[TheForge] 36" diameter ring

[Bob Rackers]

I just got off the phone with my friend the carriage-maker.
Here's his description of the process of making a tire for a wheel.

1. Measure with a traveler the circumference of the wheel.
2. Transfer that measurement to the flat stock.
3. Add 3.5 times the stock thickness (3.75 times if you upset the ends more
than he does)
4. Cut the flat stock a little longer than that.
4. Bend (roll) the material in the tire roller.
5. Measure again with the traveler to the circumference + 3.5 times the
thickness. (He says the material will shrink slightly in the process of rolling
it.)
6. Cut at that mark.
7. Upset the ends for forge-welding.
8. Overlap the ends (about 1"), with the scarfs on the outside (though he says
on smaller tires you can place the scarfs face-to-face on the inside)
9. Punch holes through both ends at the overlap and insert a rivet to hold the
pieces in alignment
10. Forge-weld the ends together

Bob