Vintage Warehouse Hand Trucks

Private Lugnutz · Jun 8, 2018

I picked up this vintage hand truck at a flea market today.

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I'm pretty sure the frame is made of oak and cast iron. It's heavy, on heavy duty springs, and solid B.F. Goodrich rubber wheels. I passed on an older smaller one with cast iron wheels.

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Data plate indicates that the OEM is Albert H. Cayne Company in New York 13, NY.

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It's older than 1963 (pre-Zip Code) and perhaps dates to 1946 (if the "7-46" incorporated in the model number on the wheels is a date, which is quite possible).

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I talked the vendor down off his initial price using the layers and layers of friction tape wrapped around both handles as leverage, guessing, correctly (confirmed when I cut the tape off at home), that they were split and/or cracked.

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I'm going to clean it up, grease the wheels and springs, and repair the handles with wire whipping, a period correct fix with more eye appeal.

I’ll post some “After” pics when I’m finished.

In the meantime, if you got 'em, post 'em. It's a hard subject to search on, but I did and couldn't find any.

See pic below (appropriated from Cliff Hart, a jeep buddy in England...) for the kind of thing I plan to use it for!

SAA44-40 · Jun 8, 2018

Very neat piece Nutz. I bet you will use it all the time. Looking forward to the transformation.

Oregon rock crusher · Jun 8, 2018

That does look like a pretty well made one Lugz. I'll have to check some of mine to see if I have any with springs. Also if they have the company name, something I've never bothered to look for on these old hand trucks. Ed.

3baygarage · Jun 8, 2018

Nice find and addition to your collection.

406Rich · Jun 9, 2018

The company I retired from in 2012 still has half a dozen of the same units still in use today, although the wheels/rubber is about maybe a quarter inch thick now...

southalabama · Jun 9, 2018

That's a cool hand truck

Lugnutz attends better flea markets than I do. The items at my local markets are incense, bongs, $20 ray bans and Oakleys, **** loads of Chinese junk.

Provincial · Jun 9, 2018

Lugs, the tag says "Sold By" so I believe that they are not the manufacturer. Which leaves us with the question, who made it?

My 1950 Haseltine catalog shows similar trucks made by Fairbanks, but they do not have the spring suspension and have steel strips front and back on the main beams. Also steel cross-bars. The vulcanized rubber tires were an extra-cost option. The brand name on the Fairbanks was displayed on the sides of the main beams. The curved handles were only used on the "General Purpose" trucks. Warehouse trucks had straight handles.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 9, 2018

SAA44-40 said:
Very neat piece Nutz. I bet you will use it all the time. Looking forward to the transformation.

3baygarage said:
Nice find and addition to your collection.

Thanks, guys.

Oregon rock crusher said:
I'll have to check some of mine to see if I have any with springs. Also if they have the company name...

Thanks, Ed. I look forward to that.

406Rich said:
The company I retired from in 2012 still has half a dozen of the same units still in use today, although the wheels/rubber is about maybe a quarter inch thick now...

I can see that!

southalabama said:
Lugnutz attends better flea markets than I do. The items at my local markets are incense, bongs, $20 ray bans and Oakleys, **** loads of Chinese junk.

If it's any consolation, I have to walk past or wade through a lot of that kind of stuff, too. But yeah, NJ is known for its flea markets. Old, densely populated industrial state.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 9, 2018

Provincial said:
Lugs, the tag says "Sold By" so I believe that they are not the manufacturer. Which leaves us with the question, who made it?

Good point, and I have the answer: West Bend Equipment Corporation in West Bend, Wisconsin. Their trademark? SPRING BEARING TRUCKS. After some quick research, I discovered that they were incorporated in 1927 on $20,000 capital, actively advertising in various industrial catalogs in the 1940's through 1970's.

How do I know?

I found another data plate that I had missed in my haste.

See thumbnail.

Stuart in MN · Jun 9, 2018

Pretty neat. I don't think I've ever seen one that had a spring suspension before.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 9, 2018

Provincial said:
The curved handles were only used on the "General Purpose" trucks. Warehouse trucks had straight handles.

On the terminology, I paged through several vintage hardware catalogs I have and I couldn't determine a standard across the industry. There was a variety of naming conventions: warehouse, stevedore, bag, general utility, etc., but the only features that I could fit to a name seemed to be the shape of the nose and the frame. I found trucks called warehouse trucks with curved handles, but they weren't tapered like mine. I'm going to look through my government manuals next week to see if the Fed Specs clear it up.

Provincial said:
My 1950 Haseltine catalog shows similar trucks made by Fairbanks, but they do not have the spring suspension and have steel strips front and back on the main beams.

I couldn't find any West Bend trucks in any of my vintage hardware catalogs, but I did find a very similar truck in my 1944 Couch & Heyle catalog, made (or at least sold) by a company called Thomas. It doesn't have spring suspension, it has one more cross-piece, but it has the same general construction and the pointed nose with wheel shields and tapered handles. EDIT: Weighs 55 lbs, and mine weighs 40 lbs (probably because theirs is a little longer). They call it a bag truck, and ironically, my truck had old grain bags lashed to it as a backing. But the most interesting commonality is the model/style number: No. 30. Now go back and look again at the West Bend data tag thumbnail in my last post. What's the style number? Yup: 30. Either that's a coincidence or there was some kind of standard model numbering scheme across the industry.

See thumbnails.

bonneyman · Jun 9, 2018

southalabama said:
That's a cool hand truck

Lugnutz attends better flea markets than I do. The items at my local markets are incense, bongs, $20 ray bans and Oakleys, **** loads of Chinese junk.

Agreed - very nice!

Guess you've been visiting my local swap meet! :lol_hitti

Hey Lugnutz, if you wouldn't mind, could you measure the angle of the lifting plate on the bottom? I'm wondering if it's a special "save the back" angle that they figured out years ago.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 9, 2018

Stuart in MN said:
Pretty neat. I don't think I've ever seen one that had a spring suspension before.

Thanks. Me neither, Stuart.

bonneyman said:
Hey Lugnutz, if you wouldn't mind, could you measure the angle of the lifting plate on the bottom? I'm wondering if it's a special "save the back" angle that they figured out years ago.

65* (or 115*, depending on how you want to look at it...).

Richard Cranium · Jun 9, 2018

Nice find, I have seen some old ones but I do not collect them. But I will start looking at them closer now. Thanks for the education.

bonneyman · Jun 9, 2018

Private Lugnutz said:
65* (or 115*, depending on how you want to look at it...).

Thanks!

shanny19 · Jun 9, 2018

406Rich said:
The company I retired from in 2012 still has half a dozen of the same units still in use today, although the wheels/rubber is about maybe a quarter inch thick now...

They seem to stick around. The firehouse I was at from 2001-2005 had a couple in regular use, and it was built and equipped in 1934. I think I remember them as being Fairbanks-Morse.

Nice snag Lugz.

humber2 · Jun 10, 2018

Is there a derby race for these sack barrows?

What lap time reduction with the spring suspension and curved handles?

Slick treads for dry tracks I guess.

MushCreek · Jun 10, 2018

I've been tempted by a few of those. They show up on craigslist in the $40-50 range, although a few nuts think they're worth $200.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 10, 2018

Richard and shanny: Thanks.

humber: Hilarious. That's the second racing allusion someone had made in the past 24 hours, the first on another forum last night.

MushCreek said:
I've been tempted by a few of those. They show up on craigslist in the $40-50 range, although a few nuts think they're worth $200.

I'm not a CL guy, but it's the same on the flea market circuit. I've been wanting one for a few years now, and I have seen them, but always on a table full of "antiques," which for me is the mark of death and walk-right-past-without-looking-or-even-asking. Last year a guy wanted $350 for a Hammacher-Schlemmer 4-wheel platform cart! This vendor, down the shore from NYC, had cleaned out an old warehouse up in Danbury, CT, and he was not looking to load anything back up in his panel van.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 10, 2018

Are you guys ready for an update?

This hand truck is full of surprises – and it’s quickly turning out to be one of my personal best purchases of the year, and maybe a few years.

Since it was such a nice day, I dove into the clean-up yesterday. Couldn’t believe how much gunk there was caked into the wheels, the springs, and the axle bracket and bushings.

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In the process, found some more markings on the wheels, a “TW-62”, cast-in near the Zerk grease gun fitting, which I am interpreting as Truck Wheel No. 62.

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Ball bearings now rolling in new grease, and I am more convinced than ever that the “7-46” inside the “B548-7-46” stamp on the rubber is a date. You’ll see why in a minute.

When I was done with the wheels and axle area I turned my attention to the blade, wheel guards, and handle brackets, which is a single forged piece of steel or possibly cast iron. I straightened out the bent wheel guard with a few good but careful and well-placed taps with a small sledge (no heat required), and hit the surface with WD-40 and a wire brush.

I stopped scrubbing when I noticed the stubbornly clinging paint remains on the blade, handle brackets, and then, on closer inspection, even the axle brackets.

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Yes, that’s OD green. And looking an awfully lot like 70+ year old wartime spec OD green to me. That may sound a little strange to some, but anyone who collects WWII equipment (shovels, axes, toolboxes and sometime even tools, etc) immediately recognizes old WWII paint when they see it.

That sent me directly and immediately to the Go-Jo, and then to the books...

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...which is where I found this!

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That “QM” in the contract number is Quartermaster Corps. And the rest of the entry says they made and sold $166,000 worth of hand trucks to the QMC between March and December 1943. (Possibly more. The books only include contracts $50,000 or greater in value.)

Sometimes it’s good to be knowledgeable, and sometimes it’s good to be lucky, and sometimes it’s good to be a little of both. :lol:

Remember I said that there were two hand trucks that day at the flea market. One that was smaller and older, on cast iron wheels, but in much better shape. I’d like to say I had a feeling about this one, but that would probably be taking it too far, because I was just hoping for period correct. I’ll give myself some small credit for good instincts.

July 1946 isn’t wartime, but it’s danged close. And if 'close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades', as we used to say as kids, I’ll take hand grenades close in this case! And, it's possible that "7-46" isn't a date, or, as a buddy pointed out to me offline, there's a possibility that the truck is wartime and the wheels were replaced after the war.

Stuart in MN · Jun 10, 2018

Private Lugnutz said:
I'm going to clean it up, grease the wheels and springs, and repair the handles with wire whipping, a period correct fix with more eye appeal.

I learned about wire whipping from my dad, and have used it a couple times myself to repair things like cracked shovel handles. When done properly it's a strong and good looking fix.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 10, 2018

Stuart in MN said:
I learned about wire whipping from my dad, and have used it a couple times myself to repair things like cracked shovel handles. When done properly it's a strong and good looking fix.

Same!

When I tell people (including my own kids!) that my brothers and I only had three pairs of pants - one for play, one for school, and one for church, and we took those to our grandmother for mending, they act like I grew up during the Depression. Same reaction when I save my tea bags for a second cup! :lol:

Those were the days.

I have whipped hammer handles, an axe handle, and a flag pole, all with great results.

Adding c. 1940's (and very possibly WWII) West Bend Equipment Corporation hand truck handles to the list!

One done! One more - glued, clamped and setting for 24 hours first - to go.

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Not my best work, I have to admit. It's tight, and it will last, but I was in an awkward position, working from underneath to make it easier to pull down in order to keep tension on the wire, my spool fell off the makeshift spindle I had it on about half way through (picture me holding the wire tight all spraddle-legged and Houdinied to try to retrieve it with the toe of my boot), and the changes in shape and contour on the handle was challenging.

tym · Jun 10, 2018

Nice find!

Of course, when I Google image searched "wire whipping" to see some more examples, I was assaulted with some very interesting search results. I should've known better.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 10, 2018

tym said:
Of course, when I Google image searched "wire whipping" to see some more examples, I was assaulted with some very interesting search results.

That's funny. I bet there are some good how-to videos out there if you can wade through the *** sites. :lol:

I also put twine whippings on my splices. If you go to post #27 in my "How to Make a Vintage Tow Rope" thread, linked here, I did a step-by-step photo tutorial on whipping. It's the same exact process with annealed or galvanized wire. I used 20 gauge on the truck. Probably should've gone up (thinner) to 22.

2oolhound · Jun 12, 2018

That's the longest whipping I've ever seen! Nice job!

Private Lugnutz · Jun 12, 2018

Thanks, 2oolhound.

The longest I've ever done. It was a workout keeping the tension on, and every coil cinched up tight to the last, and I've got a blister on my index finger to prove it. :lol:

Necessary, though. There were lateral splits everywhere.

The other side is just the crack. That upper section was totally separated. I've removed the clamp and did a small wrap, like a cast, with glue and pre-wrap, joining the fracture. That's dry now, too. And holding as is even with weight on the skid of the truck. I'm going to go right over the cast with a whipping though. But it won't be as long.

Edit: check back for pics of that

Username already in use · Jun 12, 2018

You're doing great work (as expected) :bowdown:

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Private Lugnutz said:
I did a step-by-step photo tutorial on whipping. It's the same exact process with annealed or galvanized wire. I used 20 gauge on the truck. Probably should've gone up (thinner) to 22.

Shortly after you first introduced me to this repair technique, I found a 1 LB. canister of 20 ga. (0.032 dia) stainless steel 'lock wire' that I've successfully used to repair a couple of hammer handles now. :beer:

Private Lugnutz · Jun 12, 2018

Username already in use said:
Shortly after you first introduced me to this repair technique, I found a 1 LB. canister of 20 ga. (0.032 dia) stainless steel 'lock wire' that I've successfully used to repair a couple of hammer handles now.

Vintage! Perfect. I remember your first hammer handle. You did a nice job.

Pic 1 is the "cast" I put over the glued fracture a few days ago. Glue, pre-wrap when glue was tacky, then more glue brushed on over the top of the pre-wrap.

Pic 2 is it dried solid today.

Rileysan · Jun 12, 2018

This is a fun thread - I love learning new things! Great work and a great find. Keep the updates coming!

Brian

ffemtdisp · Jun 13, 2018

I remember the feed mill where we bought chicken feed had at least 5 or 6 of those style (at least) hand trucks for moving feed sacks around and out to the dock to load on our truck. The place burned down about 10 years ago, while still in operation so I assume they are all gone now.

Oh well...

HobbyistWolf · Jun 13, 2018

Beautiful old hand-truck and great repair work! The local co-op where I live had one of similar design but half again or more bigger for shifting straw-bales, not sure if they have it anymore after the top-to-bottom remodel of the building (floors were getting kinda soft for the forklifts), but it may have ended up at one of the museums around here. Hope so, if it was as old as it looked.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 13, 2018

Thanks, guys.

The style of my truck (narrower at the nose than at the handles, curved handles) was referred to as a 'Bag Truck' in several old catalogs, and I don't know if you saw, ffemtdisp, but it had a few old grain bags lashed to it with twine that were serving as a sort of backing on the open frame. So that was at least one popular application for it.

I love hearing these 'I remember those' and still-in-use stories!

I got a PM from someone asking me what "pre-wrap" was, asking me if it was another word for an ace bandage. No! It's an ultra-thin ultra-stretchy friction-adhesive foam-like material. It comes in all kinds of crazy colors at sports stores. Trainers wrap it around ankles etc before they tape the ankle up. It's also used to keep hair up and sometimes parts of uniforms. Besides being thin and stretchy, it's also very porous. In other words, perfect for making a thin cast with glue. I suppose gauze or cheesecloth would work, too, though those aren't stretchy. There are rolls of pre-wrap all over my house and I steal them for all kinds of projects. Stuff isn't very strong on its own (easily ripped), but it's great for a quick temporary hold instead of tape.

Anyone have any other hand trucks to show?

Going back to the traces of OD green paint....

I don't have any vintage Army references with hand trucks, unfortunately.

I have 1939 Fed Specs, but hand trucks were not included.

I do have a 1945 Navy Aviation Supply Office catalog, which included Class 69, Trucks and Dollys. It does not include my hand truck, but it was an interesting read while I wait for my cast to fully cure. The Small and Large Barrel Trucks described at the bottom of page 1 and top of page 2 are built like mine (narrower at the nose, wider at the handles), with 8.5 x 2 wheels (vs. my 8 x 2), and I bet they looked similar. No image, unfortunately. But I am looking in separate sources for those Federal Stock Numbers.

Here are some excerpts from that reference...

Pics 1 & 2 are full page views.

Pics 3 & 4 are some zoomed crop-outs from page 1.

Oregon rock crusher · Jun 13, 2018

Nice job on the handles Lugs and very neat that your truck fits in with your collecting niche and even has some OD green left. I did get around to looking at a few of the ones I have and some others I work around. None of them I have access to have any suspension. A couple pics of my motley crew of unloved handtrucks, the big one is still pretty solid. Ed.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 13, 2018

Those are freakin' awesome, Ed! :thumbup:

What is that mesh material on the biggest one? Steel or cord? I can't tell. The wheels look like train wheels on that sucker. :lol:

I am finding in my literature searches that the hand trucks with legs under the handles, like your biggest and next biggest, are more often called warehouse trucks. General hand trucks, bag trucks, barrel trucks, and stevedore trucks, don't usually have legs.

Are the orphan axles and wheels from a 4-wheel platform truck?

Oregon rock crusher · Jun 13, 2018

Thanks Lugz, sometimes I wonder why I drug them home as they don't get much use here. The big one came out of a crusher shop that had a lot of old logging equipment from a mill in and around it. The wire mesh someone put on it is screen cloth from the plant that was used for sizing crushed rock. I guess it made the truck more useful for them. The other two are all steel trucks and were rescued from the scrap heap. Now having seen yours I'll be on the lookout for one with springs.

The extra axles and wheels did come off an old cart, possibly used for mining. I have an old steel bin I plan to mount them on and I think they'll look good on it. Ed.

Rileysan · Jun 13, 2018

Oregon rock crusher said:
Thanks Lugz, sometimes I wonder why I drug them home as they don't get much use here. The big one came out of a crusher shop that had a lot of old logging equipment from a mill in and around it. The wire mesh someone put on it is screen cloth from the plant that was used for sizing crushed rock.I guess it made the truck more useful for them. The other two are all steel trucks and were rescued from the scrap heap. Now having seen yours I'll be on the lookout for one with springs. The extra axles and wheels did come off an old cart, possibly used for mining. I have an old steel bin I plan to mount them on and I think they'll look good on it. Ed.

I know that screen well! We have a half dozen Simplicity screens here on site and maintenance is never ending. If you ever have need of any screen material, ask. It comes in sheets and once a hole opens up, the whole screen gets scrapped.

Brian

Provincial · Jun 14, 2018

My catalog that includes Fairbanks trucks indicates that bag trucks had curved braces between the beams, with the curve allowing the bags to nest into the area between the beams. This makes sense so the bags would stay to the rear if they sagged.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 14, 2018

Oregon rock crusher said:
Thanks Lugz, sometimes I wonder why I drug them home as they don't get much use here.

Honestly, I don't plan to use mine much either, Ed. I have a much more modern red tubular steel hand truck in the garage for moving stuff. I'm pretty much the same with tools, frankly. It will look good in the Lugzsonian though, where I like everything to match, even the cabinets and benches and lamps and such. Like the tools, vises, and hand grinders down there, I may occasionally use the hand truck when I am tinkering around, but I don't mind saying it’s mainly for looks!

EDIT: I meant to ask if you found any identifying OEM markings or plates on any of your trucks, Ed.

Oregon rock crusher said:
The extra axles and wheels did come off an old cart, possibly used for mining. I have an old steel bin I plan to mount them on and I think they'll look good on it.

Sounds like a neat project.

I like the 4-wheel platform or wagon style hand carts, too. In the past I have been envious of a few guys who have posted a few wooden jobbies on the Garage Sale thread. Can’t remember exactly what year or who. Someone restored one, too, but I can’t find that either. Maybe Drives or jakemac or Outlaw will remember. I found a Hammacher Schlemmer dolly at a flea market last September. I originally posted some photos in the 2017 Garage Sale thread. Malleable iron. Either a dolly or a base and wheels for a some kind of heavy duty platform truck. Unfortunately, the guy was treating it like antique furniture and he wanted an arm and a leg and left nut for it. (I don’t blame him – but I prefer to buy low from uninformed sellers!) See Thumbnails.

Provincial said:
My catalog that includes Fairbanks trucks indicates that bag trucks had curved braces between the beams, with the curve allowing the bags to nest into the area between the beams. This makes sense so the bags would stay to the rear if they sagged.

Thanks for the input. I’ve seen those. That’s a nice feature on the Fairbanks models. It wasn’t an industry-wide definitional feature, however. I already posted photos of a Thomas hand truck from my 1944 Couch & Heyle catalog with straight cross-pieces, it was labeled a Bag Truck, and it even has a model number (30) that matches the style number (30) on my West Bend. I’ve seen the curved cross-pieces on barrel trucks too. From what you’ve said about the other Fairbanks models in your catalog, their warehouse trucks only had straight handles, but I’ve seen trucks in several catalogs with curved handles referred to as warehouse trucks, including the 1945 Navy Class 69 that I just posted on this page a few posts ago. The only standards I can see so far across industry, based on multiple catalogs, is that warehouse trucks have parallel beams throughout, from the handles to the nose, and tend to have legs under the handles.

Oregon rock crusher · Jun 14, 2018

I looked all of my trucks over pretty close Lugz and the only thing giving away the maker on any of them is cast into the wheels on the middle truck. It must be an American Pulley Co. Truck out of Philly. A quick search shows they were making hand trucks for quite a few years. The big one has the number 10 cast into the wheels but that's about it. No tags to be found. Ed.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 14, 2018

American Pulley out of Philly. That's cool. Guessing that the "10" is probably the size of the wheel? Mine are 8 x 2's.

Vintage Warehouse Hand Trucks

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