I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?

basilisk

basilisk wrote the following on 10/15/2012 10:59 AM (ET):
I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?

basilisk

Google - wooden casters -, then click on images.

--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeros after @

Another option is leather wheels, if there's a problem with the wooden repair.

If need be, a local antique shop may have wooden or leather wheels/casters.... stashed in a corner of misc items, possibly.

Sonny

On Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:25:52 -0400, willshak wrote:

basilisk wrote the following on 10/15/2012 10:59 AM (ET):
I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?

basilisk

Google - wooden casters -, then click on images.

Thanks, I falsely assumed that the world had moved on
from wooden wheels but apparently a good number of places still
sell them.

basilisk

On Monday, October 15, 2012 8:03:33 AM UTC-7, basilisk wrote:
I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout. I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me. Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905 Pierce Arrow. The other option is to repair the old wheels, this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood to make the replacement wheels from.. Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ? Any ideas? basilisk

I would (wood) go with QS White Oak. Partly because I love it but stability and hardness are also a consideration. Also the color because whaterver you stain will wear away regardless. I've ssen lots of old machinery built with white oak parts.

"basilisk" wrote:

I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?
----------------------------------------
Lignum vitae would be my first choice followed by Hickory and perhaps
Beech.

"Ironwood" comes to mind but it is very tough to machine and as I
understand
it there are several varities based on local and is probably best left
to fence posts.

Lew

On Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:43:22 -0700, Lew Hodgett wrote:

"basilisk" wrote:

I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?
----------------------------------------
Lignum vitae would be my first choice followed by Hickory and perhaps
Beech.

"Ironwood" comes to mind but it is very tough to machine and as I
understand
it there are several varities based on local and is probably best left
to fence posts.

Lew

LV my first choice as well, and I do have a local source.
There is a local company that stocks it for saw guides.

The available new offerings for wood castors do not specify
a type of wood, maybe they're good, maybe not.

basilisk

On 10/15/2012 11:43 AM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"basilisk" wrote:

I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?
----------------------------------------
Lignum vitae would be my first choice followed by Hickory and perhaps
Beech.

"Ironwood" comes to mind but it is very tough to machine and as I
understand
it there are several varities based on local and is probably best left
to fence posts.

The particular "ironwood" would make a difference. Ipe, relative
inexpensive and readily available is an ironwood and relative easy to
machine. Commonly found and or sold as 5/4 1x6x96 decking material.

Ironwood varies by state or locality.
It is the term that is given to the hardest, toughest wood there.

Generally it is really tough like you say.

Martin

On 10/15/2012 3:10 PM, Leon wrote:
On 10/15/2012 11:43 AM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"basilisk" wrote:

I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?
----------------------------------------
Lignum vitae would be my first choice followed by Hickory and perhaps
Beech.

"Ironwood" comes to mind but it is very tough to machine and as I
understand
it there are several varities based on local and is probably best left
to fence posts.

The particular "ironwood" would make a difference. Ipe, relative
inexpensive and readily available is an ironwood and relative easy to
machine. Commonly found and or sold as 5/4 1x6x96 decking material.

basilisk wrote:
I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?


If you can get it big enough, lignum vitae. Wears very well, still used for
shaft bearings in boats. I use it for the guides in my bandsaw. Ipe would
workwell too and is more readily available than lignum vitae.

Next best IMO would be hickory.



--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Maybe just ready for a change? Check it out...
http://www.floridaloghouse.net

"basilisk" wrote in message
...

I have an old chifforobe made in the 1920's
the wood wheel castors are broken/wornout.

I considered fitting it with modern ball bearing
castors, but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Kinda like putting a CD player in a 1905
Pierce Arrow.

The other option is to repair the old wheels,
this is doable, but I am curious as to what kind of wood
to make the replacement wheels from.

Hickory, hard maple, lignum vitae ?

Any ideas?

basilisk


I used oak for wheels on riding toys I made for our young boys.(over 42
years ago) and slipped rubber inner tubes on them so as not to mar our wood
floors. now the grand kids have used them. WW