Posted 7 years ago
Irishcolle…
(137 items)
These three items are metal rings, each with two spikes attached to the sides. The first has smaller spikes than the others is 5 inches in diameter and .75 of an inch deep. Its has a lapped joint and the spikes are forge welded.
The second ring, missing one spike, is 4.5 inches diameter and 1 inch deep. There is no obvious joint in the ring and spikes are also forge welded.
The ring in the last two photos is made of much lighter metal, is 5.25 inches diameter and 1.5 inches deep. The joint is riveted and so are the spikes. I got these items with some old tools but have no idea what they were used for.
I will venture a guess at this. I believe it is a hub clamp for a very old wooden wagon wheel. Look at the link I will put below and the location will be obvious.
https://picclick.com/Large-Antique-Wagon-Wheels-172138945864.html
Don't think so fhr.
I checked the link but I don't think that's it. Its odd that the 3 rings are constructed differently but are obviously for the same purpose. I don't know the history of them so can't say how they came to be together.
OK, but not all wagon hubs were the same size. I gave my 2 cents. I will watch other opinions and perhaps learn a bit more.
It's the spikes that eliminate it from being part of a wooden wheel.
Did you notice the taper on this item? Wide at the spike end. Did you notice the spikes are (intentionally) bent inward? When you put it over the hub and drive it in the spikes grip the wooden hub to hold it in place.
Long ago and far away but as I remember it, that is how it worked.
I had to search for & rebuild the wooden wheels for my Civil War cannon & got to know them well. All the bands on the hubs, as well as the tire, are heated & shrunken on. They do not incorporate spikes, unless built by somebody who didn't know what they were doing.
OK, so in the field under fire we need to set up a forge and heat and shrink it to fit rather than a quick fix to get the hell outta there. Sure makes sense to me. I missed that part
Fhr, I can't imagine doing a major repair like that under fire. They carried extra wheels, like on the back of the caisson & each gun had a caisson. What would you drive the spikes into, the spokes ? Hopefully it will come to somebody. Bon chance.
Its good to see such a lively debate about these items. Regarding their shape, the first ring does have a taper but only on part of its circumference so I don't think it was intentional and it is the only one with the spikes bent in. The other 2 rings have no taper and the spikes are straight.
Blunder, I see your point but keep in mind not all wooden wheels were mounted on caisson's. Farm wagons, buggies, buckboards. As for the spikes, the ones tapered and bent inward the spikes went into the taper of the wooden hub. Any I ever saw the metal ring didn't hold any moving parts it was simply driven on to keep the hub from splitting apart. Similar to putting metal rings on a wooden barrel.
So, we are not under fire now & damaging a carriage or buggy wheel. Those hub bands are not driven on if done properly. They are heated to expand, dropped on & quinched to draw them tight. They are not made to come off. I've done this.
5 inch diameter Sooo a rooster (c***) ring is out?
twas a (bad) joke
Showed this to a mind reader, but she wouldn't tell me anything because she knew I wasn't going to pay her.