Loose Wagon Wheels

[Jacobite Jack]

I have oak wagon wheels on my gun cart. They're getting a little rickety. It's been so dry out here in the west, I think the wood is just shrinking. Does anyone have suggestions to tighten up the wood like swelling them in a barrel of water, or oiling the wood, etc? They were very expensive, and I really don't want to buy new ones.

[John Boy]

http://forums.aaca.org/f120/tightening-wood-wheels-what-works-157261.html

More posts/websites ... use ... how to tighten spokes on wooden wheels ... in your browser

[crooked jake,4371]

I have oak wagon wheels on my gun cart. They're getting a little rickety. It's been so dry out here in the west, I think the wood is just shrinking. Does anyone have suggestions to tighten up the wood like swelling them in a barrel of water, or oiling the wood, etc? They were very expensive, and I really don't want to buy new ones.

Jacobite ,

 

good to see yer alive and well ,

 

Columbus keeps his hammers is water in the summer fer shooin horses to keep the heads tight .

 

and down at fernley one yera when they had a hawk throw onna stage they kept the hawks in water fer the same reason ........but I will gaurunty that sumbuddy on here really knows how .....goo to see ya though

[Jacobite Jack]

Crooked Jake,

 

Thanks for the reply, it must be 100 years. Good to hear from ya.

[Mad Dog Jack, SASS #77862]

Yeah, I hear it has been a mite dry over your way. I would soak them in a tub of water until they swell up and continue as needed. Only way I know to keep the shrinkage down. Worked once with a guy from the desert who kept his hammers once in awhile in a bucket of water to keep the head tight.

[el Gato Gordo - SASS #15162]

I have oak wagon wheels on my gun cart. They're getting a little rickety. It's been so dry out here in the west, I think the wood is just shrinking. Does anyone have suggestions to tighten up the wood like swelling them in a barrel of water, or oiling the wood, etc? They were very expensive, and I really don't want to buy new ones.

 

 

Hola, compadre!

 

I bought a couple of vintage wheels down south of Nacodoches when I was building my covered wagon gun cart. Naturally, it didn't take them long to shrink up in this dry Colorado climate.

 

The first time that I tried soaking them, I left them in for an hour. THAT WAS TOO LONG! It compressed the hub so much it was too tight on the axle to turn! Same thing happened when I went to Michigan for the Wolverine Rangers Range War, and it rained for a week before the match, with the wagon in the back of the pick-up.

 

I find that soaking for 1/2 hour is just about right, and lasts for days. Soak them a day or so before a match and you will be fine.

 

This is a historical problem ~ pioneers crossing the plains would let the wheels soak at river crossings every chance the would get, or their tires would fall off.

 

Buena suerte,

eGG

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

You could use a method my father used for curing green wood. He would soak it in kerosene for about 2 weeks depending on the size of the piece. The water would be displaced and replaced by paraffin in the cells of the wood (at least that is the theory. As to the hub, it might need a slight reaming afterwards, but seems a better solution than having to soak in water over and over again. Don't know that it will work, but believe it would. Worth investigating anyway

[Rolling Stone]

I'd try this stuff. http://www.ehow.com/about_6704239_glycol-treatment-wood.html This is a treatment for green wood to help control shrinkage. I can't find anything about using it with dried wood but if the wood is shrinking it can't be really dry, can it? There is another cheaper version called pentacryl -look here

http://www.preservation-solutions.com/woodshopnews.php either of these should prevent the wood drying and shrinking. I'd be afraid of soaking in water because of it causing the wood to deteriorate from rot and fungus. Be kind of like leaving a shovel outside and letting the handle rot.

Rolling Stone

[Jacobite Jack]

el Gato Gordo, hope to catch up with ya again up at Lake George. I figured water would do the trick, but the question is, for how long. Sounds like 1/2 hour would do the trick. I wonder if a good oiling afterward with Linseed would work. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I knew there'ld be some smarter folks than me who would eventually reply. J Mark Flint, your suggestion of kerosene is intriguing. When I was a kid my dad would soak my foot in kerosene when I would step on a nail. Seems we were always building something and I would eventually step on a nail. Rolling Stone, sounds like you've done your research. I've heard of PEG, but Pentacryl may be the better solution.