Monday, March 15, 2010

Summer Has Arrived!

Was yesterday nice or what? At least in our little part of Wisconsin it was. Two weeks ago we had a foot of snow on the ground and snow banks everyplace. For all practical purposes it’s gone. Few little chucks of ice here and there but it has disappeared in a big hurry. It was pushing 60 degrees yesterday afternoon. Same for today. After a typical Wisconsin winter an early warm up in March is most welcome.



We are getting a lot of great new (antique, but new to us) vehicles in these days. One of them is this single horse Chaise which is pronounced “shay”. This is a pretty early vehicle. Maybe pushing a couple of hundred years old. They were made in Europe as well as in the early American states. This type of carriage was built before steel springs where commonplace so the body is suspended on leather.



This particular carriage was restored in Europe a few years back. It is beautifully done in traditional high gloss brush paint. The top and the upholstery are all done in genuine leather. These vehicles are a popular collector carriages because of the early construction. This one is ready to go and priced at $13,995.



Out at the shop Bob has been working on an early Country Sleigh. It came to us pretty much intact but as we were taking it apart the wood was marginal in more areas than not. We ended up replacing most of the wood on the body which in the long run was easier.



It’s a pretty simple body and chassis. An early and probably locally built form of transportation. We ended up replacing the dash as well. Here it is in first coat primer.



The runners are fairly heavy construction. I think the bottom runners are probably 1½” square which is pretty chunky compared to some of the light cutters. This was more than likely a farm sleigh and was heavy duty enough to handle any kind of work you could throw at it. As of this week it’s getting pretty close to being ready for paint.

Have a great Monday!

Ciao!
T

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