b4utoo Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Old vintage wagon wheels... I get a lot of them...what are they made of? And are they good metal to use and what for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Wrought iron, usually double wrought. Has a strong pattern when etched, makes nice decorative work.Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) It's been my experience, that SOME vintage, wood-spoked Wagon Wheels do, ... in fact, ... have Wrought Iron "Tires".But a surprising number do not.I think it might be a "regional" thing, ... due to the ongoing use of horse drawn conveyances, ... particularly here, in the North East. I suspect the Wagon Wheels found "West of the Mississippi", are most likely to be old "originals", ... with the Wrought Iron Tires that you would expect to find on 100 year old artifacts.But here in "Amish Country", ... there are still a few practicing "Wheelwrights", ... turning out new wheels, ... and repairing older equipment, ... using rolled STEEL Tires.Any Wheel built, or repaired, in the 70 years that have passed since the end of WWII, ... have most likely got Steel Tires. So, ... depending on where you're located, ... don't "take it for granted" that the Tires and Bands on a wooden wheel are necessarily Wrought Iron. Personally, ... I'd guess the Wheels you're finding, in Southern California, are old enough to have Wrought Iron Tires.If it's not obvious at-a-glance, ... then a simple Spark Test will erase all doubt about which material you have. . Edited April 11, 2015 by SmoothBore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 My last set of tyres from the scrapyard had a set of buggy tyres that were not wrought but mild---very mild indeed and they are slowly becoming bottle openers. The larger tyres were all wrought iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Rusty Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) Cut one half way thru, bend it at the fold and see if it looks stringy like wrought iron. If so .... you have some great iron to work with. You are luck to have a lot of them. They are quite expensive now as people are selling them as yard decorations on Craigslist for $100+ ..... Are you selling any of the rim pieces if they are true wrought ??Ohio Rusty ><>The Ohio Frontier Forge Edited April 11, 2015 by Ohio Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4utoo Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Cut one half way thru, bend it at the fold and see if it looks stringy like wrought iron. If so .... you have some great iron to work with. You are luck to have a lot of them. They are quite expensive now as people are selling them as yard decorations on Craigslist for $100+ ..... Are you selling any of the rim pieces if they are true wrought ??Ohio Rusty ><>The Ohio Frontier ForgeHere are some pictures of them...guy brings them to me...I paid $60 for all three...Two are over 50 inches..and weigh a ton. He asked how many I want...I told him hold on a minute I let you know...So I am here asking you all...before I proceed in any deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4utoo Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 I just "threw" them on the junk area of the yard until I get a bit of education here. I appreciate the feedback..I remember the spark test...will attempt it, but I gotta remember which is which on the sparks lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Back when I lived in Columbus OH I once found a free one just down the block from my house. The little florist shop used it as window decor for years and then one day threw it out and looking down the alleyway I could see it sticking out of their dumpster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I wouldn't chop those up for material. I would either sell them as decorations, or incorporate them into a project like a chandelier. A friend back in CA used to collect wheels that style, and stacked them into a wall. Looked pretty cool. If all you had was the tire off of wood wheels, then yes, they would be material candidates. As complete steel wheels, nope. Too much other material out there to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 The big one can be put on a pedestal and used as a clothing rack in a store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 My Aunt's kitchen table was a large old implement wheel with a glass top over it. The chairs were tractor seats welded to a frame. Of course this was 30 years ago in Arkansas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Lots of creative reuses for these. Lamps, racks, use two for a rocking chair/couch, yard art, tool rack, rough terrain cart wheels, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4utoo Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Some nice pieces of metal there lol I know I shouldn't cut it...but Im counting number of projects I can make with them... I will consider other uses before I continue...maybe they'll bring me something uglier to chop up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Ayup you have a LOT more than old wagon tyers there. some make good stock, some make good bases incorporated in projects and commissions. Looks like you have a nice resource at hand, congratulations. You may have enough available to sell or trade at meetings or conferences. Hollis isn't that for from you and the CBA (or is it NWBA?) Conference has a really BIG tailgating area/event. Were I close enough I'd attend for the tailgating if nothing else.Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 You are looking at it wrong. Those can get you far more stock than they have in them by using them complete in projects that you sell, or selling them outright. You are close enough to Los Angeles that high end interior designers are not that far away. Las Vegas isn't even that far away. Round bar, and flat stock is easy to come by, old wheels not so. You can cut them for stock, but you will be taking a shortsighted approach to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4utoo Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 I limit myself to 50 miles in any direction usually. I did get a good source for flat, angle, and plate steel. And other odds and ends. But actual steel companies think they have gold for sale instead of steel...And only thing around here is recycling companies that want your stuff, not sell.I did pick up quite a few precut 4140 and 1045 rounds from ebay but paid through the nose but still cheaper than local steel places.I am considering alternate sources now...I'll hold the wheels and think on it, I just won't stock up with them until I figured how I will use them or sell them.Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 b4utoo, Go make friends with your local auto junkyard. 1 busted truck axel, 1 busted leaf spring, 1 busted 3/4 ton truck coil spring, and 1 busted small car coil spring and you will have all the stock you need for learning to make tongs, punches, chisels, and knives for a couple of years. Russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Never saw wrought iron tire in Minnesota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Rusty Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 The all metal wagon wheels with the steel spokes are steel. I have one similiar. The larger wheel rim all by itself that went around a wooden wagon wheel is most likely hand forged wrought iron. I see a wood wheel with no rim. The metal bands around the outsde of the hub are also wrought iron in my experience. The wood rim should have a metal hub inside the axel rotated on. That hub is normally just cast iron, same stuff your cast iron skillets are made of. Not really usable for forging.Ohio Rusty ><>The Ohio Frontier Forge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheeler Dan Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 I cry when folks destroy antique steel wheels .If they would just not weld them into there art work and clamp them with u-bolts or something . Then the value of the antique would be retained . If they like the wheel that is because it is a great thing why ruin it ? Keep its integrity for the future . There are countless ways to do the same thing as welding by fasteners with out drilling or welding them ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 The blacksmith is a toolmaker. Often times we take a tool that no longer has a purpose, and forge it into a new tool with a completely new purpose. You might say our craft was the craft of recycling. Far better than say someone, watching a wagon tire slowly rust into nothing and in fact, be completely worthless for anything whilst in their care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Better that the metal be used by a blacksmith to make something beautiful or useful than it end up melted down with other scrap or (as anvil says) rusting away to nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 My wife makes me buy old wagon wheels while we are out an about, then she wants them in the yard for decoration…. Then I get to mow around the… things… lol if she’d let me have my way they would be put back to a good use and I wouldn’t have to drag them around every time I mow lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 At least you don't have to mow around 100+ pound standing stones like I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Lol no I got plenty of flint rocks but no standing stones, does your wife like to decorate the yard too? Or were they already there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now