Is this a wagon wheel rim?

[Rob in KS]

This one really threw me for a loop. I got a hit, dug, found nothing,dug deeper, nothing,widened the hole,nothing. It left it for a while. When I came back, I thought I was getting a hit at the edge of the hole, dig down and hit the edge of it. It turns out I was digging right in the middle of it. It was about 6" deep. I had one hell of a hole by the time I got it out. Found in my pasture in the middle of Kansas. No other metal around it except for the hub looking thingy. The first pic shows a couple of details. It has bolts / nuts where it was connected to something. The other pic shows the hub? It is about 4 1/2 feet in diameter, 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick. The hub is about 3" in diameter.

It seems too narrow for a wheel, it would really sink in the mud.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Leon]

It seems too narrow for a wheel, it would really sink in the mud.

I could see it being a wheel for a fancy buggy, but not a work? wagon...
Neat find,, none the less... I could also see where it would give you a fit while trying to retrieve it...
Good luck, & Happy hunting~

 

[hollowpointred]

maybe an old fashoned bicycle tire?

 

[l.cutler]

It is a tire, probably for a light buggy. Heavy farm, and lumber wagons had wider tires. the other piece is a collar for the hub.

 

[TheSleeper]

I have seen some old wooden wagon wheels that were not fitted with a full metal surround. Some had a squire u shaped groove in the middle for the iron surround to fit into, leaving the outer edges of the wood exposed.

 

[Rob in KS]

Maybe Doc Adams was coming to make a house call

 

[slowreaper]

95% chance this is not the rim of any wheel. The reason that rims were heat shrunk onto the wooden wheel is that is the only way to get the rim tight enough. If the rim is loss it will shake the wooden wheel apart.

At first I thought it might be from a later model that had a rubber tire on the metal rim, however I do not see any lips on the edges of the rim, which would hold the rubber in place. A Rubber tire on a flat metal rim would slip off on the first turn no matter how tightly it was stretched on.

I could be wrong, but did spend many years growing up rebuilding old horse drawn wagons, including wheels.

Brad

 

[Shortstack]

With that narrow rim and a one-piece hub, it looks to me like they're parts of a steel wheel from a horse-drawn reaper used in harvesting wheat or simple hay. You said that you found it on your farm " in the middle of Kansas ". It sort of fits. Check out pictures of old horsedrawn farm equipment.

 

[TreasureTales]

Golly, first thing I thought was barrel hoop. That sure doesn't account for the hub, unless it was used as a cup. LOL

 

[Rob in KS]

I actually have a rim that was shrunk onto a wooden wheel. Its about 4" wide. The bolts made me think it wasn't a wheel rim. I think I'll go back to the spot and see what else is in the area. The only thing I found in the area was some short pieces of barbed wire. None of it was old.

Thanks everybody

 

[Angelo]

Take a look here:

http://www.drgnfly4g.com/index_files/Page1117.htm

These wagon wheels appear to be rather thin. Pay particular attention to the splice.

Tony

 

[relic lover]

what you have is not a wagon wheel but definatly is a buggy wheel. note the bolts holding the ring on in pic 3

 

[Monty]

I think it's a wooden wheel rim too. I found one in a creek bed where the WPA used wagons and mules to build a road. It was a much larger diameter however and a little wider. Also found some mule shoes and horshoe nails around the same site. Monty

 

[slowreaper]

Yep a buggy wheel, as photos show.

In a feable attempt to not be so wrong, my previous statements do aply to wagon wheels.

Brad

 

[Ol' Hiker]

Looking at the photo and the width of the rim, you definitely have a buggy wheel with the small center hub. I have found a few wagon wheel rims used for freighting ore and supplies in the mining region of the San Juan mountains in western Colorado. These rims range around 36" high with width 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. Value of your find would be around $50-$60 to a person wanting exterior or interior decor. Buyers are out there.

 

[BosnMate]

You guys are driving me nuts calling it a "rim." It's a tire, a metal tire that was heat shrunk onto the wood rim, which was steamed and bent, and assembled in pieces called "felloes." On a light buggy/carriage wheel that might be two pieces, on a heavy wagon wheel the felloes were heavier and made in shorter sections. The found buggy tire has the bolts and felloes plate still attached.

 

[Tony in SC]

Yep! It' a tire, not a rim. Tony