I need to build a specialized hand truck to transport a heavy astronomical telescope back and forth between my house and a mounting pier in my garden. I need a pair of wheels/tires with a diameter of at least 8", complete with axle and some sort of bearings so that I am not dependent on wood as a bearing surface. A sleeve or pair of sleeves around the axle would suffice for the bearings.
Any ideas on where I could buy such things?
Thanks!
Davoud
I am not a Harbor Freight fan but they do have good deals on wheels. Also try Northern Tool.
Harbor Freight,Northern Tool, Graingers, all have casters and pneumatic wheels.
Trying to impress her that bad? usually a dealership will sell them.
On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 22:34:06 -0400, Davoud pixelated:
Good ones do. The air takes a lot of load shock stresses off your body so they're well worth it. I got a pneumatic-wheeled hand truck and it made all the difference in the world in ease of moving heavy loads around. The same holds true for a wheelbarrow.
- Gently-used Firestone tires for sale at discount! -----------
You can find semi-pneumatic and solid rubber tires in decent diameters. An inflatable tire would give a softer ride, but if you don't want to go that route get something with a decent diameter and a tire that doesn't feel too hard. Assuming you want a smooth ride.
Here's one possibility
Sun, Aug 31, 2003, 9:58pm snipped-for-privacy@sky.net (Davoud) asks: Any ideas on where I could buy such things?
No prob. Couple of bicycle wheels. You don't want to inflate?, fill 'em with foam. The big wheels are easier to move over ground, and less inclined to bump something like a telescope.
JOAT No sense in being pessimistic - it wouldn't work anyway.
Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT Web Page Update 30 Aug 2003. Some tunes I like.
I would try:
Might also try 8" wheelchair caster wheels. The come in solid and pneumatic. Probably be able to pick up a used pair quite cheaply. Maybe even a whole used wheelchair and modify that for the hand truck depending on the size of the device that needs to be transported.
Do wheel-barrow wheels have inflatable
Look at mower replacement wheels in HD or Lowes. Solid tires, ball bearings. A half-inch bolt will serve for an axle.
Try WW Grainger
Try a farm-general store. TSC (tractor supply) or equivalent. You might find the whole cart. Good luck. BigJoe
The common 8 & 10" wheels and tires using the typical 5/8" axle are available at HD and hardware stores or you can get them from Harbor Freight, Grainger, MSC, etc
Seems to me that if you intend to transport optics, you'd want as soft a ride as you can get. Lots of jarring doesn't do optics any favors. I'd opt for pneumatic, myself.
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