MTFCA Forum

I was driving my 1914 touring car with standard clincher rims home from work today and hit a pot hole that would have torn the wheel off one of those small import cars. When I had the chance I pulled over and looked at the front tire to see if there was any damage. Everything looked good so I drove home with no issues. Later in the evening I started thinking about the wooden wheel spokes and the damage that could have been done to them. I inspected the spokes and noticed there was a little paint cracking where the wooden spokes go into the wooden part of the rim. Upon further inspection I noticed there was a little paint cracking where the spokes meet the wheel on all 4 of my wheels.
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Here is my issue/question...The wheels run true, I don't seem to have any loose spokes and there does not seem to be any flex in the wheels. I have put several thousand miles on these wheels over the last few years and they have always seemed very solid. I don't know the rebuild history on the wheels, so I really don't know as much as I would like about the wheels. What kind of additional inspection should I do? Should I be worried?
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Thank you for any input...
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Paint will crack because it expands and contracts at a different rate than the wood spokes. Using your knuckles, tap on each spoke one at a time. They will tell you what kind of shape they are in. Listen to hear that they all sound the same. Then visually inspect the felloes for cracks in the wood, especially the wheel that hit the hole.

I use the same back- of- the knuckle check. Loose spokes will make a hollow sound.

Allan from down under.

Thank you for the feedback and ideas....If the spokes have no cracks, but I find a couple of spokes that may be slightly loose, what is the best way to make them tight again? I remember my grandfather talking about driving his model T in the creek to tighten the wheels. Did that actually help?
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Is there a web site or a book about wooden wheels that I could reference? I was a model A guy before this and have always had wire wheels so I am still learning about wooden wheels.
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Thank you...

Water will expand wood, but it is a very temporary "fix." Most of the expansion would be across the spoke and tenon, with very little expansion in length.
Some advocate linseed oil for the same purpose, for a longer lasting temporary fix.

Allan from down under.