"J. Clarke" wrote:

Working on a decorative wagon wheel in wood, but I'd really like to put
a metal tire on it. Now, that's no trick if it's just for looks--make a
steel ring that's close enough to the dimension that a little epoxy
under it will hold it, but the devil in me wants to do a proper job and
shrink the thing.

Trouble is that this is a no-burn area so I can't just light a fire in
the back yard and heat the tire.

So, any ideas on how to go about this? The wheel is 2 feet in diameter,
making the tire too big to fit in a barbecue or the like. If I was
making a bunch of 'em I'd be tempted to just build a charcoal pit big
enough and call it a barbie, but that's a lot of work for one wheel.

And yeah, I know I can find a blacksmith, but I'm more interested in the
making than in having a wheel.


Are you going to have help setting the tire? From what I've read, this isn't a one person
job. I can't remember the name of the book larry talked me into reading. It is an
excellent reference. Maybe Larry will jump in with a title.


A link on wheelwrighting.

http://www.hct.ac.uk/Downloads/cp_wheel.html

Some other neat things at that site.
http://www.hct.ac.uk/Downloads/craftpublications.html


Wes