Wheelwright Demonstration

September 12, 2009

One of the most interesting demonstrations of the day was put on by experienced wheelwrights who placed a steel “tire” on a wooden wagon wheel with a radius of about three feet. The “tire” was heated by the fire in the foreground to about 2,000° Farenheit. The temp is not critical, so the tire is tapped until the resonance goes out of it. Two men picked the steel out of the fire, with long-handled tools, then placed it on the ground, then three men picked it up with tongs and placed it on the wheel. The tolerance was one-fourth of an inch and the “tire” went on the wheel very smoothly. With a few taps the “tire” was in place.

Now the wheelwrights had to work fast. The wooden part of the wheel started to smoke and burn. The three mean each took a can of water and doused the wheel around the edge. Then, just as quickly, they picked up the wheel and rotated it in a water trough. It sounded like a sizzling steak. Job well done.

A few technical details were offered during the demo: Order your spokes from the Amish in Hartford PA. Be sure to send them a sample because there are many configurations of the mortise-and-tenon joint for spokes. Don’t let the wheel ride on the tenon end of the spokes as that will cause the wheel to fail; the weight-bearing should go to the shoulder of the tenons which connect to wooden rim, called the felloe.

Mel Rusvold announced the demo. He has lived his whole life here in the valley and was the head of maintenance for the park before Terry Anderson. Mel Forsberg was his assistant. The men told me they only do this for Sodbuster Days and they have declined offers to demo this old art at other events around North Dakota. It’s just kind of a hobby which they enjoy doing.

Noreen said, "I think Mel Rusvold was born 100 years too late."