Resources

WORK AS A COMMUNITY

Wheelwrights frequently have a need to refer to a variety of sources of information in order to build or restore a wheel or vehicle. This is the page that will get you connected to those resources.

Books, Plans, & Magazines

Sometimes it is helpful to have some reading material to engage our minds and see what is possible or what others are doing. (in alphabetical order)

Museums & Heritage Sites

It can be helpful to see an actual vehicle or the type you plan to build or restore. Listed below are some of the Museums and Heritage sites who have collections.

Other Organizations & Associations

If you are interested in wheelwrighting you may also have an interest in another related craft such as blacksmithing or you may be interested in miniature carriages and wagons. Here are some sites that you may find interesting.

VIEW THE DETAILED LIST BELOW
/ RESOURCES

Books, Plans, & Magazines

Adam Harris

Barrow Farm, Rode, Frome, Somerset BA11 6PS Great Britain

Phone: +44 (0) 1373-830151

Fax: +44 (0) 1373-830516

E-mail: info@camdenmin.co.uk

Website: www.camdenmin.co.uk

Books galore on a wide range of mechanical topics – steam, hot air engines, trains and boats and planes. Even our wheelwright book – Wheelwrighting: A Modern Introduction. Much more. Full color booklist available free or from their website.

Astragal Press

5995 – 149 Street, West, Suite 105 Apple Valley, MN 55124

Phone: 866-543-3045

Fax: 800-330-6232

E-mail: info@finneyco.com

Website: www.astragalpress.com

Buggy Builders Bulletin

Editor: Everette Burkholder

795 Mason Street Dayton, VA 22821

Phone: (540) 879-9260

A trade journal serving the horse-drawn vehicle industry to the U.S. and Canada. U.S. subscriptions are 12 issues $25 or 24 issues for $48 Classified ads are reasonably priced. For Canada, 1 year subscription is $30.00 in US funds and for 2 years, it is $55.00

Carriage Association of America

3915 Jay Trump Road Lexington, KY 40511

Phone: (859) 231-0971

Fax: (859) 231-0973

E-mail: info@caaonline.com

Website: www.caaonline.com

Books on carriage making, reprints of carriage company catalogues and driving etc. The Carriage Association of America is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and use of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs in North America.

Carriage Museum of America - Library

4089 Iron Works Parkway Lexington, KY 40511

Phone: (859) 259-2933

E-mail: cmalibrary@windstream.net

Website: www.Carriagemuseumlibrary.org

This library has an extensive list of plans available as well as a book “Working Drawings of Horse Drawn Vehicles” which is excellent. The also have a large collection of old carriage journals which are full of vehicle designs. This is a good place to do your research. Their books on various aspects of the carriage trade are well worth buying. They have an extensive list of books for sale on various aspects of the carriage trade. The Carriage Museum of America is a Library to serve as a source of historically accurate technical information on animal-drawn vehicles and related subjects. It is the only full time library dedicated exclusively to the Carriage Industry. Incorporated in 1978 as a non-profit educational institution.

Driving Digest

567 Yadkin Road Southern Pines, NC 28387

Phone (910) 691-7735

Website: www.drivingdigest.com

This magazine is North America’s largest driving publication. It covers all phases of driving from the tradition-laden coaches and their whips to the casual runabout piloted by someone who just likes to take their rig out for an occasional Sunday ride. In addition they have articles on the various carriage sales throughout the world and the art of restoration and conservation as practiced by today’s craftsmen.

Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop

400979 – 245 Street Letcher, SD 57359

Phone: (605) 996-8754

Fax: (605) 996-2686

Website: www.hansenwheel.com

Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop has grown to be the premier builder of authentic, horse-drawn vehicles. For thirty-five years their experieinced staff of dedicated craftsmen have fashioned a line of superior quality wagons, wheels, and equipment to suit a wide range of individual budgets and interests. They have an online store that sells books, plans, gears, wheels, parts and accessories. They also carry the book, Wheelwrighting: A Modern Introduction.

Joe Mischka Mischka Press

PO Box 2067 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406

Phone: (319) 362-3027 or 1-877-647-2452 (orders only)

Fax: (319) 362-3046

Email: joe@mischka.com

Website MIschka Press: www.mischkapress.com

Website Rural Heritage: www.ruralheritage.com

The largest selection of items dedicated to choosing, caring for and training draft horses, mules and driving horses. Books about small-scale farming with horses, horse-drawn implements and vehicles, the Amish, old and new barns, horse-logging, ice harvesting, and lots more! Mischka Farm now stocks and sells over 150 items of interest to their draft horse, driving horse, and mule customers. These items include books, videos, calendars, posters, postcards, notepaper, and Christmas cards. We have become the largest publisher and reseller of these specialized items in the world.

Kayo Fraser Wild Horse Books & Art

255 Boulder Road Deer Lodge, Montana 59722

Phone: (406) 846-3686

E-mail: books@whilehorsebooks.com

Website: www.wildhorsebooks.com

Kayo Fraser has an excellent selection of books on carriages, carriage driving, restoration as well as plans for horse-drawn vehicles. She has an extensive inventory of plans, including Ivan Collins, John Thompson, William West and Southwest Wagon and Wheelwrights. She also carries the book, Wheelwrighting: A Modern Introduction.

Small Farmer’s Journal

P.O. Box 1627, 192 W. Barclay, Sisters, Oregon 97759-1627 USA

Phone: 541-549-2064 or 800-876-2893

Fax: 541-549-4403

E-mail: agarian@smallfarmersjournal.com

Website: www.smallfarmersjournal.com

The Small Farmers Journal sells a variety of plans for horse draw vehicles. Including Adams express wagon, Yellowstone coach, sheepherders wagon, belly dump wagon and more. They also sell books, some of which are on horse drawn vehicles.

Smithsonian Institution

Division of Transportation, Rm. 5010

National Museum of American History

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001

Phone: (202) 633-1000

E-mail: info@si.edu

Website: www.americanhistory.si.edu

The Smithsonian Institution sells detailed plans of such vehicles as Conestoga Wagons and concord coaches and more. Contact them for a full list of what they have.

Rural Heritage

P.O. Box 2067 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406

Phone: (319) 362-3027

Website: www.ruralheritage.com

Rural Heritage is a bimonthly journal that has been in print since 1976, and online since 1997. It is in support of small farmers and loggers who use draft horse, mule and ox power.

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Museums and Heritage Sites

Cobb & Co. Museum

27 Lindsay Street Toowoomba,

Queensland 4350 Australia

This museum has a coachmakers atlas of scale drawings 3 volumes, Coachbuilder Book of Designs.

O’Keefe Ranch

Highway 97 Box 955, Vernon, BC V1T 6M8

Phone: (250) 542-7868

Fax: (250) 542-7868

Website: https://okeeferanch.ca/

The O’Keefe Ranch was established in 1867 and operated by the O’Keefe family for the next 110 years. In it’s earliest days, the ranch was at the end of the wagon road into the Okanagan Valley, and the site of the stagecoach depot for the Okanagan. For forty years it was the home of the Okanagan Post Office, the first in the valley. The O’Keefe Ranch played a major role in the history of the North Okanagan. The Historic O’Keefe Ranch is more than a glimpse back into the past at the lifestyles, values and artifacts of the past. It is a memorial to the ranchers and cowboys who came to British Columbia from around the world to make a new life for themselves. Their legacy lives on, enriching our own lives and connecting us to our heritage and our beginnings.

Pioneer Acres Museum

Box 58, Irricana,

Alberta T0M 1B0

Phone: 1-403-935-4357

Fax: 1-403-935-4375

Email: info@pioneeracres.ab.ca

Website: www.pioneeracres.ab.ca

Check out their website for links to other pioneer museums and websites in Canada.

Reynolds-Alberta Museum

P.O. Box 6360 Wetaskiwin, AB T9A 2G1

Phone: 780-361-1351 OR 1-800-661-4726 (toll free)

Fax: 780-361-1239

E-mail: reynoldsalbertamuseum@gov.ab.ca

Website: http://www.history.alberta.ca/reynolds/

The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has a transportation theme and has many horse-drawn vehicles.

Remington Carriage Museum

P.O. Box 1649 Cardston, AB T0K 0K0

Phone: (403) 653-5139

Fax: (403) 653-5160

Email: info@remingtoncarriagemuseum.com

Website: http://history.alberta.ca/remington/default.aspx

The Remington Carriage Museum features over 250 horse-drawn vehicles and provides visitors with an authentic experieince with 19th and early 20th century horse-drawn transportation. They hold workshops in restoration each year in September.

Smithsonian Museum: National Museum of American History

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20560

Visitor Information: (202) 357-2700

Website: www.americanhistory.si.edu

The Smithsonian has one of the premier collections of horse-drawn vehicles in the U.S.

Western Development Museum

2610 Lorne Avenue, South Saskatoon, Sask. S7J 0S6

Phone: (306) 931-1910

Fax: (306) 934-0525

E-mail: saskatoon@wdm.ca

Web page: http://wdm.ca/stoon/visit.htm

The western development museum has a large collection of vehicles used in western Canada. Moreover their satellite museums in Saskatoon, North Battleford, Moose Jaw, and Yorkton also have vehicles on display. They also teach wheelwrighting for one week each year in Saskatoon. See Training for a list of their courses or go to their website is well worth the visit and includes a calendar of events.

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Other Organizations and Associations

Blacksmith Bolt & Rivet Supply

Dick Naven

503-245-3659

Website: www.BlacksmithBolt.com

PO Box 80830, Portland, OR 97280

Supplies fasteners to the blacksmithing trade and has lots of items for restoring old vehicles. For example, square-head lag bolts, square-head machine bolts, square nuts, slotted-head wood screws, solid iron rivets, plow bolts, tire bolts and carriage bolts. His website is well worth visiting.

Buckets and Barrels

Ian McKenzie

250-478-2387

Website: http://www.islandnet.com/~ikmcken/wood/index.htm

Before the advent of plastics, many utility containers were made of wood. In the kitchen were wood water buckets, wood containers for dried food and barrels of various sizes for oil or other liquids. If you want the home to have a bit of rustic character try adding some wood furnishings to give it that special feeling.

Cannon Parts Ltd

Ken Creswell

865-573-8045

E-mail: ken.creswell@comcast.net

Website: www.cannonpartsltd.com

Supplying Civil War era reproduction cannon irons made primarily from investment cast steel. Primary focus on Field and 1st Model Prairie Irons. Offering period correct square nuts, eye pins, etc. and miscellaneous other irons.

I Forge Iron

Website: http://www.iforgeiron.com/

This very well-done website provides an opportunity for blacksmiths to share information. Under “Forum” people can post information and everyone else can access the information. Another tab is called “Chat” is where individuals can sign on 24/7 and chat directly with others who are on-line at the same time to discuss blacksmithing and/or related topics. You must sign in to be a member but there is NO COST and there are lots and lots of photos, threads and posts to view and participate in. Check it out soon.

The Guild of Model Wheelwrights

Website: http://www.guildofmodelwheelwrights.org/

A unique organization in the United Kingdom devoted to the precision scale modeling of all horse drawn agricultural machinery, carts and wagons; light and heavy commercial vehicles; passenger and road vehicles and caravans.

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The Traveller

Published by and for the members.

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