Shrink fitting steel tires

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jeffsmith
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Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by jeffsmith »

I am getting ready to shrink steel tires on to the driver centers. I am a little worried that a heavy shrink will crack or brake some spokes on the wheel center. What would be an acceptable shrink fit and still be safe with the spokes? The wheel center is 4.625 diameter. Thank you.
K-36 wheel center .JPG
Andypullen
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by Andypullen »

4.620” inside diameter should be fine.

I’ve done dozens of tires. .001”-.0015” shrink per inch of diameter is what I use.

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hoppercar
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by hoppercar »

.001"to .0015" per inch of diameter....they won't crack.....I have done this before, and have never had a problem with them
FLtenwheeler
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by FLtenwheeler »

I use 0.001” per inch plus 0.001”. Heat the tires to 500f. Blue in color. Your axle hole will shrink 0.0001” to 0.0002”.

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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Ditto the above. I set them up so I could drop the hot tires onto the wheels such that the tires rested on some bar stock to align them up so they would be in the right place in and out (my brain doesn't seem to be able to describe it better at the moment). I figured that the tires would cool quickly and once on there would be no adjustment. I was right.
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optigman
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by optigman »

More than likely the steel tire would split before the spokes crack or break if the shrink fit was overly tight. Iron stands up to very heavy compression as cast iron bridges in England have stood the test of time. Heavier is better than skimpy as things tend to loosen if not compressed sufficiently.
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cbrew
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by cbrew »

I echo Andy, I would not be too worried about the spokes, How thick is the outer hub?
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BAdams
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by BAdams »

Greg, I'm loving your profile picture!

Brook
mblaisdell
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by mblaisdell »

Any reason sleeve locktite won't work other than the cost?
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Bill Shields
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by Bill Shields »

Loctite would be fine. Used it dozens of times and never had a problem...however

Just be careful if you are going to machine the tire profile after attaching to hubs.

You can very easily get the tire temp above 400f at which the Loctite will disintegrate
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by Greg_Lewis »

BAdams wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:37 pm Greg, I'm loving your profile picture!

Brook

Thanks. Greek philosophy was the foundation of my misspent youth. I often looked to Mediocrates for discouragement. According to the Uncyclopedia, in school, he averaged about 2.5 GPA. His sole original idea was the invention of the status quo and, in mathematics, Mediocrates is mostly remembered for his discovery of the lowest common denominator. He was invited to work with Idiocrates and Moronicus but never responded.
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BAdams
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Re: Shrink fitting steel tires

Post by BAdams »

As a former follower of the teachings of Procrastinaticus I can totally relate.
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