“Fix” Broken Wagon Wheels by Making Them Stationary

I bought this cute little wooden wagon pull toy while out at a local neighborhood garage sale over the summer. It had the alphabet stenciled on it all around and the “axles” connecting the wheels were in bad shape. It was neither a toy nor pull-able at this point. This was an easy trash to treasure makeover!

While I loved the look as it was, I like painting old things too. I have no problem refurbishing furniture or knick knacks, especially when no one else wants it. Granted, if something is truly old and priceless I’d think twice but, most things I’m buying are neither of those things. How can I justify not changing something up when in the state it’s in is undesirable to those who still pass it up when it’s only $2.00? It had been there all day since I found it towards closing time.

Wobbly wheeled pull wagon before making stationary

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Materials I used

This project went so fast; I missed a lot of photo opps including the underside. The rods/axles were dowels that went through one wheel to the opposite wheel and the dowels were nailed in a couple of places to the bottom of the wagon.

Wooden wagon wheel in original condition before removing

The rods were splintered and warped ceasing all fluid movement. I first thought I wanted to fix and replace the rods which I absolutely could have done but, I moved to the idea of making it stationary and more of a decor or storage item.

I pried both dowels off the base with a hammer and sawed through the ends with a handsaw to slide the wheels off. Once the wheels were off, I measured them, finding the center, drew a line and sawed down the line with our band saw. I only need two. We were left with 2 wheels and Joe ended up using one of them for this lamp. Removed the rolling wheels from the wooden toy wagon

4 wheels removed from the wooden wagon

Wooden wagon wheels cut in half with the bandsaw

I cleaned the wheels and the wagon itself with a damp cloth. I then placed the wheels onto a piece of cardboard and spray painted them in a glossy black enamel. The entire base, except for the top edges and inside, were painted a light blue. I’ve definitely used this color before.

Spray paints used on the wooden wagon and it's wheels

Toy wagon wheels cut in half and spray painted black

You can barely see but, along the top edge of the wagon, I used painter’s tape and newspaper so I wouldn’t paint the edges or the inside.

Refurbished child's wooden wagon toy spray painted light blue

Once all was dry, which was really fast (read: I didn’t wait the proper amount of time) I flipped the wagon upside down and on the now flat sides of the wheels, smeared a good amount of wood glue lining them up on the wagon’s bottom side.

I placed a piece of wood large enough to cover all 4 wheels, and added some weights on top to secure them for 24 hours. After it had dried and I placed it back onto it’s wheels, I placed those same weights on the inside of the wagon for another couple of days just because.

It was seriously one of those crazy easy projects that is so satisfying when done because I got the creative bug out of my system and it went off without a hitch. Can’t beat it! I know some would’ve liked to keep it original without painting it but, I really needed to just get some creativity out of my system 😉 Also, it now belongs to my 1 year old nephew and I can almost guarantee he doesn’t care what it used to look like.

Do you find yourself creating as a result of just needing to do something at any given time?

Broken wagon is now a cute little piece of decor

Click image below to PIN

Refurbish an old broken down wooden wagon pull toy and make it a stationary piece of decor or a place to quickly hide those toys in your kids' rooms!

12 thoughts on ““Fix” Broken Wagon Wheels by Making Them Stationary

  1. It looks great Angie and it does make for the perfect storage. Love how you need to get that creativity out, I feel the same way. If I haven’t made something I get withdrawal symptoms. And that’s not good.

    Happy new year, wishing you many creative moments and beautiful memories

    1. Withdrawals are no good Michelle 😉 Happy new year to you too!

  2. Hello Angie,you make a great Job!My wifes name is Angelika, i call her Angie.Happy New Year and many greetingsUwe

    1. Thanks Uwe! She’s got a great name 😉 Happy New Year to you too!

  3. I love the little wagon. Although the new wagon is beautiful, because I love old dated looking things, I love the original look to. I hope you and your family have a happy and safe New Year.

    1. Ohhh, I know what you mean Ivory! I love the look of old and dated as well and sometimes I just can’t hold myself back from doing something different with a piece 😉 Hope you have a wonderful and safe New year too! Thanks as always!

  4. Wow, what a project! I adore the new color it’s fresh and pretty. Looking forward to seeing what you do with i=this… I see a pretty vignette in the making! Hugs and Happy New Year!

    1. Thank you Wendi! I brought this down to my booth so hopefully someone else will style it up cute 😉 Happy New Year to you too!

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