Well my neighbor had his sale Saturday and I took the 237 down on the 60. I left it on to demonstrate it working and to help assist in loading it on any prospective buyers trailer. Sitting about 2 places down the line from my picker was a real nice 6x14 Heider barge box with a Midwest hoist on a 7 ton Brady gear. The tires were on their last lap but all held air. Thankfully the picker sold first. I got more out of it than expected and therefor had a better idea of what my max bid on the wagon would be. Well I outlasted a pair of Amish fellows and won the wagon. I then talked to the guy who bought my picker and found out he only lived about 6 miles from my place so I offered to deliver the picker with the tractor for no extra charge. He was very grateful for that and I was very grateful for an excuse to go on a tractor ride! I took it over and helped him dismount it on a cement floor corn crib with a good tin roof. I was happy to see it had a good home. I'm going to miss picking but it's not for good, just taking a break until I get more time. I plan to use the barge wagon for hauling brush and other yard waste as well as giving the family hay rides. With the shorter sides I think it'll work well for that. I snapped one last pic of the picker before I left home, I've also included some of the wagon. If I find the time I plan on hitting the metal with a wire wheel and new red paint and scrubbing the wood with deck cleaner and staining it. I've already begun repainting the faded logo on the side. Love the picker pics from Half Century, keep em coming in the weeks to come!
Good to hear that the picker found a good home!! Hate to have it gone elsewhere. Wowwhat a great wagon!! I didn't know they made a 6x14 bargegood pick up!! What are you using for paint on the logo? What are you planning on using to stain the wood? Can't wait to see it finished!! I have a 7x12 Heider that I have been working on. I painted the metal, rims, but have the wood to do. I probably won't get it done until next year. If the correct police don't get mad at me, I painted the metal on the box orange instead of red so it matched the orange running gear with green rimsshhhhh!! ;)
I'm just using a can of black oil based rustoleum paint, small brush, and a steady-ish hand to redo the logo. I was planning on doing the metal with rustoleum sunrise gloss red. As far as the wood... I'm open to suggestions. I don't want it to be real dark and keep in mind I'm planning on using it for hay rides so it needs to be something that won't come off on clothes if it's leaned up on or sat against. Is love to see some more pics of redone wood barge wagons. That orange looks pretty sharp KA656!
Here are a couple of before/after shots of a couple of the wagons I have done so far. By no means am I claiming to be professional restorationist. Just a guy doing the best he can. The first pair of photos is my first barge, MN 1472, that I repainted. Stenciling was the hardest because there were 5 different sizes/fonts of lettering. The second pair of photos is my next repaint, MN 1062. The third barge box is my dad's. It has been re-varnished 25 years ago and needs another update. The last pair is the Heider box I bought that had already had the wood redone-I did the metal work. The owner of the box told me he used a deck stain on the wood. The stain didn't allow me to touch up the logo or replace it. I am planning on using a transparent stain on my orange Heider box. The color is going to be a light-medium tint, not as dark as my red Heider box. On my two MN boxes, I used a oil base, exterior primer on the wood and Valspar Tractor/Implement primer on the metal. As for the paint on the wood, I used Valspar Tractor/Implement paint. I wanted the enamel coloring with the durability. I did practice on two no-name barges with the primer, paint, and techniques. I have been happy with my results. The last barge is my most recent, Lindsay Bros. I am not sure if the green is original as I have found orange underneath it-more scratching and figuring it out. But, I will use the same primer and enamel paint as before IF the wood is originally painted. If not, I may try the spar varnish on it. I am just learning as I go along.
