Loose Wheels ???

[tjgrant]

we have a wonderful 6 pdr with French "dished" wheels ....when they are out in the rail they feel rock solid ...however after the dry out the wobbles begin ...wondering if anyone ever soaked their wheels in a Linseed oil/ mineral spirit bath to cause swelling and firm up the wheels...see www.oldfortwayne.org ...thanx

 

[AZ Muzzle]

I use to own an 1835 Mountain Howitzer with 42” wheels. I would soak the wheels a few times a year in regular hose water to keep the spokes tight. I never had any issues doing this and I kept a fresh coat of paint on the wheels and carriage.

 

[Coot]

There are anecdotal tales of periodically taking wagons to a creek to soak & tighten the wheels. Water will tighten them up to a point. I doubt that linseed oil will. Try applying the linseed oil (or paint/varnish) when they are tight to try to keep them from drying out and loosening. If really loose, a wheelwright will need to examine them - possibly trimming the felloes shorter and reducing the tire diameter & then reassembling. We have one horse drawn carriage where the spoke mortises in the wheel hubs got wallowed out & the "cure" was a new set of wheels using the old boxings from the original hubs. Why did you refer to the dished wheels as "French"? Staggering spokes and dishing was a common way to make a stronger wheel.

 

[tjgrant]

Thanx for the info we have a French styled carriage and have only seen dished wheels on french styled carriages/guns .....we have painted the wheels and the carriage with a oil based paint ...and have had little sucess with them not drying out ...during the winter ...we don't have the luxury of being able to keep the gun in a heated building so it drys out ...this time of year .....plus since it seems that oil based paints "breathe " the moisture would be lost eventually

 

[jcornell]

Soaking wheels in water is a very temporary and damaging way to tighten wheels. I have rebuilt many original wagons and cannon wheels. I have driven a wagon from Omaha to Salt Lake City, and have had no issues with reset tires coming loose, even after 1200 miles of use, To tighten the tire, you need to cut it, remove it, cut a small piece out, and either pull the tire back together with clamps, reweld it or weld and heat to slip over the felloes. Soaking in water will cause swelling and then even more trouble with the wheel in the long run. I have built a small trough that lets at least one fellie to be submerged in linseed oil, which is then heated up, and painted on the 2 spokes and hub. I rotate after the wood has stopped bubbling (about 20 mins) and rotate the next section into the hot oil. A dry wheel will take a gallon of oil sometimes. Then I paint the wheel and it is good for several years, I have a full scale light 6pdr that I treated this way in 1996 , and she is still tight as a drum!
J Colonel

 

[notascrename]

I suspect most loose wheel problems come from using kiln-dried wood. 1862 US Army ordinance manual says "brushed with hot oil" before painting. Storage of carriages to be on ground floor of buildings. Shows ALL wheels for US ordinance service were dished 2 in. Jim