Texas Toys and Games Page: 15
viii, 253 p. : ill., ports. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this book.
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WHEELS
The basic go-cart was a 2 x 6 frame with a 2 x 4 fixed back
axle and a 2 x 4 rotatable front axle. The wheels were off a push
mower and were iron because that was the only junk wheel to be
found. No kid that I knew had the money to buy a set of rubber
wheels. I remember one cart with a set of old Radio Flyer
wheels, but it was a rarity-and the object of envy
The main problem in the building of a go-cart was getting it
wheeled, that is getting the wheel on some kind of spindle on
the 2 x 4 axle. Lag bolts screwed in the 2 x 4 were sometimes
used but were hard to come by and soon got wobbly. The abso-
lute worst-the "poor white" of axle spindles-was a glob of
big-penny nails, enough to fill the wheel hole, pounded through
the wheel hole and into the defenseless 2 x 4. I confess to being
a party to this kind of butchery once, and I am sure that I am
still compensating: the axle shaft in the illustration was pur-
chased at a hardware store. Bolts, iron rods, telephone-pole
steps-anything that was near the diameter of the hole in the
wheel-would be attached to the 2 x 4 with the usual bent-over
and pounded-down nails. The use of fence staples was consid-
ered a refinement. A go-cart builder understands early in life
how it happened that the Mayas had round wheels but were
never able to come up with the principle of the axle and the
resulting go-cart.
The reader must note that the traditional lawn mower
wheel is being used on this demonstration model. Granted that
it is modern and much superior to the old iron wheel off a push
mower, it is still from a lawn mower and is the most common
junk wheel found lying around houses and junk piles. I have
trashed out many a cheap lawn mower in my time and have as
yet to throw away a useable wheel. Thus it was an easy matter to
resurrect the great wheels you see on this cart. If I had had these
wheels when I was a serious go-cart builder, I would have been
the envy of all-and perhaps would have become a famous
Soapbox Derby racer and married Betty Walker.15
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Texas Toys and Games (Book)
Collected information about popular toys and games relevant to the state of Texas, including folk toys, folk games, sports, dances, songs and other recreations. The index of contributors begins on page 245 and the index of toys and games begins on page 249.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. Texas Toys and Games, book, 1989; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67661/m1/25/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.