Parts of a Wheelbarrow – Tray, Handles, Legs, Nose Guard

All 14 parts on the diagram

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From the side 10

Tray The load goes in here. It sits on the two handles and tips forward over the wheel to empty.
Wheel One wheel at the front. The weight of the load is shared between the wheel and the person holding the handles.
Handles Two long bars that run from the wheel back to your hands. They pass under the tray.
Legs Two legs under the tray. The wheelbarrow rests on them and the wheel when it is set down.
Tire The rubber round the wheel. Some are filled with air and some are solid.
Hub The center of the wheel, which turns on the axle.
Tray brace One on each side. They steady the front of the tray.
Nose guard It joins the front ends of the two handles. It sits in front of the wheel.
Wedge One sits on top of each handle. The tray is bolted down onto them.
Leg shoes Plates fixed under the legs. They take the wear where the legs meet the ground.

From underneath 4

Axle A steel rod through the middle of the wheel. Each end is held by an axle bracket.
Axle bracket One is bolted to the underside of each handle. The axle ends sit in them.
Leg brace It is bolted to both legs. It runs across from one to the other to brace them.
Bearings They sit in the hub, round the axle. They let the wheel turn smoothly.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) A maker's user manual with parts list and assembly steps for a 6 cubic foot wheelbarrow, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6332667 : handle, wedge, tray, leg, leg brace, nose guard, tray brace, axle, wheel, axle bracket, tire, steel hub. (2) A tool maker's 2025 catalog with wheelbarrow replacement parts lists, full text at https://archive.org/details/corona-catalog-2025-d.-d.-teoli-jr.-a.-c. : handles, tray, legs, leg brace, nose guard, tray brace, axle bracket, wedges, wheel, tire, hub with ball bearings. (3) A wheelbarrow maker's catalog, full text at https://archive.org/details/sterling-wheelbarrow-catalog-34 : tray, handles, legs, leg shoes, wheel, hub, axle, brackets, bearings, tire. (4) A second wheelbarrow maker's catalogue with a parts list, full text at https://archive.org/details/bull-frog-wheelbarrows-cat-no-12 : tray, tray braces, handles, legs with renewable shoes, leg brace, nose guard. (5) Wikipedia, Wheelbarrow, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelbarrow : one wheel, two handles at the rear, the tray, and pneumatic, semi-pneumatic or solid tires. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's wheelbarrow, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A single-wheel garden wheelbarrow from the side, then from underneath, where the axle, its brackets and the leg brace show. The wheel is on the left in both drawings.

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What carries the load

The tray sits on two long handles, with a wedge between the tray and each handle. At the front, a tray brace on each side runs from the tray down to the handle. When the wheelbarrow is set down it rests on the wheel and the two legs, which have leg shoes under them.

Under the wheelbarrow

The axle passes through the hub of the wheel, which turns on bearings. An axle bracket bolted under each handle holds one end of the axle. The nose guard joins the front ends of the handles in front of the wheel, and the leg brace joins the two legs.

Wheelbarrow tires are pneumatic (filled with air), semi-pneumatic or solid.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a wheelbarrow called?

The tray, two handles, a wheel with its tire and hub, an axle held by two axle brackets, two legs joined by a leg brace, two tray braces, a wedge under each side of the tray, and a nose guard at the front.

What is the front of a wheelbarrow called?

The nose. The metal bar that joins the front ends of the handles, in front of the wheel, is the nose guard.

What is the bucket of a wheelbarrow called?

The tray. Makers' parts lists call it the tray whether it is steel or plastic. It is also called a pan.

What holds the wheel on a wheelbarrow?

An axle through the hub of the wheel. Each end of the axle sits in an axle bracket, and the brackets are bolted to the underside of the handles.