28" Wood Clad Wheel and US Chain Tire RESTORATION PROJECT - EXPERTS WANTED

Did a lot of reading and it seems like most have different issues, and some issues that I have, I can't find on "The Cabe", so I figure it's best to address them all on one post. Hopefully this will help someone in the future that has similar issues.

These are the 28" wood clad wheels and US Chain tires off my '20s/'30s Rollfast "TruSport" Camelback Motorbike. Just pulled them off over the past day. Tires came off easily as they weren't really even glued to the wheel. No I didn't need a hacksaw like I saw suggested. Loved the zip tie suggestion someone had, and would've used it if I needed to. Was looking forward to using the heat gun, but it wasn't needed.

Here is the bike in question with the parts in question...



Here are the 28" Wood with Metal Clad Wheels. Rear hub is ND Model D.
These are painted with outer pin stripes.
Front wheel has minimal wobble. Rear wheel has a good amount of wobble. Gonna use the "Steamy tub and a beer" method I saw in a post, but with a different brace to flatten the wheel.
Goal with these wheels is to take them completely apart, clean them up and straighten them as best as I can. Light wash on the hoops and soak the spokes and hub parts in vinegar.
My major concerns...
The glue that at some point held the tire in place. The only safe spots I know I can play with are the areas over the nipples (bet you just looked at my profile pic). Beyond that????. What is the best way to remove that stuff without hurting the wood underneath?



These beautiful tires. Well, one is beautiful, the other, not so much.
Everything mentioned on these tires...
UNITED RUBBER COMPANY 76 GIANT CHAIN TREAD 2 - PLY "GUARANTEED" INFLATE TO 40 LBS. "THE ORIGINAL CHAIN TREAD"
MADE IN THE USA 28" U-G-V
The good....
The tire that was on the front has a ton of tread on it, very light sidewall cracking, but has a small hole in the tread that acts as a slow leak. You can put air in it, but after 30 minutes, it's gone. If we can find a way to permanently fix this hole...
The bad...
The rear tire has tons of tread, but tons of issues. Major flat spots lead to plenty of sidewall cracking and yes, the dreaded missing rubber chips. After cleaning it up and drowning it, I found a 3 inch area at the edge of the tread that lets air free. This tire couldn't hold air if it's life depended on it. This is the tire for the bike that goes on the wall, and you make sure you put the nice side on the right (chainguard side), and the bad side on the left.



Plenty of photos coming and will keep them coming throughout the restoration. Thanks for your help.....

Rear wheel

Here are some photos of the rear wheel. Any advice would be great. Sorry for the fuzzy photos.

Front wheel

Rear wheel...

Got all the spokes off the rear wheel. Took about 3 hours and I didn't break one spoke! WD40, heat and torque!!!! Only issue I had were the spokes scratching the paint, which can be seen in the photos. Compound didn't do much about those. Gave the painted side a light sponge bath, dried, compound and carnuba. Will hit it again before I put it all back together again.

Laid on a flat surface and I would say it's pretty darn straight. Was very wobbly when it was together. Spokes and Hub parts will be sitting for the next day in vinegar.

Just need someone to tell me the easiest and safest way to remove the glue residue.

Some of the guys have diff methods when it comes to getting rid of the glue residue..... It's funny because there were so many glue compounds made back in the day. But as it is a metal clad rim - the glue would be slightly more modern than TOC wood rims. I have tried a couple of methods and found that a small wire wheel brush on a dremel worked best for me - though it was messy & slow. No damage to the wood and it really gets the crud out of the spoke holes. Others have used a larger wire brush on a drill and some have even used a bench wheel wire brush. I prefer a the slower method - as a fail safe just in case there are issues with the rim that cannot be seen. Therefore it is a slow and messy process - black dust everywhere. Once finished a good sanding starting with rough and finishing with fine. But you need not remove the hard stuff if you are going to re-glue unless you are like the lot of us and prefer a clean surface to glue. A chemical paint strip might work - but if you have paint on your metal rim there will be issues and it will discolour bare metal on occasion. Looking forward to the end result though! Pics Pics Pics & more Pics! Helps us all. Nick the cut and Krautwaggen have both done this recently.

I think the big question is ....do you feed the wood or not after you have done all the work? If you feed the wood using tung oil - the rim will be thirsty and much happier......this said you might have issues with the re-glue and you are only feeding one side of the rim due to the cladding. If you let the feeding dry for an extended period and sand there should be no problem with the re-glue. BUT - if you had done nothing...there would be little diff. It is just a matter of extending the life of your wood that has already lead a very long and fruitful life.

filmonger said:

Some of the guys have diff methods when it comes to getting rid of the glue residue..... It's funny because there were so many glue compounds made back in the day. But as it is a metal clad rim - the glue would be slightly more modern than TOC wood rims. I have tried a couple of methods and found that a small wire wheel brush on a dremel worked best for me - though it was messy & slow. No damage to the wood and it really gets the crud out of the spoke holes. Others have used a larger wire brush on a drill and some have even used a bench wheel wire brush. I prefer a the slower method - as a fail safe just in case there are issues with the rim that cannot be seen. Therefore it is a slow and messy process - black dust everywhere. Once finished a good sanding starting with rough and finishing with fine. But you need not remove the hard stuff if you are going to re-glue unless you are like the lot of us and prefer a clean surface to glue. A chemical paint strip might work - but if you have paint on your metal rim there will be issues and it will discolour bare metal on occasion. Looking forward to the end result though! Pics Pics Pics & more Pics! Helps us all. Nick the cut and Krautwaggen have both done this recently.

I think the big question is ....do you feed the wood or not after you have done all the work? If you feed the wood using tung oil - the rim will be thirsty and much happier......this said you might have issues with the re-glue and you are only feeding one side of the rim due to the cladding. If you let the feeding dry for an extended period and sand there should be no problem with the re-glue. BUT - if you had done nothing...there would be little diff. It is just a matter of extending the life of your wood that has already lead a very long and fruitful life.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Was actually considering using the wire wheel on my bench, but I don't have the steadiest of hands. Hoping to put everything back together on this first wheel early next week.

Cool can't wait to see the finished restoration.

If you decide to feed the wood before your re-glue.....

Keep in mind

Pure Tung Oil works by oxidation with the air and polymerizes. So you want to get as much oil in the rim as soon as possible, but you do not want to apply the Pure Tung Oil with out thinning. It takes too long to dry and will sit on the surface and dry leaving a frosted appearance. Pure dry tung oil left on surfaces will also scuff leaving white marks like dry skin - not that this matters. So always thin Pure Tung Oil in rim applications and wipe off the excess.

Use 1 part Pure Tung Oil to 1 part thinner, apply the same way as the first application with a brush or sponge mop. Apply the oil in several coats one after another till you get a uniformly glossy surface that stays glossy for 20 to 40 minutes. After the waiting period, wipe the oil off the surface with a "T-shirt" type material. When wiping you do not need to scrub the surface. Just gently and evenly wipe excess oil from the surface.

At this point the rim should dry for 7 to 10 days before attempting to sand for re-glue. But I would leave it longer of possible. During the next week you will want to buff up any seepage that rises to the top during the drying process. You can do this by laying the T-shirt material rim and rubbing with back a forth ( sounds like a porn site - LOL ) This will polish and buff the rim slightly.

Homemade Cement

Just as an FYI..... this is how they used to do it themselves.

Rear hub done!

This was an all day event. Mainly because I'm too damn thorough. Parts sat in vinegar for 36 hours.

ND Model D... All parts lubricated with Park and moving perfectly.