cart wheels

Real buggaboo of mine, NOBODY makes a reasonable large diameter solid tire cart wheel. Say 26 inch or 27 inch. So you think a bicycle wheel will do ok... can tell you from experience, under heavy load, the wire spokes will collapse and the rim will bend/warp, never to be usable again unless you want your cart wandering like its had too much to drink.

I had to make replacement centers for my old Yazoo mower after the new solid tire 20" wheels I got at TSC failed after couple uses on mower. Luckily the rim remained unwarped and the solid tire was a good one. So I cut circle out of treated plywood (had some big scraps of 3/4inch) and anymore treated plywood is insane price. But glued/screwed a smaller piece same plywood in center. Then drilled couple blind 1-1/8 inch holes just deep enough to set couple bearings like used on wheelbarrow wheel or on some older, better quality steel center lawn mower wheels. I first tried gluing the plywood to the wheel rim, weird it held great on one wheel but not on the other. So pried tire off the rim. Cut two large flat washers in half and drilled hole in outer edge of each half. Welded them to the rim equidistant and then bolted the plywood to the washers with four small bolts. Worked great. Been using it like this for several years now. Amazing the one wheel with just urethane glue is still holding. Though it would be trivial to weld washers to rim on that side if necessary.

So anyway thought if I ever built another garden cart, this would be way to go. I have tried old steel tired wheels from an antique milk cart, replacing hub with one that has real bearings. But if you have rocky soil you will find this unpleasant. That steel has no give to it so every last rock or branch or whatever obstacle is noticeable. I have no idea where you would find solid rubber cart tires 26 inch or so, they just arent made. But bicycle rims ok. You can maybe buy heavy duty tires and tubes, or they have liners to resist thorns and punctures. Will warn you that NEW bicycle tire are not cheap. I still remember buying 27 inch tires for cheap bike I had in high school and college for $2 each on sale. Not greatest, but lasted ok. LOL, those days are long gone. Figure $30 to $40 for tires of about same quality. So you probably better to look for cheap bike at thrift store or auction with decent tires and then invest in those puncture resistant liners I mentioned. Big hint, if you can find couple front motorcycle wheels/tires same size cheap, those would work as is. You will be limited in diameter you can find, but couple temporary spare car tires might work too if you can figure out a hub that doesnt weigh a ton. They are meant to take lot air pressure so probably roll pretty easy despite the wider profile. And they should be pretty cheap at a pick-a-part type junkyard.

Oh and if you want to do it up fancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8QSCyenKw But most wont have tools to do this or the skills. And as I mentioned treated plywood is crazy town priced anymore. But you can still buy an 8ft treated 2x6 for what $12? On smaller diameter rim, probably use 2x4s instead. Want two lengths of it the inside diameter of rim. Then make a half lap joint in middle. I still remember first project in 7th grade shop class was to make a wooden clothes hanger which required half lap joints done with hand tools. Then shallow 1-1/8 blind holes on each side for bearings. Still probably best to weld some metal to the rim that can then bolt to the wood center. If you use 2x6, might want to make it to use two bolts at each connection since only four spokes, wide spokes but only four. If you are good welder, an alternative might be to make spokes out of half inch iron pipe or out of rebar, quarter inch or 3/8. You would want more spokes and getting everything all even be challenge, be worth building a jig I suppose and tack weld everything before removing it from jig. I suggested using two lengths 2x6 with that lap joint in middle cause that would be simple. The 2x6s also wide enough that four wide spokes like that be strong enough. You go to using 6 or 8 spokes and you better have lot more skill as that guy in the youtube obviously does. That would be very challenging if you only had hand tools. Whereas a simple lapjoint is doable by hand with a saw and a wood chisel.

Is this be all and end all for garden cart wheel? No, you really do want solid rubber tire but nobody makes such at reasonable price. I did see some specialty large diameter cart wheels one specialty web site, but truly expensive for what they are.

So why not use smaller wheels. You can, and they will work if you mainly use the cart on smooth surface, but on rough bumpy ground, you will find the larger the diameter the wheels, the easier to move the cart. Good bearings help a lot too.

I ran across this on how traditionally "rubber tires" were added to wood spoke wheels on wagon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sldK65_HUgc This was more done in cities where there were hard surface roads I would imagine. Less jarring. I knew some old wagons/carriages like this had rubber tires but didnt realize how they did it.

Even if you could buy the cable and the tire material, without that specialized machine the guy made himself, I am sure this would be impossible. But it would be one way to get any diameter solid rubber cart wheel you wanted.

Ok, I stand corrected, Northern still sells solid rubber 26" cart wheels, but as you notice in the picture a reviewer posted, they are like those 20" similar wheels I bought at TSC.  In other words they cant take much of a load.  I got lucky with my craptastic TSC wheels and just the spokes failed, the rim didnt warp like these.

After lot looking, suggest these still might be worth buying IF you make a wood center for them and ditch the wire spokes.  Yea it sucks to have to buy something only to rebuild it to higher standard.  But finding 26" solid rubber tires alone is pretty impossible.  I did find some but they were just as expensive.  At least with the Northern wheel, you do get a steel weldable rim plus set bearings.  LOL

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660581_200660581