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EASTERN GRAPHIC MATT VENO December 28 2005

FINISHED PRODUCT GETS LOTS OF ATTENTION

Vernon Bridge upholsterer gives new life to two-wheeled buggy


Since he was a child Jim Culbert has been interested in antique carriages.
His parents owned a two-wheeled buggy and as a boy, Jim would often hook it up to a horse and go for a drive.
His passion eventually led him to sestoring the wooden carts

"They're an old way of transportation and it's interesting to be able to preserve that heritage," the 55-year-old said while sitting in tile living room of his Vernon Bridge home. "A lot of them are just rotting away as planters on somebody's front lawn."
In August, Mr. Culbert restored a four-wheeled carriage for neighbour Gary Tweedy. The three-week project was a challenge because the carriage was badly rusted and weathered.
Once the carriage was brought to his shop, Mr. Culbert pulled off the wheels and sanded the worn paint
down to the bare oak. Sanding the wheels alone took about 20 hours.
He then pulled off the wooden body and had the metal parts of tile chassis sand blasted. He then sanded tile wooden parts of the chassis and the body.
Mr. Culbert removed the brass graphic pieces, which had been chromed over, from the wheels and dashboard and had them polished back to their original condition. He also re-upholstered the seat in a brass coloured fabric, He then painted tile chassis and body black, left the wheels their natural golden oak colour, and put the carriage back together
"I was really pleased with how it turned out" he said. "Especially the wheels because we were going to paint them again but they just came out so nice we decided to leave them their original colour"
The carriage was built for trips to town or church. There's a space behind the two-person seat to put groceries or other small items. In a 1906 Sears catalog, which Mr. Culbert also has at his home, a similar carriage is listed for about $30.
After he was finished the restoration, he parked the carriage in front of his house, beside his 1931 Chevrolet. The two rigs got a lot of looks from locals and tourists alike.
"There were quite a lot of graphic people stopping, to take pictures of the two together, Mr. Culbert said.
As the owner of Blair Hall Upholstery, Mr. Cu!bcrt said restoring the carriage was a nice change from working on the traditional chairs and sofas.
Mr. Culbert also restored another carriage in 1990, but only worked on the body and upholstery in that case. The carriage s owner, Roy MacMillan, worked on the chassis and wheels himself.
The experience and his love for old carriages has Mr. Culbert searching for a carriage to restore for himself.
"I've been looking at a few," he said with a laugh.


This is how the two-wheeled carriage looked before Jim Culbert, of Vernon Bridge, put lots of man hours into restoring it this past summer.

JIM CULBERT, OF VERNON BRIDGE, paints part of the seat of the carriage he recently restored for his neighbour Gary Tweedy. The carriage took about three weeks to restore graphic in August. The project was the first full carriage restoration Mr Culbert has done and the experience and his love for the old carts has him looking for one to restore for himself. Submitted photo


The finished buggy attracts a lot of attention from passersby.