no flat tire witch is foam filler,

[@CatalystRestorations]

Yeah, those are definitely way lighter! Flat free times have come a long way in 80 years. For now I'm using the pneumatic tire because my yard has a lot of edges, walkways, bumps, etc that a pneumatic tire is just way, way easier to maneuver over.

[@unclerobert7532]

@@CatalystRestorations buy yourself a pack of patches and good luck

[@anonymously241]

What is the top speed? 🛒

[@CatalystRestorations]

The tire says just not to use at highway speeds, so probably pretty fast!

[@georgejones3526]

Well yeah, it’s going to wind up looking like shit if you just leave it laying out in the yard all year round.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Only a few weeks because it was displaced by a new wheelbarrow that'll be doing the big jobs. But now they both have their own spots on the shed wall!

[@petepeterson4540]

herculiner

[@CatalystRestorations]

💪💪💪