Laundry cart

[edma194]

I'd love to see the dimensions.

[Majones1]

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Thunderbirdbat, Your design made me think of a 19th century convertible high chair / stroller that we have at Rancho Los Peñasquitos, where I'm a docent. These photos are similar to what we have, except ours has a push bar that is an extension of the front legs like your basket cart.
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Position 1: 19th Century High Chair

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Position 2: 19th Century Stroller

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[thunderbirdbat]

I have not finished testing the prototype to determine if there is anything I want to change so these dimensions may change for my final project. I do not have plans just measurements with rough sketches currently but I will list what measurements I have. I found the largest laundry basket for my purposes is a 2 liter basket. I took the outside dimensions of where I wanted the basket to sit in the cart to make the holder. The holder pieces determined the rest of the pieces lengths and dowel positions. The basket opening that I wanted was 16 3/8 x 23 3/4 inches approximately, yours may be different. All of my pieces were 2 or 2 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inches thick for the legs and 5/8 inches thick for the basket carrier. I screwed the rails to the stiles to make the opening about centered on the stiles. The webbing was screwed to the inside of the basket opening wrapping around the rail and stiles then woven wrapped around the other rail/stile then screwed on so that the weight of the basket would be on the wood rather than the screw holding the webbing. The webbing was centered and worked out to the sides to ensure good coverage with screws on 3 inch centers. I used 5 (47 inch lengths) on the short rails and 7 (40 inch lengths) on the longer stiles. I used a 1 inch dowel for the handle and 1/2 inch dowels for all others, I left the dowels long and used cotter pins to make sure they did not back out but will probably glue outer joint and flush cut on final project. I also used a cross piece on each leg near the bottom cut to finished length which will vary depending on thickness of wood used and how much gap you leave between pieces where they cross. I figured out the leg length then cut off the leg after figuring out the axle placement, this will change if you use a different size wheel.

basket stiles length 36 inches 1/2 inch hole for leg attachment at 2 inches and at front a 1/2 inch slot to fit over front dowel on legs
basket rails length 16 3/8 inches
long legs length 58 inches 1 inch hole for handle at 2 1/2 inches, 1/2 inch hole for basket carrier at 13 inches, 1/2 inch hole for leg pivot at 34 1/2 inches.
short legs length 46 inches, 1/2 inch hole for front basket dowel at 2 1/2 inches, 1/2 inch hole for leg pivot at 24 inches and 1/2 inch hole for wheel axle at 44 1/2 inches.

[edma194]

Dimensions make sense. Close to what I was guessing for the basket carrier. The leg dimensions work out in a simple drawing.

[thunderbirdbat]

When I add the 6 inch front wheels I will cut off about 1 1/2 inches so I do not through off the height level. I took a couple of pictures of the basket carrier to show how it is set up. The basket in the second picture is a reused commercial fruit or vegetable crate that is about 6 inches deep.

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[beeg]

GREAT Idea and workmanship. Have ya tried loading up the basket with WET clothes and move it?

[thunderbirdbat]

GREAT Idea and workmanship. Have ya tried loading up the basket with WET clothes and move it?

I have tried moving it around with the wet cloths, it works fine. I think the basket of pears was heavier and had more issues. The problem with the pears was they tended to roll around and tried to roll out of the basket since the cart needed to be tipped to roll it around. I have added the front two wheels, it works well but you do have to lift the front or back wheels to turn, similar to a push lawn mower. Here is a picture of it folded after I added the front wheels.

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[edma194]

Larger rear wheels will provide more leverage for tilting the front of the cart up, either to turn the cart or just to roll it if it doesn't have front wheels. The larger wheel moves the fulcrum (axle) forward and up. That puts it closer to the CG of the container and it reduces the angle of the lever arm, both improving the mechanical advantage when pushing down the handle to tilt the front of the cart up. A 12" wheel would center about halfway between the midpoint and back of the carrier. That should cut the downward force on the handle needed to lift the front end considerably.

Brenda, did you consider mounting the front wheels on the interior of the legs so it could fold up even flatter?

I did see some pictures of antique carts with small wheels like the ones shown above. Marc Jones, are those cast iron wheels? One of my thoughts for metal wheels was to use spoked pulleys.

I want to make one of these mainly as a decorative piece, showing off some nice wood, but it should still be fully functional. Thinking about different touches like using sisal rope instead of the plastic webbing.

[thunderbirdbat]

Actually, I was thinking moving the rear wheels to the inside and the bracing between legs to the underside would allow for a flatter fold. Front wheels are on the outside legs and the rear wheels are on the inside legs. The cross brace also stops the legs from folding more, but this is a prototype for discovering those things. I thought about making a net for the basket to sit on for the final project. However, it will be outside most of the time and the owner will need to be able to replace it easily if needed. If it was for me, I would probably add some decorative knots and whippings.

[thunderbirdbat]

The prototype for the folding laundry cart was delivered. I am waiting on feedback on what to change for the final model. I also made one that does not fold up as it will not be stored during the winter but used in the greenhouse.

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