This is my freshly acquired 25 pounder axle and wheel set. The only thing missing is the handbrake lever and tube that makes both sides brake shoes actuate at once. I can make one of those, and I have a few handbrake levers of different sizes to choose a suitable looking one from.
Many thanks to the MLU member who contacted me to say he had this for sale . And he was only a lazy 3hr drive away, too! Mrs B and I enjoyed the drive, and we met another great member of the MLU community. Just wished we had more time to chat before the drive home again. I haven't asked permission to mention who I got the axle from, but he can identify himself, if willing to do so. Certainly saved me some angst, and my project will be so much the better for his help.
And this is why I didn't get as far with the other things I intended to do today. I had an urge to see if I could get a wheel off it's hub, and settled in for a potentially drawn out period removing wheel nuts. In reality, they all came away without any problem. I was even able to undo one nut by fingers alone after about 3/4 turn with the spanner. That's ridiculous for something which must have been sitting for christ knows how many years! With the wheel now off, I started work on removing the remains of the tyre. As usual, it was virtually welded to the rim. The above photo will attest to all the work I put in with the angle grinder to cut one side away before severing the bead entirely. No manner of belting or leavering would break the tyre bead from the wheel BEFORE it was cut through. Once that was done, it almost fell off by itself! Well, OK, maybe not fall off as such, but one strike with a cold chisel and I was ready to start on the other side. The smell of burning rubber with using a grinder on a tyre, is something I'm still recovering from. I swear I can still taste it, let alone smell it. Disgusting aroma. The neighbours must hate me after today. N.B: The tyre had a gaping hole ripped in it before I started using the grinder, or I would NEVER have attempted it. I recall wisdom told to me way back when I first joined the forum, regarding pyrolysis and explosions therefrom. Didn't wish to go there.
I wasn't really ready to see this amount of rust scale inside the wheel, and I do admit my heart sank for a moment or two. After a few well placed whacks with the cold chisel (still laying in proximity, after tyre removal), I felt a bit happier.
There is still plenty of good thick metal left in place. The wheel WILL carry some 'scars' of age, but should be OK to use. I'll attack it properly with a descaler next weekend, before sending it off for the mandatory sandblasting.
Got the pulling rings on each side moving freely after very little effort, and I really, really wanted to take the hub off as well, but ran out of daylight. The hub turns freely though, without any grinding noise. If I spun it hard and applied the brake, it stops immediately. No strange grating or grinding noises, ........It just stops. Hopefully this means brake shoes are still in good usable condition.
Incidentally, my 900x16 tyres, the ones that gave me grief trying to get them onto CMP rims, they're gonna give me trouble getting them onto these wheels as well. I know, I tried one with no success. Possibly a trained fitter may have better luck, because they are perfect look for this project.