News Archive

May, 2017 Work Weekend

Published and found at

watching the fire heating the tire in anticipation of slipping the wheel inside.

There are several modern ways of determining the correct temperature but for nostalgia sake, we placed a slug of babbit on the tire and waited until it liquefied — about 500F — and watched the color of the metal change from shiny silver to light straw to dark straw.

Once the tire reaches the correct temperature, the axle/wheel assembly is lowered into the tire, the fire is switched off, and we wait for the fitted tire to cool.

Read the full article