MLU FORUM - Drive Wheel wood

First of all the wheel is made of many pieces with "finger joints" and should be painted OD army green like the truck.

In my bumble opinion probably maple due to the tight grain I have seen.

Maple will not bend as much or as easily as white ash or even more flexible is Brown ash ( also called Black Ash) that is used in basketery. there is also Green ash or Pennsylvanian ash but is not readily avaialble. Brown ash has a very open grain similar to oak and was used as an OAK substitute in the early cheap furniture manufacturing of the 1900......

Brown ash when worked green and steamed could easily bend 180 degree of the steering radius without breaking.

I beleive the circular roof hatches were made with steamed black ash...and be carefull with the spelling or pronounciation..... wooden wagon wheels were made of brown and white ash by wheelrights...usually two pieces then covered with a steel tire(ring).

With today's technology using segmented wood with the strong modern glue it would be easier and just as strong.

There is a U Tube film clip that showns the assembly of wooden wheels for the very early Fords.

Grant fabricated a circular hatch using thin (1/8) strips of straight grain BC Fir glued then cut to the curve of the roof......one ring makes two hatches but is very time consuming. The BC Fir came from horse stalls in my barn that we took down and recycled.

I would look up manufacturers or retoration sites for old boat........ they do make there own boat wheels which as similar in construction.

Cheers