Welcome to www.diggers-dumpers-plant.co.uk
Also known as www.oilyhands.co.uk
Website with towable digger, excavator and backhoe information. Features
Fleming Micron, Powerfab, Mantis, Benford, Roughneck, Gopher, Smalley, Tow-hoe,
Standard Muscleman, homemade and other small diggers. Links to current
manufacturers such as Groupe-FCM, Hubei, Dig It and suppliers of plans for the
Ground Hawg Homebuilt Backhoe and CDP Excavator. Includes various
other plant, construction and mechanical projects, pictures and useful links for
spares and repairs. Extra information and pictures to add to the site always
appreciated.
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- Plant Discussion Group
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- Fleming Micron digger restoration
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- Benford ME130 and Mantis digger
- Toe-Hoe and Standard Muscleman
- Mitchell Cotts digger
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- Homemade backhoes and new towable diggers
- List of known towable diggers
- Digger spares and repairs
- Towable digger V. Mini Digger?
- Frequently asked questions
- Fleming Micron engine change
- Dumper Restoration
- Dumper Restoration p. 2
- Johnson Machinery Section
- Homemade derrick crane
- Homemade go-cart
- Concrete imprinting roller
- Suspension Bush Renewal
- Strimmer repair
- Sewing with zip ties plastic repair
- Levant Mine visit
The homemade go-cart (dilly, trolley, bogey, buggy, cart)
A
while back whilst visiting my brother, our boys had a ride on his children's
"dilly" or go-cart. They loved it and it reminded me how much fun I had had
as a child with my own go-cart. In true tradition this was built with my
Dad's assistance from an old pram that we found in the garden of our house.
There seems to be a large number of different names for these contraptions
with regional variations so I have included the common ones but let me know
if there are any others. Many people have fond memories of their own
go-cart. Now outmoded by computer games and other dull indoor pastimes, it's
time to revive this retro pursuit!
Recently
my brother Michael found a suitable pram for conversion whilst out on his
rag and bone round. Traditional prams are a bit hard to come by these days
as most parents opt for more modern designs, but there are a few about if you look.
Saying that, a fancy modern all-terrain buggy could yield some suitable wheels
if you can get hold of one and gain permission to chop it up. On Easter Sunday
2008 history repeated itself and I helped my boys
build their go-cart with the help of my mate Barry. He's another go-cart fan
and used to drive his mother mad by wearing out his welly boots using them
as brakes! Here the boys are seen with the
unfortunate pram ready for chopping to get the wheels and axles. The best
wheels and axles for wooden go-cart use are large diameter, with ball bearings and solid rubber
tyres. This will ensure maximum speed and lack of punctures! Smaller wheels
can be used if that's all you can get. Homemade go-carts come in all shapes
and sizes and their design depends very much on the improvisation of the available
materials.
The
first step was to chop the pram up and get the wheels and axles off. This
model was riveted so I ground the rivets off (with boys and Barry standing well back
avoiding the sparks) and levered the brackets off. The next step was to find a
suitable piece of wood for the main part of the go-cart. We used a piece of
three-quarter inch plywood. The boys sat on it so that we could mark out the
size and then Barry cut out the shape with the jigsaw. Years ago, planks
would have been used for this and nailed or screwed together. However,
decent wide planks are not so easy to get now and the plywood meant we could
make the main part of the dilly in one piece. We were careful to leave
a bit of extra wood at the front so the steering axle can be repositioned as
the boys get bigger.
We
fixed the axles onto the plywood using the brackets off the pram and some
metric gutter bolts. Barry then glued a piece of 3 by 1 along the bottom of
the plywood to reinforce it. We used the off cuts from the ply to make a box
and backrest around the seat area of the go cart. The front axle was mounted
on a piece of plank and a M8 coach bolt used to make the steering pivot. The
secret with this is to put a washer between the two pieces of wood and not
tighten the bolt fully. Once the bolt is tight enough cut it off and rivet
the end over a bit to stop it coming undone. All the plywood for the box
around the seat was fixed together using 1.5 inch screws and polyurethane
wood glue.
Front
axle of the go-cart close up. We have now also added the steering/pulling rope to the front axle. The
go-cart hasn't got any brakes at the moment. We might make some in the
future but for now I am supervising the boys and using another piece of rope
to control their descents. As they get a bit more experience, we'll add a
brake and then they can go off a bit more on their own.
Here's the completed go-cart
on a good run. The boys have had a lot of
enthusiastic comments from neighbours.
Common sense safety stuff
If you go down a very steep hill on a wooden go-cart with no brakes you are likely to get hurt. Go-carts are best used on gentle slopes that flatten out at the bottom away from traffic with plenty of space and no solid objects in the way. Young children should be supervised by an adult at all times whilst using their go-cart.
When building the go-cart, we cut all the bolts right back to the nuts, rounded all the corners of the wood and sanded off the splinters.