Its the little things that always get me, that are different between the US and UK. One of those things is wheelbarrows. In the US, a wheelbarrow is two straight bits of wood, connected at one end to a wheel axle, and with handles on the other end. The bucket rides atop them, and feet are bolted on. Its a great design, all the parts are interchangeable, and you can either buy whatever bit breaks to replace it, or make them yourself because its all so simple. As far as I can tell in a quick Google search, the US is the only country which still uses wood in its mass-produced wheelbarrows. In the UK, we instead go for the tubular frame wheelbarrow: usually a single metal tube that starts at one handle, goes in to the top of the bucket, bends down below the bucket to support it, bends further down to make a leg, back up to support the bucket, forwards to hold the wheel, around the front of the wheel as a bumper and lever point, and back up the other side past wheel, bucket, foot, bucket, and handle of the other side. Its a really clever design that could only be made in a pipe-bending shop. It has the significant advantage that the bucket can ride much lower, the handles higher and more horizontal, and its made from only one tube of metal so can be cheaply mass-produced; but once it breaks, you pretty much have to buy a new one.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 01:16:25 +0000
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