Wheelwright Work at Williamsburg

We spent the extended weekend that just went by in Williamsburg. It's not very far so we could drive and therefore travel somewhat cheaply. Especially since gas is well under two dollars now. It was sort of a Christmas present to ourselves.

One of the things I saw that was pretty fascinating was the wheelwright shop at the Governor's Palace. I was able to ask a few questions and gain some interesting knowledge.

A good wheel made by an experienced wheelwright could, if properly maintained, last indefinitely. There was no reason why the wheel should ever fail. At least three or sometimes four different kinds of wood are used.

The hub seen below is one solid piece of American Elm. This wood is used as a hub because it is so difficult to split. Someone decided that since it couldn't be easily split up for firewood, maybe it would be ideal as a wheel hub and it became the favored wood for hubs.



The iron bands are created to pretty careful specifications and just slightly smaller than the diameter of the hub. The bands are then heated and they expand so that they can easily be slid onto the hub. Then cold water is poured on and they shrink up to form a tight reinforcing band. The same method is used to apply the tires when the wheel is completed. The word, "tire" that we use today to describe the rubber tubes on our car and bicycle wheels, is derived from a french word that means something like to hold or bind together (maybe even just tie-er).

Spokes are generally made of oak and are carefully measured to provide uniform length. They are pounded into the hub using a large, heavy mallet and fit very snugly.



The rims are frequently made of ash beams cut into arcs as you see here. They, too, are created using careful specific measurements so as to fit together properly and make the rim of the wheel. Dowels are inserted between each arc to help keep them properly aligned and then the tire (iron ring) is applied which, of course completes the package (almost).




Surprisingly, the colonial wheelwrights had already figured out that using metal bearings made the axle ends last a lot longer. In this picture you see bearings being forced into place. Liberal amounts of axle grease applied at appropriate intervals made some of these whells last for literally hundreds of years.



So there you have today's history lesson.