Wheelwrights in Midwest

[Arkaos]

Our number two gun's wheels are in need of some TLC. Does anyone know of a wheelwright in the midwest?

Thanks,

Steve

[BorderRuffian]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

Steve,


While not an approved AC vendor,this fellow is currently working on some wheels and axles for a unit I am affiliated with:

http://www.firstshotphoto.com/wheelwri.htm

He is in Gonzales,Texas

[Mbond057]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

Steve,

Send me an email at profbond@cox.net and I’ll pass on information for a wheelwright in Arizona. If I post it here it will be deleted because he is not an approved vender (been there done that. :)

[jgr1974]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

If you have any Amish communities nearby, there should be someone to help!

Jeremy

[KarinTimour]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

At Red River 2 there were several accidents that destroyed artillery wheels --we heard that some of the Texicans were using a few young/wild/only partially broken horses. In the civilian "village of Pleasant Hill" there was a family of wheelwrights. They didn't have their full component of tools, just "what they had in the trunk of the car." But they completely rebuilt at least two wheels from scratch and quite a bit of repair on the others.

They were working out of Greenfield Village, in Dearborn, Michigan as their "real jobs." I don't have any contact infomration for them, but I bet if you contacted Greenfield Village (living history village founded by Henry Ford) they'd be able to connect you.

Hope that's helpful,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Come see me at "At High Tide" next weekend!
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[BorderRuffian]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

Jeremy,

For repair,might be able to get by with the Amish.It has been my experience though for a brand new wheel for artillery carriage that the Amish have not produced one with the proper "dish".



Just my .02

[mladair]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

For repair,might be able to get by with the Amish.It has been my experience though for a brand new wheel for artillery carriage that the Amish have not produced one with the proper "dish".

Our experience with the Amish has been that they won't touch anything about a field piece with a 10 ft pole, or, like stated above, they end up with the wrong "dish" on the wheels, etc. We've were told this is because it is a weapon of war and against their beliefs. This may vary from community to community, though.

Best regards,

[Arkaos]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

Thanks to all who have responded. Our tires are good and so are the hubs or at least they look good. We need work on the felloes and spokes (the gaps are getting larger). I have heard about the Amish not working on cannon wheels and someone told me to tell them they were wagon wheels and they would do it, but I don't feel right about that.

Steve

[jgr1974]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

I will agree it probably varies from each community. I think they have the don't ask don't tell policy, at least in this area. They were making tents and uniforms for several sutlers a few years ago. Had no problem with making them, other than sewing on the military buttons. This was just an option I know of in my area. It is funny several years back, there was an "annual" Civil War event that was in conjunction with a tractor show. The Amish would "come to see the machinery", but did not shield there eyes from the wages of war!

Thank you all for listening to my ramblings!
The Mad MIck!

[Jerry Ross]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

Hey,
I don't know if this will help or not but a old man was telling me that his dad would send him and his brother to soak the wheels of their wagons in the creek to swell the wood. I do the same thing with my wooden canteen .Just a thought.

[artillerybuff]

Re: Wheelwrights in Midwest

I would advise strongly against water soaking your wheels. Yes, it will tighten them up as the wood asorbs water, but it is a temporary fix at best, and with continued practice will cause dry rot.

If your hubs, spokes & felloes are good, i.e. no cracks, spilts, or rot and your only problem is gaps due to shrinkage, you can easily repair these wheels to be as tight as new. I recently did this myself on a pair of 8 year old wheels from a PBO Carriage. They had been sitting in the hot desert sun their entire life and were quite loose.
I removed the 7 bolts, cut off the tires, removed approximately 5/8" of material, ground a deep bevel on each edge of the tire, welded the 7 holes closed, welded on a thick block on each side of the tire gap, soaked all wood joints with thinned linseed oil for good penatration, remounted the tire, and using a grade eight 5/8" bolt & a HD air impact, tightened the tire until the gap closed. I then welded the gap with several passes until completely filled, carefully cooling the wood inbetween to minimize burning, ground off the blocks, grind smooth all welds, redrilled the 7 holes from the inside out and reinstalled the bolts. Took me one day, and the wheels are very tight! Should give me many more years of service. Be carefull how much material you remove from your tires though, my wheels were very loose and had gaps between each felloe and between the spokes. You may only need to remove 3/8 to 1/2. Start out smaller, you can always remove more if they do not get tight enough. BTW, it took me over 300 lbs. of torque to close the gap. I realize this is not the way a wheelwright would do it, but it worked for me. They put the tire on already welded in one piece by heating the entire tire to expand it then drop it on and cool it.

Good luck~

Anthony Variz