Manufacturing the donkey cart and ambulance
Practical Action
3.2 Instructions
1. Using a hammer and a bend
former, hammer the round section bar
(Part A) until a circle is formed. The
bend former (i) can be any steel object
which has a hole in the middle. The
bending of the plate takes place when
the bar is hit over the hole. In this
workshop the bend former was taken
from an old diesel generator (see pic
6).
2. Once a complete circle has been
formed it is hammered flat on a hard
surface. It should have an internal
diameter of 400 mm. Steps 1 and 2
are repeated again.
Picture 6: A Fabricator bends the metal bar
(Part A) using a hammer and a bend former (i)
3. The flat plate (B) is now bent into a
circle this time using a different type of
bend former (ii). This piece of
equipment has been fabricated ad hoc in
the workshop. It is made of a steel pipe
with a metal strap welded on top leaving
a gap underneath to slide the metal plate
under. This former is then held in a
vice. The plate is then pushed by hand
around the tube. (See picture 7, right).
4. The circular shape of B is perfected
using bend former (i) as described in
process 1.
Picture 7: The fabricator bends the flat
plate (Part B) using the bending tool
5. The flat plate which is now circular is
put on to the wheel jig. This piece of
equipment has been made specifically
for making donkey cart wheels of a
certain size. Therefore part A is placed
on the jig and the wheel clamps are
tightened up to hold it in place. If the
length of A is excessive it should be
marked and cut off.
6. Before placing the steel pipe C onto
the jig it should have two bearing
surfaces cut into each end. They should
be 20 mm in depth and have a recess of
4 mm (Half the material thickness).
Picture 8: The wheel rim is placed in
the jig and measured for accuracy
6