To Make a Single Ox Yoke, Part 14

How to Bend an Ox Bow with an 8N Tractor and a Cream Can

There are a number of ways to bend an ox bow. Here's one.

I've had a piece of PVC pipe that is probably as near antique as PVC pipe can get; I removed it from our kitchen sink drain when we moved our kitchen to another room in the house.

I tried a hot air popcorn popper, and hot sand warmed in a coffee maker, to warm it, but neither worked. My final solution, as you see here, works quite well.

I slipped the PVC pipe over the end of the smokestack of my son-in-law's 8N Ford tractor, with the engine running at a fast idle.

I switched ends on the PVC pipe every few minutes to warm the pipe evenly. When it became pliable and rubbery, it was ready for bending. 

I wrapped it around the end of an appropriate size cream can and held it in place until it cooled. Heavy leather gloves and a windy evening were necessary safety requirements for this job.

 

It really took quite a bit of experimentation to get it just right. But, next time, it should be as easy as it looks in the pictures. The PVC pipe is pretty forgiving in that it can be reheated and reformed.

Now I need to flatten the ends and find a means of attachment.

To Make a Single Ox Yoke, Part 15

Flattening the Ox Bow Ends

To heat the ends for flattening I put a hole in the side of a soup can and slid it over the end of the muffler. This contained the heat enough to heat the end without affecting the bow.

When it was pliable, I flattened it with my thumbs on the end of the cream can.

And held it until it cooled, while Harry the Dog chased the neighbor's tractor. (I wonder what else he gets away with when I'm not looking.?)

The next step is to finish the ends.

To Make a Single Ox Yoke, Part 16

Finishing the Ivory Ox  Bow

Neither the hand file, nor the hoof trimming wheel, would work on the PVC (Polyvinyl chloride). I ended up using a wire brush on the power-grinder head.

It worked very nicely. I rounded the flattened ends.

A bit of steel wool cleaned up the lettering on the PVC to give it that rich ivory look!

I pre-drilled the holes and finished them with the drill press. We now have a ox bow for the ox yoke. 

On to the britchen harness.

To Make a Single Ox Yoke, Part 17

The Britchen Harness

A length of rope.

A back-strap on each side of the hip bone, to be joined together at the top. The hipbones will hold the britchen in place.

I melted the ends to prevent fraying.

And finished them by wrapping with the three essentials: copper wire, electrical, and duct tape. The hunters orange is for added visibility on the road or in the bush.

One last step!

To Make a Single Ox Yoke, Part 18

Putting the Ox Yoke, Ox Bow, and Britchen Together

I have added a wide butt strap, made from an old fire hose, to protect from the sawing motion of the rope while walking. Also, a second rope around the butt and to the cart poles, to hold the cart back away from the ox.

The yoke tucks nicely into the shoulder sockets on the forward step.

Even pulling a heavier load the bow does not tighten under the neck. I have a lightweight S-hook at each side of the bow that will break-away if the yoke should slide back.

The hip bones hold the britchen harness in place. The eyelets on the yoke hold the reins apart giving me leverage to turn Scout's head. (Note: There is no bit, or nose ring, only a standard cattle harness, enlarged over the back of the neck with a soft rope.)

 

We're hoping for a summer of ox carting, and work, before Scout the Ox outgrows this thing!

A Yoke for a Single Ox
storybrookeripples: ox and dog blog

Happy Ox Carting!

Ox Yoke Hardware

Larry Cooper of Gulland Forge has followed my ox and dog blog for several years. I received the following note from him:

March 21, 2012

I'm a blacksmith who is also interested in oxen. Let me know if I can help with hardware in any way. 

I love your blog.

Cooper's interests include draft oxen and mowing with a scythe. Check out his website below.

Gulland Forge (link here)

The Gulland Forge Broadfork

March, 23 2012 

Thanks for sharing the link to my site. We make only broadforks right now, but our plans are to expand and begin to make many more hand tools as well as oxen and yoke hardware. 

You have been so innovative with your homemade adaptations and careful study of the ox that I really admire what you are doing and as a board member of the Midwest Ox Drovers Association, I sincerely appreciate the exposure you have given the ox. The relationship you have with Scout (and Harry) is inspiring and beautiful to see. 

Keep up the good work. 

Gulland [link to blog]

Midwest Ox Drover's Association

(link here) 

Plowing Snow With a Team of Oxen

Oxen Plowing Snow
(source unknown)

These oxen had their work cut out for them after a March snowstorm plugged the road. It looks like the kids were along for the ride, or maybe to weigh down the front of the wooden snowplow. The man guiding the plow was getting in shape for spring fieldwork --- for sure!

I'm Dreaming of Spring --- or of an Oxcart on an Island in the Middle of the Mediterranean Sea

 A Sicilian Oxcart
(postcard) 

Ice Harvest Poster

Food Relief Poster 1910-1920
Library of Congress

Help in the harvest. Ice is needed to save food for the starving people of the world.
Put your oxen to work!

Ice Harvest: A Cool Occupation

Ice Harvesting Tools
from
Harvesting the River

Minnesota Ice Harvest
original photo by
Charles A. Zimmerman (1844-1909)

Harvesting Ice with Oxen

If you don't have your ice put-up yet, time is running out! Hauling the blocks of ice from the lake's edge would have been a job well suited for an ox or team.

Harvesting Ice with Oxen in the Jamestown Settlement
In 1954 the U.S.A. National Park Service commissioned Sidney E. King to make a
 series of paintings of early Jamestown. This is one of that collection.

 

Harvesting a Tree with an Ox and a Dog

A poplar tree is harvested to create regrowth for wildlife. This video speaks to our mortality.

An Oxen's Reward

After a day's work in the woods, Scout the Ox receives his reward before trailering-up and going home.

Ox Training: Swinging Wide On Corners

Scout learned to dump the load on this corner and it's taken a bit of patience to get him to do it right again. Gee! Haw! Whoa!

Long Reins on Ox Pulling Firewood Sledge in Woods

Scout the Ox maneuvers well in brushy woods, guided by a long set of reins.

Falling Timber with Idle Ox and Dog

Scout the Ox assumes a contemplative mood while the timber falls.

Where is Harry the Dog? Loading Wood?

Since a near miss with a falling tree Harry remains pretty sceptical. But he's ready to help.

Sledding Firewood with Ox and Dog

Cutting up the firewood in the woods seems more satisfactory for me than skidding the logs out to chunk-up in the open. It keeps the mess in the woods and in the woods the log is rarely laying so flat on the ground that it has to be blocked-up to keep the chainsaw from getting dulled in the dirt. The leaves and forest humus also protect the saw to a degree. The sled is very maneuverable and can skid right over obstructing stumps and fallen logs without hanging up. I cleared a trail, of sorts, and then roughly piled the firewood along the trail to pick up later with the ox and sled. Using the sled required no backing up which is difficult for an ox. I could take each load directly to the truck and trailer. The only problem I had was that the cart-reins were too short, forcing me to walk between the ox and the sled on narrow parts of the trail. I'll make longer reins for the sled.

Skidding Firewood Logs with Ox and Dog

Logging popple trees in Northwestern Minnesota: This is our first try at skidding logs for firewood. The woods is so brushy that the process was fraught with hang-ups and other hazards. Scout the Ox is a two-year old so not technically an ox yet, and not ready for heavy work. We'd have had great difficulty getting the job done at all --- without the help of Harry the Dog!

For Sale: Ox Cart

 

This ox cart has wooden wheels and a dumping box as well as a teamsters bench for the driver to sit on. The cart does not belong to me --- please contact the seller. They are located at Peterborough, Ontario and they are asking $800. See their classified ad by clicking here. This looks like a nice design for a cart.

Scout the Ox on Cutting Firewood

"With a little help from the neighbors this firewood thing shouldn't take long."

"Let's get going. You cut 'em, I'll haul 'em"

Bennett Buggy, New York Style --- A Real Hummdinger

Only in America! The all new Hoover Wagon.

How the Bennett Buggy Got Its Name

A bit of Canadian history as told by four high school girls (presumably Canadian) in an amateur video skit.

After Bennett Buggy, Hoover Wagon, Practice Goes International

In the United States of America, at the time of The Great Deppression, it is said that an automobile with its engine removed, and pulled by a horse or an ox, was called a Hoover Wagon (named after President Hoover). Very likely this is true, but, as of yet, I've seen no photos or documentation of this practice actually taking place.

I have come across a grab-bag of photos circulating around the internet showing the equivelent of Bennett Buggies in recent years and in various countries around the world. None of these photos belong to me so I have only provided thumbnails with links where you can see full size pictures and complete descriptions.

Click Here to Link to Photo

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