Vintage Sled Restoration for Holiday Decor by Fixing Furniture
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- The Flexible Flyer sled was an innovation of the late 19th century that provided steering on the sled. This Speedliner sled was likely made in the 1960's and it's not a valuable antique. It will make an awesome holiday decor item for our front porch though. The Speedliner sleds were manufactured in Canada by Werlich in Preston, Ontario. The brand name is Playthings, which is part of a decal on the sled.
Restoring this sled was a challenge due to the deteriorated finish and decals. Watch the step by step restoration of this sled as it's carefully taken apart, repaired, and brought back to its glory by caring hands. Also check out the video of adults racing the Flexible Flyer sleds (see below).F
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#holidaydecor #sled #restoration
Great restoration Scott, I'm 81 yrs old and I had a "Speed Arrow" (made by Flexable Flyer I think) that was back in the late 40's Also had a wood toboggen. I remember the 1st time I went down the hill on that I got a face full of snow. so after that I put my faithfull dog Rusty (big shepard on the seat in front of me and he got the face full of snow. Hey! he loved it!. thanks for sharing. ECF.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing!
Talk about memories.
I rode a similar one as a kid in the mid sixties in North Wisconsin. You did this Lady proudly. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I grew up in Upstate NY. Today I live about 50 miles north of where I grew up. Back in 1969 I was given a Flexible Flyer sled as a Christmas present. I still have it today. Mine is in very good shape as it was always stored in either the barn where I grew up or in my garage. The wood on my sleigh is in excellent condition and the metal only has some very minor surface rust except for the bottom of the runners which has a good layer of rust as it was bare metal from use. Back in the late 60's and early 70's we had much more snow than we have today. I lived at the top of a fairly large hill. My friends and I would start by taking an old toboggan and make a path in the deep powdery snow. This would then freeze overnight and we would be left with a hard packed snow course that was similar to a luge run. Almost every day after school we would be riding our sleighs on this run.
We have not had snow like that in my area in a very many years. These days we mostly get 'slush' storms where we get 1 to 3 inches of verry wet heavy snow that is full of water.
I used to use my grandfather's flexible flyer sled as a kid, it worked great even after crashing into trees :P
it's in a bit poor shape these days, but this gives me hope to fix it up!
Thanks for sharing your memories. Those sound like some great times.
I enjoyed the video. I have two slieghs one is an American and the other is a Radio Fleyer. Bought them at flea markets for my grandbabies. We live in a house on top of a big hill and that one's one of the buying points that we liked about the house ,so when we did get snow I didn't have to drive them anywhere and they could sled all they wanted . And when they got cold they could come in and get warm and go back at it. Even though they said they were never cold 🥶. I like the look of that sled with the wide runners ,the ones I've ever seen here in the Midwest are skinny ones. I'm 65 and I'd love to have a long one of those sleds to restore and give it a ride. I bet it would go faster then the skinny ones. Thanks again
Beautiful piece Scott! Love your work.
Great video! This Texas boy learned way more about sleds than he knew before and gives me a greater appreciation of the engineering that went into these.
Hi Scott, thanks for this (and all the videos you post).
A suggestion if I may re rivetting. If you start with the ball pein you will find it easier to get the mushroom growing because of smaller contact area. Finish with the big face or, ideally, with a solid punch with a concave end which will give a nice smooth finish to the mushroom.
Keep up the great work!
I appreciate the suggestion, that sounds like a good technique! I will try that next time. Thank you!
Great job on the sleigh. I love the way you see the word decals. I live in Texas and we pronounce it more like “deecals”. I watch some Canadian car builders too, and I love to listen to them talk. If you could hear my Texas draw you and make comments about the way I talk too! Lol
In my 3rd Grade year in 1972, we were let out early from school after a heavy snow storm had blanketed the area. The kids and I ran from the bus after we were home to a neighbor's driveway; sloped, and iced over like crazy! I then remembered a snow sled that was left behind next door to me on the back porch by the neighbor kid after she and her family moved away.
Sure enough, there it was! Snagged the sled, and back on the scene I was with it until I half turned blue going up, and down that driveway after I stopped just long enough at my house in my dad's garage to nail a scrap piece of wood down to replace a missing plank!
Beautiful job! Thanks for sharing!❄
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it.
I liked it in it's Vintage state.
Thanks for the memories. I lived near a wooded hillside as a child. We would race our Flexible Flyers down the hill steering to miss the trees. At the bottom where the woods met the street, we built a ramp out of snow. We would fly off the ramp. The challenge was to see how far beyond the ramp we could go. The furthest possible was where the plowed street stopped the sled.
Great job, Scott. I can totally relate to putting the decals on backward. I personally make tons of little mistakes and if I don't go slow, it's even worse. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, mistakes happen sometimes when I'm recording video... setting the camera, the lighting, it's a slight distraction.
I had a sled just like that when I was a boy back in the early 1950's. It was steerable, but not by much.
We have my husband’s 1950’s sled, needs refinishing also.
Great restoration! My only suggestion is to be certain the vinyl is strongly adhered to the wood. I recommend going over the vinyl with a 1" (25mm) wallpaper seam roller with strong pressure. Any weather than can get between the vinyl and wood will interfere with the glue, leaving the vinyl looking ragged.
That's a great point, I will definitely keep that in mind.
I really enjoyed this new repair to change the pace
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
That’s a charming door decoration!
Great restoration on that Canadian-made sled, Scott. The decals' copies are a nice touch. Maybe some Loctite on those long bolts instead of rivets will keep them tight? 👍
Thanks for the suggestion. That’s a good idea!
Love the restoration! Had one similar growing up as a kid in Colorado. Needless to say, it had plenty of use from me. Had a larger version I wanted to restore, but too many moves made me eventually let it go. Hoping to find another one to show some love.
Having grown up with that kind of sled, when they were replaced with the plastic ones, I went looking for some old ones for the grands. One fun thing was to lie down and make a train with the longer versions by putting one's feet into the slots of the sled behind.
Oh, that sounds fun! Thanks for sharing that!
Beautiful I love it 😊
Nice restoration! I’ve never seen wide runners like that.
That was a fun restoration.
Great video. I have three of these sitting in my shop that need restored.
Scott, I lived in a snow free area in California. So in my Childhood, the “Flexy Flyers we had were wheeled! But back to your restoration, If someone was restoring a sled that was actually going to be ridden, long rivets are available at your hardware store intended for fastening shovel handles. They may be a little too long, but can easily be cut to whatever length you need as they are very soft material. BTW, I was always taught to use the “Ball” end of a Ball pean hammer when peaning over the end of a rivet. Don’t know it that is correct, but always the way I approach the task. Mark L
Good stuff!
Nice restoration I have radioflyer that is about the same age as that sled !
I like it! I have one in storage
Perfect job! For better durability of the stickers, I would apply the varnish at the very end to protect them with it. Otherwise, great work!
Watching from Vancouver. I had one of these sleds growing up in Victoria, B.C. Victoria sees little snow, but I do remember going down a hill on the sled at least once.
wow great job of restoration scott !!! i had 1 growing up but never used it..i had a plastic orange sled that i used all the time that thing could seriously go!!! i even had a saucer type too but it was soo dented it just couldnt go...
Nice work Scott looks great.
look's awesome nice job👍
Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you like it!
You did a great job, as usual. I would like it even more if the red of the decal and the red on the metal matched.
Yes, me as well. Unfortunately, vinyl and spray paint don't have many colour options.
Nice restoration. Hope we can a picture of the decorated porch.
Cool
It took me a while to figure out what a "dehcul" was. I call them "deecahl". :)
Same here.
hehehe...I'm pretty sure is spelled "decal" and it's pronounced the way it looks .."deecal". :)
American vs Canadian, maybe? We (here in Texas) call them Dee-cals (sounds like "cows").
WTH is a deckle
@ 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the video FF. Citizen Kane-tastic!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great Video. I have 6 or 7 American Flyer sleds that I was wondering the best way to restore. You have motivated me.
That's awesome! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun doing those!
nice job scott
I've never heard "decal" pronounced "deckle" lol. Keep up the great work!
Its a Canadian thing. Decal has as many correct pronunciations as pecan.😊
@@karinapfel650 Love that comparison; you are sure right about 'pecan'.
It’s one of those funny words in the English language
@FixingFurniture hahaha that's good stuff! Yall talk strange but you have a great attention to detail in your repairs! Thanks for the content!
👍👍👍. Thank you Scott
very interesting!👍
Nice job. If you plan to do much more metal refinishing, I suggest an angle grinder and steel wire brushes. Would have been much faster and more effective than the brass brushes on the drill.
If I remember correctly from my childhood, mine had a rope that was strung from one side of the steering handle to the other for pulling it back uphill, as well as using it to guide the sled for those of us who were more daring, sitting upright . Or just plain foolhardy, standing on the sled while riding it down the hill. 🤪
Interesting on how to age the hardware!
Great restoration job, cheers & I subscribed.
Thanks for subscribing! I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
Nice job. I preferred it the other way though. I'm not sure if this is a good idea but I would have tried to just clean the wood and seal it with varnish I think.
I've never been on a sled because we don't get snow here in Nth Queensland Australia. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas n a Happy New Year. Take care n have a good one.🎄🎄🎄🛷🛷
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! 🎄🛷
I had Flexible Flyer. I bet it looks a lot yours when you started
Here's a little tip: when pounding on rivets, use metal as the backer, not wood. You need something solid to pound against. Nice refurb on the sled, by the way. :)
Sand blaster needed!
I had a flexible flyer. Probably purchased in the 60's or 70's. If I remember correctly you didn't want the paint on the runners, you wanted to sharpen the runners and wax them so it would go faster.
When you display it outside, be sure to add a bicycle chain to it so it doesn't wander off. Extra points of you add a "Rosebud" label to it!
🌹 Rosebud…
I think I would have used Titebond III it is waterproof and a lot stronger than the poly glue Like you referred to. Epoxy would have been better. I guess it is okay as it is going to be a decoration and strength is not required. Great video Scott I had a Flexible Flyer when I was a kid
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I appreciate the suggestions.
Hi Scott!
A bit surprized that you didn't paint the front piece, i was under impression that it just rusted more than other red parts.
What kind of rust remover do you use? And if it's our old friend EvapoRust, have you had the chance to try BackyardBallistics' brew? His solution even saved some of the bluing that was left on metal and was pretty cheap to make.
My father taught flying at the start of WW2. He liked the North boys because they could steer with their feet. Sleeds teach this, cars do not. 🎉
That's cool! Thanks for sharing that story!
All i want for Christmas since i hit puberty. Hoo ha ha.
I have a very old dresser that I'd like to have restored one day. There just isn't anyone in my area that I feel could do it properly.
Ottimo lavoro Scott ma secondo me il manubrio è montato al contrario, saluti 👍👍👍👍👍👍👋👋👋
Thank you. I just double checked the before and after photos, and the handle bar is the same direction. Good question. Scott
👍🏻❤
Fantastic restoration, Scott. I was wondering if you can apply polyurethane on top of the decals to protect them against the elements too, or would that cause different issues?
That's a good question. I'm not sure how vinyl would react to a polyurethane finish or if the polyurethane would stick to the vinyl.
It’s all downhill from here!
Lol, thanks for the chuckle - love it! Scott
I never paint the metal because over time and outdoors it chips. So, I just blue coat it (blueing you can buy this at any hunting store or where they sell guns) and oil it. The other way in which it lasts longer on metal is to powdered coat it, but it will chip over a 25 year period.
Thank s for talking .
I have always wanted to ride one of these sleds but growing up in California, then in the Midwest where these type sleds are not allowed because the runners are dangerous.
Too bad you didn't have access to a sandblaster to remove the rust/old paint from the runners. Not much use for woodworking, but a good general tool to have for preparing metal for paint. Nice work on this piece.
Why didn’t you paint the front piece black?? Mine when I was a kid was black.
@FixingFurniture thanks for the lesson. It turned out nice. I tried to stop you before you added the sticker upside down but you couldn't hear me through the screen...bahaha. Me thinks I watch too much UA-cam university...lol.
In the past, when I worked with vinyl designs, my stupid hands would randomly twitch (carpal tunnel sucks...sigh). To realign, I found it helpful to warm it up with a hairdryer on low first. High setting or heat gun is too much.
I appreciate the tip, I'll have to try that. Thank you!
@FixingFurniture you are welcome! It's nice to help one of my favorite UA-cam professors!
Please post the sled installed as a decoration.
I know this was for decoration, but if you ever wanted to use it, the wood repair should be glued with resorcinol glue. 60 years ago, as a kid I used to crash mine a lot and that was my Dad's go to glue and over the years, no joint failed. Today, I doubt i could get a small enough batch to use before it expired and I had to throw it away so maybe I'd settle for epoxy..
Thanks for sharing that. I haven't heard of Resorcinol glue (aka resorcinol-formaldehyde glue). It sounds like it works for tight joints but not a gap filler, which epoxy also does as well. I now know a little more than I did before I read your comment. Thank you! Scott #tip
I enjoy your videos but I do have one gripe, the music.
TIL that some Canadians say decal differently… and that there are 3 accepted pronunciations
Didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. Scott
@@FixingFurniture I'm Canadian, and I had one of those as a kid. And yes, it's pronounced :deckle". :)
I’m not sure that our nanny government would allow us to use them today without a full face mask/helmet, a large impact absorbing bumper, and an adult to tell us how fast we could go, when to turn, and when to stop. Growing up in the 50s I had a wood toboggan and a similar sled. Our favorite maneuver was to start sledding right after someone went down the hill before us. As we came up behind them we would grab the rear of one of their runners and spin them around in the opposite direction as we zoomed past. Now days young people are on their phones instead of doing something fun.
Always love your videos! Please consider removing the music. It’s distracting.
You need the rope to pull it.
I wish I had the "Champion" snow sled we had as kids.
🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏👍🥃👏👍
Once its restored, chain it to the house cuz someone will-steal it and sell it
Love the video and the work, but hate the music.
I don’t know the name of the sled
My brother and I got it for Xmas in the early 1960’s My dad painted it silver with red runners
I pulled it up the rope tow at our local hill
It did steer a bit
Not well enough to avoid much
Two little things:: Your explanation about the channels on the runners is not correct. The channels are for tracking. Downhill skis have no groove in them and gives more contact area, which translates into more speed. Skis with the groove in the center allow for better tracking. When you turn on one of those sleds, you are actually curving the runners. The second thing, you should have asked the graphics guy to make a paint mask and then you should have painted the graphics on. It would have been more original. It turned out nice though.
Maybe you can restore some of the antiques on my channel
Buddy…it’s pronounced “Deee-Cow-L”
I doubt any commercial product of today legally would bear a name like "Speedliner". At least not a toy for children.
More a cleaning than a restoration. Not impressed. 👎
Its not a fine piece of furniture, just an old sled your putting on your door step in did one and it looked just fine without all the worry about if the wood matches and how old the rivets looked.
Oh and its pronounced DEE CAL s not deckels canadians eh???
And the English...it is their language too you know!
Deckle ?????? LMAO 🤣 De- Cal ..
Your stain color is a Bad Match…
I’m guessing, that you were picked on in every school that you attended.
Wow, what toxic commentary
Deh kle is how it is pronounced in England and Canada, do try to be nicer....
Wth is a deckall...I know what a deecal is though..