On Mon, 26 Apr 2021 07:59:30 +0100, PeterC
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:02:22 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Sat, 24 Apr 2021 22:46:40 +0100, newshound
wrote:

snip

On strut thickness, steel is expensive in the UK these days, have you
bought any lately? And they are mostly made in Britain.

This is something I've often come across when trying to replace
something old / good with something new / good, they really are made
down to a price these days (even if the price we might be wiling to
pay isn't an issue).

When I took the (fairly old, conventional flue) tumble dryer to bits
the other day, everything undid ok, there wasn't a spec of rust on any
of the (substantial) steelwork, no stripped threads, wonkey screws,
corroded wires / connectors and even the plastic didn't snap, all well
designed etc.

Depending on how bad the overall structural condition of this barrow
is (albeit rusting away in places) and given what you might have to
spend, *if* you could find something anywhere near equivalent, in the
spirit of DIY I might be interested to see if it could be recovered
using fiberglass bandage?

snip
Thanks for the suggestions, but such a repair wouldnt withstand the forces
applied. There's very little metal left in some places and fibregalass
wouldn't take the twisting etc.

FWIW, I've been working with / in fibreglass for years and I'm pretty
sure that if applied the way I'm thinking (which may not be as you are
thinking g) I see no reason why it couldn't be sufficiently strong
(in all required dimensions)?

I mean, the fibreglass bumper-covers (on my fibreglass kitcar) aren't
that thick but are still pretty strong / stiff? Similar with the door
frames.

The hulls on all our fibreglass boats weren't very thick but were made
rigid by fibreglass 'ribs' moulded in to give them more a 3d section
(they often used a length of 'paper rope' that added little weight and
took the resin well but created the hollow core that gave the shape
that created the stiffness).

If we are talking the conventional wheelbarrow tubular chassis that
includes the handles and 'nose' to carry the front wheel, I imagine
the stresses in use would be:

A mainly upwards bending moment in the handles focused around the back
of the tub.

A mainly upwards bending moment in the section forward of the tub from
the wheel.

Dynamic variations on those bending moments as you move around (still
likely to be mostly upwards on both the handles (varying as you
balance the load) and definitely the front (unless you get it
airborne). ;-)

Also, there would be nothing stopping you glassing some steel into the
key areas for extra support, but it probably is a project best suited
to someone who has some experience with such materials (assuming you
don't and definitely 'a project' rather than the easiest solution).

Cheers, T i m