Mr Biggs' "Woody Cruiser"

[53k]

Some may remember when Bob Kabchef (Mr Biggs) was parting out a '61 Cruiser. Well, he sent me some pix of his woody Cruiser project (aka Cruiser bench). I just had to share them.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Wouldn't it have been easier just to clean out the garage??

[2R5]

Is this a rolling work bench ?

[Tom Bredehoft]

It appears to not only roll but steer, albeit from behind.

[Bob Andrews]

Good ol' Biggsy!

[rockne10]

Assume he's done some gear reduction. Even Biggsy can't run that fast!

[woodysrods]

Great Stuff. I am sorry I missed him here on the Forum. He seems to be a hoot!
Hope to look him up on our way home from the International next year.
Good Roads
Brian

[BobPalma]

Thanks for the post and additional pics, Paul.

Bob sent me just that first picture a couple weeks ago when discussing something else, and I couldn't figure out what it was, in that it arrived with no explanation.

Now I understand. BP

[StudeMann]

I would appreciate it if someone could PM me to enlighten me why we lost someone like Mr. Biggs from the forum. He and a few others have vanished since I joined a few years ago. I also enjoyed his posts.

[avantilover]

I doubt anyone will Jim, they all left that's all I recall, nobody (who knew why anyway) ever said.

[rockne10]

Many have not left; just sitting back to give others a chance.

[Michidan]

That's a pretty fancy rain cover for that nice CA frame.

[Roscomacaw]

Biggs here. I still read this one forum. One important thing I've learned is the realization of how little I have to offer the Stude community. So a presence of mere observation is the best for me.

Thanks Paul, for posting the photos of my moblie workbench - my Woody Cruiser. With generally seven straight months of warm, dry weather (and no mosquitos), I've gotten to where I prefer to work outdoors when I can. I had a 4 foot by 8 foot workbench that I loved using in the back yard, but was a pain in the rear to move for mowing or other facilitations. I mused about adding wheels and then had the idea of using one of several rolling chassis I had sitting about.
Like the chassis, some of the structural wood I used is stuff I've scavenged in years past. There's some honest to gosh two by fours from a 1920s house that was torn down as well as some four by fours that were once packing for shipments of aluminum ingots. I wanted a truly BEEFY bench that I could throw anything on or flail with a hammer if I had need to, so I used lots of 4X4 and 2X10 lumber. The biggest challenge was establishing a level worksurface on a frame that's anything but straight. So nice to have the modern convenience of a laser to work with!

I do intend for this modified Stude to be self-motivating, albeit at a walking pace. I've left the area just forward of the rear axle empty in anticipation of a powerplant of some sort. Ideally I'd like to find the guts of an electric golf cart. T'would be cool to build a modern-day battery-powered (solar recharged!), wooden Studebaker what with the vintage electric truck that's currently being restored. For now tho, I can push this thing without too much strain, AND I added a tongue to tow it with if I wanna use the riding lawn mower.
I've built in an air compressor and have hose connections on all four corners as well as six 110V outlets for electric tools. My only oversight was the weight of the table saw and it's platform at the rear. The Cruiser's rear springs weren't up to the task. But - air shocks took care of that. And since it's not gonna be doing any road driving, I figure that the air shocks are a fair "fix".

Since I only envision this thing crawling along, brakes and a driving seat aren't something that's necessary. I probably won't bother with flanged axles either. Since I DID want to maintain the steering function (without it being too complicated), I have the steering box held to the frame rail with only one bolt. This allowed me to lay the sector back to where the steering shaft stuck straight towards the rear. I cut the top six inches of the shaft off and welded on an extension of 3/4" tubing. Then I welded the six inch stubb to that so it sticks out just past the rearmost crossmember. I can slap the steering wheel on the serrated stub so I can steer while pushing (and ultimately while motor-vating), and remove it while working on and around the bench. My hot-rodder neighbor contributed a necker knob to make steering easier while pushing.

I've already used the bench to build some things, but I'm still adding features like drawers to store hardware and cabinets for tools and such. I want it to be as weather-worthy as possible and have built it with that aim in mind all along. I'm toying with the idea of making some of the side cabinet doors so as to emulate the "Woody" side panels on woodies of yore. Function has precedence over appearances tho, so I may not be that ambitious. I'm no master craftsman by anyone's yardstick. Cosequently, like a Studebaker, the fit and finish make this thing about a "20-footer". 40-footer if you're eyesight's better'n mine. But function and utilization was my primary goal and so far it's looks like I've gotten that. It actually took me about a year to convince myself I could do something like this. That said, I guess it could be concluded it wasn't just something I did on a lark.

OK. That's it for now. I'm building a storage cabinet for the wife. Over 'n out.

[BobPalma]

Bob, I'm afraid you might have lost half the audience with reference to a "necker knob." <GGG> BP

[53hardtop]

......That said, I guess it could be concluded it wasn't just something I did on a lark.....

Looks like it could have been a LARK to me... it's just missing a few parts now.