Wheel barrow handles

Out of all the projects I did to finish the 24", this one was by far, the most time consuming and complex, taking over 3 months of non stop work, 7 days a week. No other project came close to the complexity of this one, and it is for a part of the scope that is going to see a lot of abuse. Sometimes I question my sanity and decision making. 

The original wheel barrow handles I made for the 24” were terrible- made of rectangle SS tubing that flexed like nobody’s business when I moved the scope, and they were, to say the least, ugly and unbecoming of Steve’s beautiful veneer work. So I went back to the drawing board and designed wheel barrow handles from two sheets of ¾” 13-ply BB epoxied together. These handles are 1.5” thick and 4” wide, and these handles are more than capable of handling the weight of the 24”. The handles have the same heat shrink tubing I used for the truss poles. They do not flex... at all.... when I lift the 350+ lb scope with the handles attached. 

The veneer I chose for this project, Purple Heart, Curly Maple, Cerejeira, Bird’s Eye Maple, and Cherry. The wheel barrow handles pay homage to Steve’s veneer pattern work on the 24”.

I made these handles to match the veneering pattern on the mirror box- so that it would look like as if Steve made these himself. 

Pictures below show the process,