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The History, Manufacture and Physical
Testing of
The Wood Wheel.

A Report Submitted to the Faculty
of
Wichigan ‘gricultural College
y AQ

mA
Robert ap ay

Candidate for Degree of
Bachelor of Science,

June 1921.
GRe38ic
a&

 
INTRODUCTION.

The material and data for this report vas obtein-
ed from the various automobile magazines and other
engineering periodicals availzble at the College,
State, and Lansime Libraries and deals with the wheel
from its earliest moantion in history up to its present
state of developement and perfection.. Notes were
taken from these various magezines and all the avail-
able sourses of information were exhausted. The re~
pozt has been built um on the more valuable portion of
this date.

The construction of the wheel wes studied et the
Prudden Wheel ractory. nsvery detail of the construc-
tion will be taken uw» fron the imoorting of the rav
material ta the complete oroduct ready for use on a
car.

Lfter the constriction has been taken up as thoro-
ly as vogsible I will deal with the variovs tests run
on the wheels to determine what lateral strains they
will stand and how mech deforration these strains will
produce, the strength of the felloes and srokes unter
various conditions, end whet effect hub flenres and
bolts of various sizes have on the uiltinete atrength
of the wheels.

All of the constrnection data has been ohtsined

thru the kindness of the Prudéen Comany. The tests

VUES
were run at the Michigan Agricultural College Testing
Laboratory by lir. Jones and if. Blades, engineers
with the Prudden ‘heel Company, and myself. Some of
the test deta, however, was obtained from tests made
previous to my entering upon the work. li, Jones,
however, explained ail of these tests to me and I
drew some of the curves from the data they obteirncd
so I was thous enabled to tecome familar with the cata
even though I did rot work cn these tests persorclly.
Some or the time that I spent down at the Zactory
wes gpomt in the office drawing wo curves Zromthe
various tests showings comparative value of the materials
under the tests and how the whesl acted under the con-
ditions it was subjected to.

The above gives the extont of the meterial and
authorities used in this revort, end in what follows
I will try to compile it in as logical end interest-

ing manner as possible.
INTRODUCTION,

For every one of man's purposes some one thing has
been found to be the most efficient. In every case this one
thing has been determined by actual usage and actual exper-
ience.

Throughout the gaes we have experimented with all
sorts of methods, with all sorts of mechanical devices, with
@ll kinds of raw materials, until at the present time there
is a generally recognized best method, best device and best
raw material for aocomplishing every desired result. The
business of making wheels for motor vehicles is no exception
to this ruhbe.

Every experiment, every test, has proved beyond the
shadow of a doubt that certain varities of hard wood, con-
stitute the best material for the making of these wheels.
From our most ancient records we learn that wheels have
always been made of wood. Possibly the first wheels were
merely sections of round logs used as rollers. Later man
learned to make solid wood wheels such as we still find
in general use among the more primative peoples.

The introduction of the wheel made of spokes, hub and
felloes came along naturally as man learned more about meoch-
eanics and woodworking, and finally we have evolved the mod-
ern wood wheel with its superior construction, its great
strength and its undoubted fitness. We have improved on the
wheel as a mechanical device, but we cannot improve on the

wood as a basic material,
The long continued use of wood as a wheel-building mat-
erial has had the effect of blinding us té the obvious ad-
vantages of wood, just as the long use of wool has caused
us to forget just why wool is ideal for this purpose.

The following is some of the resons for the continued
use of wood for wheels and why it will be the material used
on motor vehicles for some time to come:

1. Ita strength as proved by ages of use without

failure to meet every practieal test.

2. Its capability of absorbing road shocks.

5. Its long life under all conditions of road and

climate.

4. Its freedom from flaws and unseen weak spots.

5. Its ease of repair.

6. Its lightness in proportion to its strength.

7. Ite low cost.

These are the properties that wood wheels have always
possessed and which they will continue to possess. These are
the advantages which will cause them to hold first place as
long as motor-driven vehicles are run upon roads and streets.

It is an absolute fact that the strength of a proper-
ly designed and well manufactured wood wheel, whether for a
light passenger automobile or a commercial truck has never
been questioned by anyone. This for the simple reason that
wood wheels have proved their ability to carry any load
which a motor can propel and upon any roadway over which a

vehicle can be driven.
Se

Of cource, wood wheels sre made in various sizes and
weights for different vehicles and different loads. Yet, |
strangely enough, investigations have shown that in spite of
the fact that vehicles, especially commercial trucks, are
almost constantly carrying heavier loads than they were built
to carry, the wood wheels have actually outlived the vehicles.
Investigations recently made by a tire manufacturer to deter-
mine the excessive wear upon truck tires established the
fact that motor truoks are being overloaded constantly with-
out damage to the wood wheel. In one instance a truck de-
signed to oarry three tons was regularly carrying loads aver-
aging seven and one half tons. The wood wheels were in per-
fect condition.

while it is the general practice of truck users to
load a truck with as much merohandise as the truck space
will accommodate, regardless of the weight of the goods,
instances of wood wheel breaxsge are practically unknown.

The property which a wood wheel has of absorbing shock
ia undoubtedly one of its greatest advantages. It not only
enables the wheel itself to stand up under the most severe
road conditions, but prevents the deteriation of the other p
parts of the vehicle.

Wood wheels meant less upsprung weight, greater mile-
age from tires, longer life ‘to the moto$, lese wear and tear
upon the springs, axles, bearings and the body of the car or
truck. The wood from which wheels are made possesses consid-
erable elasticity in addition to its toughness and strength.

When a wood wheel strikes a rough spot in the road
therefore,it does not transmit the full force of the shock

to the other parts of the car. It gives a little and be-~-
cause it gives, it absorbs the greater part of the shock,
with the result that the other parts of the car or truck are
easily able to take care of their respectively smaller shooxs
without excessive vibration.

Excessive vibration,which results when more rigid than
wood are ased, not only causes bolts and nuts to loosen and
the mechanical parts of the car to wear upon each other, but
it very soon causes the metal parts of the oar to crystallize
and develope flaws and cracks which in turn are responsible
for breakdowns, costly repairs and disasterous wrecks. It is
perhaps needless to state that this vibr ation and its in-~
evitable consequence, orystallization, greatly shorten the
life of the vehicle,

on interesting case along this line is found in the
experience of the London Omibus Company with wood wheels.
For years the big London buses were equipped solely with wood
wheels, and in spite of the cobblestones over which most of
hte buses traveled, the wood wheels gave perfect satisfaction.
Then partly as an experiment and partly because of important
4ifficulties due to the war, the London Omnibus Company equipp-
ed a number of their new buses with wheels other than wood.
The new wheels were given a thorough test, with the resilt
that the company is now replacing the new wheels with wheels
made of wood.

A wood wheel, »roperly made to support a given load,
4.

has been found almost invariably to outwear the car or truck

on which it has been used. In the rare cases where wheels
have proken down, investigations have shown that they were
either grossly overloaded or subjeated to other abuses.
While it is almost impossible to find instances of breakage
or wearing out of wood wheels, examples of the wood wheels
outwesring the vehicles upon whioh they are used are almost
without number.

Extremes of climates and temperature seem to have
little effect upon the wood wheels, for they have demonstrat-
ed their ability to stand up equally well in all parts of
fhe world.

A striking example of the long liie of wood wheels
under all possible road conditions as well as weather and
temperature conditions is found in the famous which to date
has been driven 270,000 miles or 250 miles a day for three
years, from one end of the country to the other. The fact
that this test was made only to demonstrate the wearing qual-
ities of the bearings makes the performance of the wood
wheels all the all the more remarkable for no effort was made
to secure especially strong wheels.

Not only are wood wheels made from the strongest and
toughest woods, but from the most perfect specimens of this
wood that it is possible to secure. A flaw in a piece of
wood is easily detected, so that by the time a billet is
worked into spokes and material for felloes, the slightest

flaw or weak spot is almost certain of discovery. The
De

smallest flaw or imperfection should send the wood to the
waste pile. Wood being comparatively inexpensive, there is
no incentive for a wheelmaker to take chanoes on anything
short of perfection. When a wood wheel passes its final in-
spection it should be a perfect wheel.

Wood wheels are considerably lower in cost than wheels
made of materials other than wood.

Wheels may be reckoned among the oldest mechanical de-
vices, and the fact that we have been so long accustomed to
them with the little obvious change,ocombined with thier ubi-
quity, has tended to obscure the they play in all forms of
traction. ith the exception of the bullock sleighs in
maderia, and perhaps a few other places governed by special
oiroumstances, wheels are used for vehicles of all classes,
from the wheelbarrow to the coach or the racing car, and
though a man, a team of horses or a motor be required to ppo-
pell them, they would all be quite unequal to the task were
it not for the unconsidered wheels upon which they run.

Nhile the wheels should, of course, always be suited
in gonstruction to the class of vehicle on which they are to
be used, in case of vehicles drawn by horses or other means
extraneous to themselves, the omly function of the wheels is
to carry the weight, and they play no part in propelling the
vehicle. ‘The advent of the cycle, however, introduced other
considerations into the design of the wheels adopted to the

purpose.

In the earliest prints of the bicycle, which was known
as the "bone-shaker"period, we find it fitted with iron-tired
wooden wheels, in fact the usual wagon type of wheel.

This proved too cumbersome and uncomfortable, and gave
way to the lighter wire wheel with rubber tire, but still with
straight spoces. Then it was found sinoe the propulsion force
was no longer extraneous to the machine, but was transmitted
thru the hub and spokes, that this arrandement was not entire-
ly satisfactory, and accordingly tangent spokes were intro-
duced.

Again, solid rubber tires were cemented to the rims,
and, with the force of propulsion acting thru them they used
to stretch and roll off. Were it not for the introduction
of the oushén or the pneumatic tires, with the different me-
thods of attachment, no doubt the natural sequence would
have been to wire on solid rubber tires, as is done today in
the case of perambulators and motor vehicles using this form
of tire.

The introduction of the pneumatic tire was at first
not so much an putcome of conditions necessitating its em-
pleoment, but a desire of greater comfort, and it is appar-
ent that without its use speeds would never have increased
as they have.

The motor or self-propelled vehicle has again necess=
itated changes in the design fo road wheels, but $he condi-
tions governing those modifications have differed consider-
ably in nature as well as in degree, and were at first but

little realized or understood. To some of us @f the present
Te

day who " know all about it" it may,perhaps, cause a little
wondering amusement of our exemplars of a previous decade.
Thus on the introduction of the motor vehicle, makers in
general devoted their whole time and attention to the mechan-
ism, the new and facinating acquaintance, as it were, while
their o1d4 and treid friends were ignored. Their extreme im-
portance, increased even beyond what it had been previously,
remained comparatively unrecognized, and they were not in-
proved to the occassion.

In the case of motor trucks for the transfer of goods,
or steam wagons, the result was seen in the trials of 1898,
organized by the Liverpool Self-Propelled Traffic Association,
in which, the machines themselves were satisfactory for those
early days, the wheels gave trouble all around.

Among the judges " conclusions" following the trials
were the forms of wheels adopted by all the manufactures,
though probably perfectly efficient as oarriers, were all
structurably more gr less inefficient as drivers.

Some of the wheels were of wood of the ordinary dray
type, and others were of steel with straight spokes cut out
of steel plates and given a twist where they were rieted to
the hub and felloe. In every case the propulsion force, or
drive, was communicated, whether by chain or gearing, thru
the hub or thru a ring attached to the spokes and,therefore,
the spokes and their attachments had to stand the strain of
driving. But in the oase of the steel wheels, at least, it

is probable that this cause alone was not responsible for
8.

their failure, and that the set and the cobble roads over
which they were driven had much to do with it.

As a result, steel wheels were abandoned and the
heavy type of wooden artillery wheel became the standard for
all motor car work. j#ith this type trouble was at first ex-
perienced with the tires. The usual practice with wooden
wheels hitherto had been to weld up a ring for a tire and
heat and shrink it én the felloe.

It was found, however, that the tires would soon roll
out and crack, while with the tires of the section it was
desireable to employ (about5" wide X 7/8" thick) the mass #f
metalwas such as to cause charring of the wood felloe in the
process of shrinking it on; and the subsequent jarring, caus-
the tire to become loose by reason of the breaking pp of the
burnt wood at the felloe surface. The final practice with
this type of wheel, and very nearly the same as that used at
the present day, is the use of weldless steel hoops and to
press them comparatively cold onto the felloe by means by
means @f powepful presses or setters.

In the construction of a driving wheel for motor veh-
icles are the principal practical considerations, and they
may be taken as the conditions necessary fer a verfectly
satisfactory wheel:-

1. It must be capable of carrying the required load,
which, in some cases, may be as much as five tons per wheel,
and with this strain it must be able to withstand the strain

of being driven over the ground at considerable speed.
9.

2. It must be capable of transmitting power thru it-
self, either from the hub or a chain ring attached to the
spokes at a point intermediete to the hub and felloe.

3. It mst be of sufficient diameter and width of
tire, the latter particularly, to enable it to run over
ordinary roads without cutting them and so absorbing a
large amount of the power.

4. The tire must be such, apart from width merely,
that it does not damage the road.

5. The tire must also be such that it will not
spin or skid under slippery conditions of pavement,
greasy roads or in frosty weather.

6e The wheel mist be sufficiently resilent to in-
sure for it a reasonable life without jarring to pieces
when running over very hard, uheven ground, such as set
paved roads.

7. The wheel should not be unduly expensive either
in cost or maintenance, though in importance the former
is of minor moment comnared with the latter.

In the case of pleasure cars and the lightest class
of good vehicbes, the problem is much simplified by the
possibility of employing solid rubber or pneumatic tires.
Where the latter can be used, the only considerations of
real moment are numbers 5 and 7, slipping ahould not be
such as to damage the roads. The problem of how to
prexent spinning and side slipping is, perhaps, the great-

est which confronts all motor users.
LO.

The influence of speed on the type and construction
of wheels is very considerable and the greater the speed
the greater the demands on the wheel for strength and
stability. Side-strain, dishing and driving strains are
the most important factors to be reckoned with in the de-
sign of wheels. As the loads to be carried become larg=-
er the general design of the wheel is mot changed but of
course its parts are proportioned to the extra weight
and power required.

Of all the various types of steel, wire, and wood
wheel developed up to the present time, the builtup,
wood, artillery type of wheel has proved the most aat-
isfaotory on all of the above seven points.

"The wheel has not unjustly and unreasonably been
claimed to be the greatest of human inventions" said the
late A.M. Wellington, in one of Wis oharacteristic edi-
torials in the Engineering News. One needs only to reflect
that practically all transportation by laid is now and
has been for centuries past dependent on the wheel to per-
ceive the forcefulness of this statement. Without the aid
of the wheel burdens could only be carried on the backs
of animals or by dragging, and at acorrespondingly great
expenditure of power. Such methods were all right for
nomadic tribes. The North American Indian, for example,
never had any means of transportation other than their
ponies backs and their dragging lodge poles, even when
they inhabited a level, treeless country, where wheeled
ll.

vehicles could easily have been used. «hen the chamge
to a pastorial life was made, however, in the early dawn
of civilization, the need was felt for better means of
transportation. Zhe simple idea of cutting two disks
off the end of a round tree trunk, and thrusting a
straight stick thru their centers to serve as an axle was
doubtless developed by many different tribes and races.
This may be accepted as the most probable manner in which
the first invention of the wheel was made, although the
actual facts, both as to this and the latter type of built
up wheel are lost in the mista that surround the early de-
velopement of the race.

The wheel, then with all its varts: hub, spoxes, fel-

loe and tire was developed long prior to the advent @f

the engineer. Its organs were fashioned and adapted to
their special work with little idea in mind as to the na-
ture and character of the stresses to be sustained. It
represents one of the mostremarxable examples of the
work of evolution as applied to mechanic&l developement.
The engineer of today may apply his most oareful and se
searching analysis to the structure which uncounted gen-
erations of wheelwrizghts have developed; and when he com
pletcs his task he can suggest no improvement on the
wheel they have made so long as it is confined to the duty
it was designed to do and has done for so many years.

jithin recent years, however, a new element has come

into the wheel problem, and that is the design of wheels
12.

for self-moving vehicles. Builders of traction engines
have struggled with this problem for many years; but their
aifficulties did not attract much attention; and it was
not until the bicycle came to be designed that the new
element in the wheel problem came to general notice.

Thewood spoke wheel, ss ordinarily made for carriages,
is wholly unsuited to withstand such strdins as would be
brought on it by making it fast toits axle and applying a
rotating force to the latter. ‘Such a force sets wp a bend-
ing atress in all the spoxes tending to break them off
close to the hub. hore importat even than this in bicycle
design, however, was the problem do making a very light
wheel of very large diameter, such as was used on the old
high wheel bicyche or "ordinary", which was really the
first successful vehicle for self~-propulsion.

The &14 wooden wheel was for this for several reasons:
First, the "dish" of the wheel had to be sacrificed, and
with it a large part of the wheels strength and stiffness.
Second, the very small spokes necessary in so large a
wheel became so long and slender that they were very weak
@s compression members. Third, the size of the felloe
and the tire necessary to receive wooden spokes made the
wheel too heavy.

It was to meet these conditions that the present,
well-known type of bicycle wheel, with its tention spokes
13.

of steel wire,was designed, and it is an ddmireable ad-
aption @f means to an end. ~o strong a hold did it take
on popular favor, that when the "high-wheel"was displaced
by the "safety", our present type of bicycle, the suspen-
sion wheel was retained; and it was extensively to light
horse-drawn vehicles. iihenever it has been attempted to
Dlace any considerable loads on this type of wheels, how-
ever, or to use them on rough roads, or without the pro-
tection of shock-absorbihg, pneumatic tires, the weakness
became at once apparant.

Those who have given the most study to motor-vehicle
developement acxnowledge that one of the most important
problems today is whét type of wheel should be used. The
imperfections of existing types are coming to be recog-
nised, and there gre few more inviting problems to the
inventor than the question how materials can be fashioned
to meet the demands of the present day. +t mgy be @f
interest, therefore, to consider some of the problems
that should be born in mind by those that would solve this
problem.

In the first palce it should he noted that the mater-
ial or timber suitable for wood wheel construotion, is
every year becoming more scarce and hence more expensive.
American cerriages became noted the world over for their
remarkable combination of lightness and strength; bét Bhis
in general was due tothe abundant stores of hickory thét

was then availabae. ‘if we are rightly informed the sup ly
of straight~grained hickory timber in the United States is
rapidly dwindling. Vast supplies have been obtained from
the forests of Arxansas, and this supply is rapidly becom
ing exhausted. jhen aur at present dwindling supply is
exhausted what will take its place? Even if we grant that
other supplies will be found and that other woods will be
utilized, it still remehks certain that the cost of good
wood wheels is bound to increase; and there is more in-
centive, therefore, for those who would develope e metal
construction.

The eghock-abaorbing qualities of wood wheel over a
metal wheel is a point in the formers favor. To make it
more fully understood the manner in which a wood wheel
absorbs shock,I will explain in the following:

By dish is meant the inclination of the spoxes to
the exterior plane of the rim or to the mormal flane, to
the center line of the spimdle. ‘he dish (in wheels with
gimple dish) is practically balenced by the "oarrosseges
the inclination of the spimdle to the center line of the
axie. It results from this fact that the lowest spoke
of the wheel is wery nearly vertical on horizontal ground.

The object of dishingthe wheels is to give them more
elu vioity and strength. The dish has the effeot of trans-

foruing the spokes into just so many eprings rigidly con-

nected to each other, and subjected to bending stresses;
it makes of the wheel a conical surface, capable of being

slightly deformeé in an elastio manner, and which has,
therefore, a certain flexibility which it would n6ét have
if the wheel were a plane in form. In the last case the
spokes would work solely under compression and successive~-
ly in such a manner, that all elasticty disappears. for
wheels elasticity is one of the most important features;
they are continually subjected to violent shocks from the
axle and from the grouhd. if they were of a single piece
and devoid of elasticity the shocks would deform them
little by little, and would finish by destroying them
entirely, while, if the shocks gre divided over several
pieces, possessing a certain flexibility then the des-
tructive force is greaty reduced. As the pdints struck
may give a certdéin amount under the influence of the speed
impressed by the body causing the shock, the pressureat
any mament is made feebler than it would be in the case
of a shock against a non-elastic body, and the effects

are much lessened. vn the contrary, on a non-elastic
roller in a single piece, the diameter of the box increases
rapidly ges a result of these shocks, and the box is rapid-
ly rendered useless. irom what I have said,it follows
thét absolutely rigid wheels are not very suitable for
vehicles intended to run at high speeds. Thus it has

@lso been found that wood wheels with double dish (double
rows of spokes as in bicycle wheels), good for heavy
transport vehicles, which ere drawn &t a walk on smooth
roads, get very rapidly aut of shape, if employed on veh-
icles drawn &t a trot, and on slightly raugh roads. It
16.

has been found the same of wheels of two rows of spokes
all imolined in the same direction, but with a different
Aish for the two sets, which the english employed in 1900,
and which gave them bad results. None of these wheels
are applicable to automobiles, except if they are provided
with pneumstic tires, or at least elastic tires.

We might make an exception, however, of the metallic
wheels constructed and assembled like wooden wheels, and
which have,consequently, a certain elasticity, if these
wheels did not have other disadvantages from the stand-
point of their -use on automobiles.

The dish which gives the wheels their elasticity,
which is really an indispensible quantity, also gives
them the strength necessary for transportation over rough
roads. The conical form which the dish gives the assembl-
age of the spokes, solidarizes them, one with another, and
forces them to work together, which they would not do if
they were in the sams plane. On the other hand, this
same conical form is the cause that the different parts
always work in the same direction, the same face of a
spoke always working on the same face of the hub, and on
the same face of the rim, the pressure being always in the
same direction. Contrarily, nothing is more unfavorable
to the conservation of wheels than to have to undergo strains
which come alternately from two opposite directions,
which would be the case with s flat wheel. It results from

this that if the wheel reoeives a lateral shock, such as
17.

experienced when skidding or striking a curb, or runs on
a ground inclined in the direction of the axles, one of
the wheels is working in a direction in which it is im-
possible for it to give. Under these circumstances, two
flat wheels have less strength than the one dished which
works in the direction favorable to the strength, as both
offer but little resistance to lateral forces which tend
to force the wheels outwardly.

As pointed out above, the tention spoke wheel natur-
ally suggests itself when the design of large wheels is at-
tempted; and it may be well to explain the causes of the
weakness of tention spoje wkeels, to which allussion has
@lready been made. In the ordinary wooden wheel, the
spokes are all under compression, and the weight on the axle
is carried vertically down to the ground by the spoke which
is vertically under the hub. In the tention spoke wheel
of which the bicycle wheel is a familar example, the weight
on the axle is carried to the top of the wheel and has to
be transmitted all the way around the rim to the point dia-
metrically opposite, where the rim is supported by the gr
ground. The stresses in the rim may be likened to those in
two very slender semi-circular arches, which sre held from
deformation by the pull of the spokes. The weak part of
the tention spoke wheel was hardly realized in the early
days of bicyole manufacture, and it was not until the fail-
ure of the light steel rims used on some of the earlier

that the stiffer and heavier wooden rim, with its greater
18.

resilience to absorb shock was submitted in its place.

Fyrom the above analysts, it will be seen at once
how the difficulties thicken in the way of securing suffi-
cient atrength of rim, as the dismeter of the tention wheel
is increased.

In fact, the rims soon become so large as to make them
unsightly, and even then it is notably deficient in strength
and elasticity to resist shocks due to passage over obsta-
cles, and the lateral stresses which evsry four-wheeled veh-
icle imparts to its supports but which ere entirely absent
in the bicycle.

So far as cam be seen, the compression spokes must be
the feature of a successful wheel for motor vehicles. If
they can transmit tention as well, so much the better, or
possibly a combination of them with tention spokes may be
an advantage. The wheel, with purely tention spokes, how-
ever, is so inherently defective that it should be dis-
carded by motor vehicle builders, end in fact already has
been in many cases.

I have alluded before to the necessity of making the
wheel itself sufficiently resilient itself to absorb with-
out injury the shocks and jars of rough rosds and rapid ser-
vice, It is doubtless here that the designers of metal
wheels for motor vehicles will meet their cheif difficulty.
The quality desired is resilience, the power to absorb

shock.
At the present it can only be said that hickory has
19.

probably considerably more elasticity per pound of weight
than the best steel. The metal wheel designer, therefore,
must seek to compensate for this defect in his material

by making the different parts of his wheel work together
more perfectly to absorb shock than can be done in the wood-
en wheel, with more or less imperfect connections.

I dont wish to claim that the metal wheel alone is the
wheel of the future. Something may well be accomplished,
and indeed has been accomplished, in wheels of composite
construction. If hickory fails, other woods, even though
lesa satisfactory, may be made to take ifs place. Other
materials may perhaps be gtilised; in fact the whole field
is open to the inventive designer.

That it is not entirely an unworked field may be seen
by looking over the Patent Office's list of patents issued
on wheels.

In comparing the general design of motor wheels of
@ll kinds with thst of other wheeled conveyances one of
the most striking points is the very small size of the wheels
employed in proportion to the weight carried. A bicycle,
it is true, has wheels only 28 inches in diameter, but the
weight carried on them ig generally 100 pounds per wheel or
less. Ordinary light two-wheel dog carts as seen in France
and other foreign countries, however, have wheels from 3 to
5§ feet in diameter, even when the weight on them is only
about 300 pounds per wheel, while for heavier weights than

this, wheels under four feet sre compararively rare. Trac-
 
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ele

& large extent on the surface of the road, and the size of

the wheel depends primarily on the latter.
oo
oo
e

Having taxen up the historical developement of the
wheel from its earliest mention in history until its
present stage of developement I will next take up the
manufacture of ite parts and their assembly in to the con-
plete product, the wheel itself.

The raw material,which is straight grained hickory
is obtained from the natural sources of it that still ex-
igt in the forests of Georgia and Arkansas. The trees
that are to be used are marked by an inspector. They are
then cut down ahd sent to the saw mill where they are saw-
ed up into the proper lengths. It is again inspected and
the inferior specimens are discarded.

After the inspectors have picked out the pieces they
are to use they are sent to the shops where they are
turned into spokes and others cut into the proper lengths
for felloe billets. This is all done right near the saw
mill so that none of the waste is shipped up to the fac-
toryand thus the loss of freight charges on this waste is
saved. The material when it reaches the factory is green,
but with the exception of the work that it is necessary to
do on it to make it a complete wheal, it resembles the un-
assembled parts of the wheel. The spokes are all turned
and the only furhter processes that are preformed on them
are mitreing, cutting to length, outting the tenon and dry-
ing. The felloes are in the form of two inch billets
about three feet long when they reach the factory and the
only further operation on themoutside of cutting them to
gise and drilling the tenon holes for the tenons on the
spokes is the finishing and drying process.

After the stock reaches the factory it is put into
drying Kilns where it is seasoned and dried before it is
used for the finished product. These drying kilns,as they
are called, are rooms of brick construction about 50 x 20
feet and are generally located in the basement of the fac-
tory. The system is an air drying system, the warmed air
being admitted to the kiln by twelve inlets 10 x 10 inches,
there being six of these inlets on either side of the kiln.
The floor is of concrete and has a false floor over it to
enable the air to circulate freely around the green wood
and be in cén tact with it at all times. The doors are of
the rolling type, being hung from above, and making it
possible to have the kilns quite tightly saeled as is nece-
ssary. The green wood is trucked in to the kilns in the
form of billets, The green wood is allowed to remain in
the kilns for twenty-one dsys to completely dry and season
it.

After the wood is seasoned and dried in the kilns, the
manufacturing of the wheel begins. I will first take up
the various processes in the manufacture of the felloe,
which is the part of the wheel over which the tire fits.

Upon coming from the drying kilns, the billets from
which the felloes are made are put into an oven where they
are kept from 25 to 35 minutes depending upon how dry they
are. The steam used in these ovens is at about °5 pounds

pressure and is exhaust steem from the nower plant. ‘hem
 
24

the felloes have been in this oven for a sufficient length
of time they are removed and placed in a machine where
they are bent into a semi-circular form around a template
by hydraulic power. They are then olamped in this position
and taxen to the next operation where the clamp is removed
and replaced by a half inch board nailed across the end of
the felloes radially to keep them in the same position
they were set in by the press. from here they are edther
taken to the drying kilns again where they are seasoned
some more or to the store room where they are held until
they are taken to the next operation.

In the store room, which is 2 large size room, the
felloes are piled un and kept at an even temperature of
80 degrees fahrenheit. To facilitate the maintenance
of this even temperature swinging doo rs are provided
which prevents air changes from taking place by the doors
etanding open. Heating coils, which encircle the roon,
furnish the required heat.

The felloes are teken from the store room as needed
into the shop proper. The holes that receive the tenons
of the spokes are first drilled and then the felloes are
sawed to the proper length. They are then finished up
and inspected and this finishes the operations on the
felloe and nothing more is done on them until they are
assembled into the complete wheel.

The spokes being already turned when they reach the

factory are mitred and sawed to length and then the tenon
£5

is turned on. In the former process named the ends of the
spoke that fit into the hub are cut at an angle so that
they will fit into the hab and tightly together also.

This ig done on a machine consisting of two kmives set

so that when the operator of the machine pulls on a little
lever these knives come up and cut the required mitre.

The spokes are then sawed to the proper length. The tenon
on the end thet fits into the felloe is then turned and
this finishes the operations on the spokes.

The felloe bands that encircle the wood felloe are
made of sheet steel. This steel comes to the factory in
the form of large sheets. These sheets ere cut up into
pieces of the proper length and width and welded into a
circular form. They are then run thru a series of roll-
ing mills where they are put into the form to receive the
tire or tire mounting es the case may be.

The hubs used on the different types of wheels vary
quite a good deal. They are either cast or drop forged
and are received at the factory in this form. The only
operation performed on them is machining and trueing them
up to size.

Having gone thru the manufacture of tho different pa
parts of the wheel I will now take up them method of assen-
bling them into the finished wheel.

The first operation in the assembly of the wheel is
putting the spokes into the felloes. This is done by means
of ea small press which is continuous in operation. The op-
erator of the press places the tenon of the spoke into the

hole drilled for it in the felloe to receive it and the

vs am
who

rem of the press comey dowm and presses the spoke tightly
into position. The spokes are put into the felloes while
the latter are still in halves and then these halves are
assembled.

In assembling tnese halves of the wheel the halves
are properly placed around a dummy and place. d in a large
pre33e- ‘nen this press presses the nalves firmly to-
gether the bolts in the dummy hub are tightened up and the
wheel from here goes to the inspectors who inspect the wheel
thoroazhly and either allow it to continue to tts next op-
eration or reject it. ‘these inspectors exumine the oondi-
tion o2 the spoxes and felloes and if they are defective
they are so marxed and the derective parts are removed.
After the defective purts Aave been replaced by good parts
the wheel continues on to the next operation.

If passed by the inspeotor the wheels go to the next
operation where the outer face of the felloe,over which
the folloe-band is pressed ig finished and trued up. This
is done on a circular planeing machine. fhe planing
knives are circular in form and plain the face of the felloe
.as it is brought up against it.

Tho steel felloe-band is next pressed onto the felloe.
The bands are heated up to about three hundred degrees
Fahrenheit and then tney are pressed onto the felloe by a
large press. It was found in this operation that it was

good practice to have the bands at 300 degrees and no
27.

higher. If the temperature is higher the felloe surface
is laable to be burned and charred and this would give a
defective wheel. At this temperature the rims expand
just enough to be forced over the felloes without damag-
ing them. If the rim is not hot enough when it is press-
ed onti the felloe the band is liable to stretch and the
felloe is laible to be checked and the entire wheel ruin-
ed so a careful check is kent on the temperature at
which these bands are pressed onto the felloes.

After the felloe-bands nave been pressed on the holes
for securing the tire to the rim and the rivets which see
cure the rim to the felloe are drilled. The rivets are
then put in place and the felloe and spokes are then send-
edand the tire lugs put in place on the felloe.

The dummy hub is removed at this point and the hole
in the center of the wheel which receives the hub is cut
to the prover size to receive the permanet hub on a verti-
cal boring mill. The hub is then seated and the holes
for the bolts which hold it in place drilled and these
tolts put in and tightened un. The wheel is then complete
and is taxen to the freight car on the siding and after be-
ing proverly vacked is shinped to the company who ordered

it.
 

 

 

 
28.

TESTING.

The following tests were made in the M.A.C. Mechan-
ical Besting Iaboritory to determine the strength of the
various parts of Reo and Olds wheels and to determine
what their behavior wuold be when’ subjected to these
various tests. All of these tests were preformed on
the large 100,000 pound Riehle Testing Machine. These
tests were run by hrs. Jones, Blades, Davi and the auth-
or, two of us at all times being present. One man ran
the machine and the other read the gages and recorded the
data which will be given here along with the rest of the
details of each test.

Before takicg up each test a complete discription
will be given of the setup, object of the test, the value
of the data obtained, how the curves were drawn, and a
complete discussion of the rosults.

The method of set up is shown in the accompanying
photograph and will show clearly how the wheels were set

up for the tests.
29»

fhe following test was made Reo wheels with both wood
and steel felloes. All of the wheels had pressed steel
hubs and were not equipped with rims. This test was run
to show the relative strength of spoke tenons in the wood
and steel felloe wheels
PROCEDURE: This test was performed on the large, 100,000
pound testing machine in the H.A.C. Testing Laboritory.
The wheels were held on an arbor which fitted into the
hub the same as the axle does when it ig mounted on a car
for use. The load was applied at the felloe, directly
over a spoke tenon. <A strain craze was placed directly une=
der the place where the load was applied and another 180
decrees from this point on a similar point on the felloe.
The gage at the point @ireetly under the point where the
load was applied gave the deflection down which was read
for each increment of load of 200 pounds. The gage placed
180 gegrees from this point was read for the same increments
of load. The former gave the deflection down for each
load and the latter gave the geflection up for each load,
At every additional load of 600 pounds or at increments of
600.pounds the entire load was removed from the wheel and
the permanent set up and down read on the gages and re-
corded on the data sheets.

Before the wheel was assembled all of the spokes were
weighed to give a uniform weigth of 7-3/4 ounces per spoke
and an average quality of wood was used. The hub used was

the pressed steel hub, with the rerular loose flange, as is
now being used on Reo production wheels.

I am in cluding a copy of the original data sheets so
that it will be possible to show some of the outstanding
points of comparison.

The accompanying carves were drawn from the average
results, taken at increments of 600 pounds, and show the
relutive strength of the tenons of the wood and steel
felloe wheels. One s66 of curves called the"permeanent set
curves" shows,upon examination, that for the seme load
the steel felloe wheel takes 2 greater permanent set than
does the wood felloe wheel. This indicates that the wood
is the better material for felloes as for thestrains put
on it due to skidding, sninning and strixing the curb when
in use on & car would be less lir::ble to produce e perma=-
nent disalinement of the wood felloe wheel than in the case
of the steel felloe wheel. The averece deflection for

both wheels seems to run pretty close for both wheels.
Sl.

Sheet No. le

Running Log of:- Reo 23 x 4 steel felloe wheel, with huh.

Observerg:- D. Jones, H. Blades, i. Davis, R.i*. Gray.
Date:- April 12, 1921.
Satie

 

 

Load in Defl. Defl. Set Set
pounds. Down Up Down Up
W500 eOOL eOLe
400 e066 e022
600 eL01 e031 e004 e005
800 ~ 140 2040
1000 e182 O51 Max. Load 3229#
1200 e230 ~062 082 O11
1400 e285 0073
1600 0 344 e082
1800 0423 2095 078 ~019
£000 eS15 2106
£2200 e612 e117
2400 0738 elL3e 179 ~OZ1
2600 e891 0147 0244 0036

Evidence of Failure in the Following Order:
fl- Cracking noige

#2- Tenons rolied in bubhle slightly where pressure was
applied.
#3- Spoke pulled loose from on pressure side about 1/8"
#4- Two spokes split on the pressure side at 32407, spokes
split in throat.
* Note:- The evidence of failure did not appesr uhtil after
the 26007 load was applied.
32,

Sheet No. 2.

Running Log of:- Reo wheel having steel felloe and hub.

 

Observers:- Jones, Blades and Gray.
Date:- April 12, 1921.

 

Load in Defl. Defl. Set Set
Founds Down Up Down Up
200 0032 006
400 0062 2012
600 2096 e019 e005 2003
800 0130 0026
1000 164 0033
1200 208 0041 eOL1 2007
1400 0267 e052 Max. Load 3000#
1600 0335 2 064
1800 0417 O78 2089 eO21
200006 e531 0093
2200 0653 e110
2400 e310 e129 en D4 0045
2600 1.073 e162 0402 e061
2800 2.027 ea
3000 32067 0305 1.817

Evidence of failure in the Following Order:

#l- Cracking noise

#2=- Tenon of no. 2 spoke rocked in felloe, opened 1/32" ~ 26002

#3- Spokes pulléd loose from Flange and mitres opened on
pressupe side. Opening caused from tenon rocking in-

creased from 1/32" to 1/16" “ 2800+.

*Hote:- No split spokes.
336

Sheet No. 3.

Running Log of:- Reo wheels- 23 x 4 = wood felloe with hub.
Observers: Jones, Blades, Davis, @ray.

Date:=- April 19, 1921.
sae

 

Load in Defl. Defl. set Set
Pounds Down Up Down Up
B00 «040 eO1L5
400 2072 2026
600 e110 e038 e006 e005
800 2143 2049
1000 e183 eO6L
1200 02238 O72 2027 2012
1400 e281 «088
1600 e542 eL04
1800 2409 » 104 e091 e026
2000 0475 0137
2200 0565 e158 Qa,.
2400 0653 0177 el76— 044
2600 0778 e204
2800 0223 0235 eld O71
3000 1.018 e288
3200 1.318 © 340
3400 1-828 of 63 1.018

2580 Max. Load.
Evidence of Failure in the following Order:
#1- Cracking Noise. |
#2- Spokes pulled out of felloe, opening about 2/16"
Tenons rocked in bibble at nos.1 and 2 svokes

Nos. 1 and 12 snoxes slit in throat ‘ 27400
Sheet No. 4.

Running Log Of: Reo wheels - wood felloe - pressed steel hub

Observers: Jones, Davig, Gray.
Date: April 15, 1921.

 

Load in Defl. Defl. Set 3et
Pounds Down Up Down Up
200 e061 O21
400 eLOL e041
600 e127? e050 e007 2003
800 e159 e061
1000 0197 e074
1200 0246 e089 0034 e011
1400 eo02 e105
1600 e360 eil2l
1800 0435 e141 2092 0035
2000 e506 e163
2200 e611 0193
2400 e702 e216 el S3 e060
2600 e832 e259
2800 0995 0 d1L4
3000 1.308 e379 e443 -060
32086 £0506

Evidence of railure in the Following Order:
#1- Cracking noise at 2600#

#2- Mitres opened and no. 1 spoxe snlit at 2800 load.
#3~- Ho. 2 spoke split at 3000# load
#4- Nose 12 and 3 spokes broke and felloe split on the

pressure side at ilax. Load 3106;
35.

 

Sheet No.

Running Log of: Reo 33 x 4, wood felloe, vreasased steel hub

Observers: Jones, Davis, Gray.
mE

Date: April 15, 1921.
SEs

 

Load in Defl. Defl. Set Set
Pounds Down Up Down Up
2000 e045 e014
400 e085 C29
600 e120 «043 e007 e004
800 2149 eC53
1000 e185 2062
1200 e212 2070 024 2008
1400 2265 e086
1600 0307 2096
1800 e368 ell3 eO72 e020
2000 0447 ela?
2200 e511 e151
2400 25°96 olV74 e151 2040
2600 e687 e201
2800 0997 0225
3000 0934 0257 e051 2086
5200 1.681 0299
5400 1.331 e558
3600 £edaL ~555 892 ~770

Evidence of Failure in the Following Order:

#1~- No. 2 spoke broke at 30007

#2- No. 1 svoke broke at 32007

#3- No. 12 snoke broke, flanre bent and sheared bolt at

Liax. Load 3600
Sheet No. 6.
Running Log of: Reo 33 x 4, steel felloe, pressed steel hub.
Observers: Jones, Davis, Gray.

Date: April 15, 1921.

 

Load in Defl. Defl. Set Set
Pounds Down Up Down Up
200 «050 2009
400 «105 e020
600 0135 2026 O00? 2008
800 0184 e035
1000 e2re e042
1200 0296 e051 - 066 e010
1400 0269 e061
1600 0460 0073
1800 0565 -087 0120 e023
2000 0675 e102
2200 0796 e117
2400 0923 0152 02607 0045
2600 1.028 e146
2800 146099 e173
2826 1.903 195 e841 082

 
 

 

#1- Tenons of Nos. 3 and 9 spekes onened cbout 1/22" at
28007!

ya~ Nose 1,2,and 3 spokes broke at Max. load of 28267
57.

The following is the data from which the curves were

photted e

and the curves plotted thru these points.

The load insrements were taken every 600 pounds

The average

deflection and set was found for the three wood and three

steel felloe wheels and is given on this data sheet and

the average deflection and set was used in plotting the

curves.

Steel Felloe

 

 

 

 

Sheet No. #1 #2 #3 AVe.
fu0 Founds gave a deflection down eLOLl .096 .135 ,111
1200 e250 4208 4.296 .245
1800 " " n " " 0423 417 565 .468
2400 " " " " " ©7358 .810 .923 .650
Max, " " " " " wm~ 3.067 1.903 2.485
600 Pounds gave 8 deflection up e021 .019 2026 .025
1200 " eUoe ~V4] e051 e051
1800 " vooM™ " " 0095 .078 .087 .087
2400 " , " " elie P e129 2132 2131
axe " “oon " " w--- .305 4.195 .250
600 Pounds gave a permanent set e004 2.005 .007 .005
1200 " " " " 0022 ,021 .050 .031
1800 " " " " " eV78 2.089 2120 096
2400 " " " " " e179 §©.254 .267 .250
Max, " " " " " W-- 1,817 .841 1.329
600 Pounds gave @ permanent set up 2.005 .003 .003 .004
1200 " " "oN e012 .007 .010 009
13800 " " " " wo" e019 O21 .023 .O21
2400 " " " " oo" 0021 045 .048 .041
Max. re " vd | re LY ~aae oma e e082 e082
Max, Load w-nnw- nnn enw nee ne ene E94 3000 2826 3040
 

58.

Wood Felloe

 

 

 

Sheet No. #3 #4 75 AVG.
One Nee ee ann ee
600 Pounds gave a deflection down .110 .127 .120 .119
1zco 6" " " " " e225 0846 e212) 6227
1800 " " " " " 0409 4.435 .368 .404
2400 " " " " " e653 .702 .596 .650
Max, " n n " n “———-e Ze 308 2.231 2.313
600 Pounds gave a deflection up 638 eO50 ,043 044
1200. " " " n " e072 e089 .0O70 .077
1800 " " " " " 0104 0141 2.133) 4126
2400 " M " " " ol77 e216 174 = 189
liex. ” " " " " --= ew-- .555 .555
600 Potinds g8ve & per."set down 2006 e007 .007 .007
1200 " M woos " " e027 0034 024 .028
1800 " " "of " " e091 e092 .072 .085
2400 " " "oN " " e176 0185S 2151 2170
Mex. " " " " " " _— ——— 2893 2893
600 Pounds gave a per. set up e005 «003 .004 .004
1200 " " "oN " , e012 eOl1 .008 ,.010
18900 +" "oonw os 0026 .035 .020 .027
2400 " " co" " " 0044 e060 2.040 .048
Mox " ve vf ve ve re <== coe nom a eLt0 e270
Max. LO8d o-2-22 enn cen nnn ennn 3580 3106 3600 3429
 
 
-_

—

 
 

N
LS)
&
Conclusions:=- From the above test date, it was decided
that the tenon was sufficiently strong in both the

Steel and Wood *Felloe Wheels since no failures were noted
at this point. The first failure occuring in most cases
by breaking in the mitre or the barrel of the spokes.
From the permanent set curves it was found that the steel
felloe wheel takes & greater permanent set,for the same
load, than does the wood felloe wheel. This indicates
that the wood wheel gives more and has more spring than
the steel felloe wheel and therefore the wood felloe
wheel is the better wheel in consideration of the re-
sistance to the strains of skidding, spinning wheels and
striking the curb. From a study of the curves it was
found that the average deflection for both wheels ran
just about the same. This can also be seen by a study

of the data on vage 27.
40.

This test was run on Olds wood wheels with standard
hubs and various sizes of bolts and thicknesses of flange
stock.

Object:- The object of this test was to find the variation
in the strength of wheels relative to the size of bolts
and the thickness of flanges.

Proceduse: The ste up was the seme as for the Reo Test
just discussed.

Before the whe2ls were assembled all the snoxes used
in them were weished approximately 8 ounces each and were
of the same gauge. Fach half of the felloe weighed 2-1/4
pounds, and the hubs weighed 7 pounds each. An average
of spokes and rims were used.

I am including @« copy of the original data sheets
so that it will be possible to show some of the onutstand-
ing as well as a summery detsc sheet from which the curves

were victtec the came ac in the teo Bests.
 

#1.

Sheet No, l.

Rumnine Log of: Olds wheel, wood felloe, 5/32" flange stock,

 

3/8" bolts, and standard hubs.
Ovservers: Jones, Davis, Gray.

Date: April 21, 1921.

 

 

Load in Tefl. Defl. Set set
Pounds Dewh. Up Down Up
200 e041 e028
4.00 0065 0049
600 ei18 e065 e016 e010
B00 e150 ebBH
1000 e210 e106
L200 e a04 ei2O0 ele eOl9
1400 e008 e141
1600 ew bl elS9
1800 0460 e175 e091 e023
2000 eat? oil
2200 0641 e216
£400 0 f42 e247 eL070 047
2600 «867 e270
2800 evIe e299
3000 1.117 eval 0567 eO7Z
3200 1.492 e206
3400 £2055 0305

Evidence of Faikuve in the Zollowine Order:

#1l- Spokes nulled down about 1/16" from flange on vressure
gide at "™2C0;!

ge~ Cracking noise. Wo. 1 spoxe split in heed thru bolt
hole at 3400,': Lower part of flange bent down at same
load about 3/8".

AS— Vaxe Load 26402
Sheet lide 2
Running Log of: Olds wheel £2 x 4, wood felloe, 5/32"
flange stock, 7/16" bolts and standard hub.
Cbservers: Jones, Davis, Gray.

Date: April 21, 1921.
laa

 

Load in Lorle Defle wet Set
pounds Down Up Down Up
200 022 O17
400 eOUL 041
600 2109 ~068 e008 2005
800 0155 e095
1000 e176 e105
1200 e216 e124 e017 oone
1400 e267 0142
1600 e 306 eL61
1800 0406 e195 «050 e012
2000 04:06 e1l95
2200 e463 e213
2400 eDOO 0f3d ~U99 e019
2600 e617 e253
2800 0687 eotl
3000 ~7S0 o29E o L&E C34
5200 e260 ed06
3400 1.397 eA07
5526 200228 e5bY0 1lec7te2 ---

Evidence of Failure in the Following Order:
#1- No. spoke pulled dovn from flange ebout 1/232" on the

pressure side.

#2- Cracking noise at 34007.

#5- Wo. 1 spoke split in head thru bolt nole and lower part
of flanze bent down sbout 4/8" at Sbz6i.

f4—- Miax., Load 3526:55.
435-6

Sheet No. 3.
Running Log of: Olds 32 x 4, wood felloe, §/38" flange
stock,7/162 bolts, standard hub.
Cbssivers: Jones, Davis, Gray.

Data: april 21, 1921.

 

 

Load in veri. Deirl. set set
Pounds Dorm Jp Dovm Up
£00 °
400
600 0137 0074 e031 e012
800
1000
1200 0240 e=eo e045 e016
1400 edad e162
1600 © 365 eild
1800 0597 0187 0075 0023
£000 0448 2205
£200 e500 enee
2400 e562 0240 elld e032
EGO00 e000 e268
£800 0759 2296
3000 - 884 eoed enol 0059
6200 4-040 0567
3324 20352 e421 O77 e022

Evidence of Fetiure in the “ollowine order:

—.-

 

#l- Cracking noise at 32007.

#2- Spokes nos. 3 and 12 split in heed thru bolt hole,
lower part of flange bent down abort 3/32" at 3334#.

#3- Max. Load 33342/
44.

Sheet Noe 4.

Running Loe of: Olds 32 x 4, wood felloe, 3/16" flange
stock, 7/16" bolts, standard hub.

Observers: Jones, Davis, Gray.

Date: April 21, 1921.
Tees

 

Load in Defl. Derl. Set Set

Pourds Down Un Down Up
200 0059 e024
400 e076 e043
600 ell2 e068 e008 eCU5
800 e150 e080

1000 e183 0095

1200 02356 0117 «028 «010
2400 eoltl el dd

1600 ed20 e151

1300 0666 eo LE9 e065 e019
200 0417 0184

£200 0477 9205

2400 0Dd2 e2l7 ell2 e021
2006 098 0206

£800 ete e255

“000 eA 0lS ens et
3200 oJ7S e290

0400 bess eoel

3600 1.848 0405

3702 £2098 0500 848 2045

 

#8- Cracking noise. Wo. 1 snoxe split in head thru bolt
hole.
#3- Max. Load 3707#.
 
41.

Sheet Noe 7.
Running Log of: Olds 22 x 4, wood felloe, 1/4" flange

stock, 2/8” bolts, stendard hub.

a

 

Ohververa: Jones, Blades, Cray.
wee EE

Dete: Avril 26, lvel.

 

Load in Tefl. Defl. Set Set
Pounds bown Up Down Up
£00 e095 e041
700 e--- .--=
806 ew 0003
1000 ol7l 2070
1400 025 e103
LouO 063 ell’?
18600 ec45 el3l «184 e024
SUS 0 D1 elée
2290 0958 e162
400 eOL5 ei 75 0247 035
£600 of08 el99
e800 of 70 ew d4
5000 0033 0 2c4 e270 e041
3°50 ee e200
$490 LeL%5 0508
S3OCG 1.518 2c 70
3770 3.583 0621 ero e066

Evidence of *ailure in the *ollowing Order:

fl- Cracking noise at 36007. Lower flange bent down about
1/8".
Spokes out at flange 1/8".
felloe snlit et no. 3 tenon, no, % svoke pulled out
about 3/32",

#2=- Ho, 1 spoke pulled out of flange 1/2" and split in
head thru bolt hole at Max. Load of 3770#,
40-6

Sheet Noe 8.
Running Log of; Glia “2 x 4, wood felloc, 1/4" flange stock,
7/16" bolts,, standard hub.

Otservers: Jones, Bliszces, Gray.

 

Date: April 2c, 1921.

 

Load in etl. erle set Set
Pounis Down Un Down Up

4CU e0bS eCl4

GOC eS 0042 oCO7 20C3

800 ell2 e662

1000 e153 0034

L200 oilc4 ebo4 e027 eGL
LGOG ene e103

L&U0 ecb4 ele& eVOS CEL
E000 1. 139

rar Aele) © VOU eLb4

T4040 oAT4 o Lise ell? 0929
-OUU edd eLlyd

POG eUen e219

wlOU ell 0 L090 eid eUVol
FONG O08 oes

3460 1.015 281

C600 1.208 9 O10

5,300 1.628 2093

7850 409078 0556 _——9 2258

Fvidence of Vailure in tre Yollovire Créer:
era earned engine berenarcs meee aeenae mene a eee Seance Seen Sn eee ee ae ae eee nee mre eS

fl- Craezine noise «t 22007: no. 1 scrote snlit in head.
~ $ By

 

 

£2- No. 2 svoxe s2lle@ out ef tenon 1/8" No. 1] s:-oke pulled
out at tenon 1/8", nos. 4 and 2 ¢»0'te3 avlit, felloe
sylit at nos. 1, 2, 9,10, and 11; s“oke nulls out of
flange 1/2"; Nos. 11 and 4 scoxes a-lit in bhesd, all

at Max. Load 3850;'.
The following is a summary of the foregoing data from

which the curves were drawn:

 

 

 

Defl. & Prem. 3/8" bolts 7/16" bolts 3/8" bolts

Set on Down & 1/4" flange 1/4" flange 3/16" flange

Up Sides stock stock stock
Down Side
Defl. at 1200 0244 0216 »249
" 24007 e742 e008 ef62
" " 3000; 1.117 790 - 884
" " Max. 3,055 2.520 2.350
Per Set at 1200;' .049 e017 0045
ve 1 94004 5267 2099 0115
7 ns O00 0368 0185 0237
woo hT hHax,.# 1.420 1.27 0977
Up Side

Defl. at 1200# e120 0124 0129
" " 2400,- 047 0233 e240
" " B000# 0337 9296 0329
" " Wiaxe ; e651 2090 0421
Pere Bet at 1200; .019 2009 e016
nm  € 9400 .047 019 032
" " 30007 .073 0034 059
" " " Max. # e138 eu7e 2093
Miaxe Load in # 3640 3526 BBB
—e_ oe ae
 

 

Defl. & Per. 7/16" bolts 3/82 bolts 7/16" bolts
Set on Down 5/16" flange 7/32" flange 7/32" flange
& Up Sides. stock stock stock
Down Side
Deftl., at 1200; 0256 0211 +220
" n 24002 0532 0519 521
" " 3000# 848 0739 0783
" " Vax. #¢ 2,098 2.426 2.383
Per. Set at 12004 .049 017 2035
" = 24007? 233 e127 «134
" " 20004 .369 0185 0158
" " " Max e 0.848 e989 e752
Up Side
Defi. at 1200; ell? 0049 e101
" 2400: oll? e183 e091
n " 3000; 0276 286 0153
" " Max. e500 o42el 578
Per, Set at 1200: .c10 012 015
" " =" 2400 .021 019 O31
" " " 3000+ e035 e025 043
" nF yore? 6045 e205 0245
Max, Load in 3 Z7Q2 3580 3672
OL.

 

 

 

Defl. & Perm. 3/8" bolte 7/16" bolts
Set on Down & 1/4" flange 1/4" flange
Up Sides. stock stock
Down Side
Defl. at 1200# e225 0184
" " 2400; e615 e474
" " S000# e833 0707
"B " Max. Load 3.2583 3.078
Per. Set at 1200} 2043 2027
" " " 2400 * 0247 e117
" " " 3000# e270 e193
" " " Max. Load ~ me woe
Up Side
Defl. at 1200+ °089 2094
" " 2400# eL75 e183
" " 30002: 0254 0236
" " Max. Load e621 °566
Per. Set et lL2008 -013 e015
8 " 2400# 2035 e029
" " " 30007 e041 0037
n " " Max, Load 0066 «258
Max. Load in # 3770 3856
eens

 
 

 

 

 

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D2.

Conclusions: Due to the variation in timber the results are

 

not as uniform as they would be if a large number of wheels
of each type were broken. from an inspection of the curves
for the bolt comparison it is seen that the same wheel with
heavier bolts gives a stronger wheel to resist strains
from skidding, and striking the curb, as the wheels with
the heavier bolts seem to give a less deflection and a
less permanent set than those with the smaller bolts and
the same size flange. In creasing the size of the flange
stock does not seem to have a very great effect on the
etrength of the wheel although in each case the wheel with
the heavier flange seens to give a little less deflection
and permanent set for the same load. For this reason it
was decided to use the snme sized flance stock and heavier
bolts in the wheels.

* Note: -

None of the bolts broke during these tests, altho
the 3/8" bolts stretched slightly more than the 7/16" bolts
did, The lighter flange bent down more than the lighter
one did, the heavier flange being the more rigid. This was
especially noticeable on the wheel with the 7/16" bolts
and the spokes directly under the load, which broxe at 3200#
while the maximum load was carried on the two spokes on

gach side of the broken spoke.
O56

I am including a number of drawings of all the
parts of the wheel go that the reader may become fami-
lar with each part in detail and then I have included
an assembly drawing of the wheel itself so that the re-
lation they bear to each other may be plainly seen
when assembled into the complete wheel. This should
illustrate the thesis more fully and make it more inter-

esting to the reader.
A comparison of the wood and steel wheels at the
present time indictes,that the wood wheel is far sup-

erior to the steel wheel.
 

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