A very heavy whats - it

[skipskip]

local auction had a 'ton' of blacksmith stuff yesterday, really, it  must have weighed a ton.

I couldnt afford any of the forges, but I did get a couple of things.

I think one is a rim spreader or stretcher for  iron tires on wood wheels and next to it was this thing.

most guesses were  "like a swage block for wagon wheels"

but they were just guesses

it's awful heavy , like 125 pounds made of iron

about 22 inches long 13 inches wide and 7 inches thick

any hints on what it is used for?

AOCT 088 by Skip Albright, on Flickr

[Aunt Phil]

Winter weight in the back of a pickup truck.
Make sure you chain it so it don't come in the cab if you stop fast.

Front of the box and back wall of the cab costs a lot to fix, and reassembling your foot ain't cheap either.

[skipskip]

I can always rely on TT to provide useful information on any topic.

This sounds like a great idea,  I'll get a length of number 2 sash chain, that should do it.

[turnnut]

  the grooves look to be about 3 1/2" - 4"  wide.   also looks like 2 differant radius on the grooves, which makes me
  think about wagon wheel steel rims.  many wagons had 2 small and 2 larger wheels.

 could have been a shop that rebuilt wood spoke wagon wheels and used the block to straighten the rims instead
 of making new ones.

  only a wild guess.

[oldgoaly]

I don't know but tractor weights is the 1st thing that came to mind.

[bill300d]

I was thinking barrel rings but I like your idea more turnnut

[Nolatoolguy]

  the grooves look to be about 3 1/2" - 4"  wide.   also looks like 2 differant radius on the grooves, which makes me
  think about wagon wheel steel rims.  many wagons had 2 small and 2 larger wheels.

 could have been a shop that rebuilt wood spoke wagon wheels and used the block to straighten the rims instead
 of making new ones.

  only a wild guess.

That's my best guess to.

[Yadda]

A form for leaf springs?

[Chillylulu]

I think those would form over, rather than into, a form.

I agree with the concensus - something to beat a rim back out against.

Think about how it would be if you hit a curb or a big rock in one of those jalopies.

Chilly

[Aunt Phil]

I think those would form over, rather than into, a form.

I agree with the concensus - something to beat a rim back out against.

Think about how it would be if you hit a curb or a big rock in one of those jalopies.

Chilly

Um Chilly, when is the last time you saw a dented steel tire on a wood wheel?  Anything that could dent such a tire would also demolish the wood behind it.

Seems like in the days of steel tires anybody who could afford such a block of iron sitting around would also have owned a tire roller, and probably used the roller to get a tire back into shape while the wood wheel was rebuilt.
The boys in the steel tire business, even the current crowd of Amish Wheelwrights tend to be very savvy about saving labor.

Possibly it's an anvil for welding steel tires, the depression on the right sure looks like somebody worked that area hard and missed the target a number of times as well.  The holes could have been for a clamping system making it easier to maintain the tire in position while the striker beat hell out of it.

Trouble is, I can't find it in Blacksmith & Wheelwright.

[Chillylulu]

Phil

I'm sure you're right. I just know non-ferrous metal forming well - steel sheet is a guess.

I have lots of forms, though. Basically, if you want it to be a certain shape, beat it on a form of that shape.  I was picturing a lot of the wheels (farm machinery and other equipment) I have seen and thinking that shape would fit. I hadn't thought about wood at all. Not necessarilly tires either.

Anything I say would be a guess.

Chilly

[Aunt Phil]

It's OK Chilly I fully understand you fit sprinkler pipe up there in the hyper oxygen deprived atmosphere of Denver.  That oxygen shortage can hurt a man.  Gotta be even worse up by the roof.

All steel wheels such as you find on Steam Tractors and early farm implements, and even steel wheeled machines during the Second World War tend to be between 1/2 and 1" thick where the iron meets the road. 

Do we have dimensions on those depressions or will Chilly have to do takeoffs based on the pickup box?

[skipskip]

item overall is 22 long by 13 wide by 5 inches deep.

three round holes are 1 1/2, 1 inch and 3/4 in diameter and go all the way thru

the divots are 4 1/2 wide

one is 13 inches long  the other is 15 inches long

both are 1 inch deep at he lowest point

[Aunt Phil]

Primitive version of this?

[Twilight Fenrir]

125 lbs? With those  dimensions? O.o Is it hollow on the back side? My 250 lb Peter Wright anvil isn't much larger than those figures from tip of horn to heel, and is narrower from front to back, excluding the base...

If it were a solid block of iron, it should be in excess of 500 lbs o.o

Primitive version of this?

Is.... That a picture of where a locomotive got stuck, and spun its wheels until the rail deformed? O.o It sure looks like it...

Here's a question for  you Skip... Does it ring if struck? If so, whether it is wrought iron, or steel would tell us a good deal about its age and likely use. If it doesn't, it's cast iron, and it could be almost any age...