Breaking down a widowmaker
Tire laying flat, spud bar vertical with flat tip on bead next to rim, and the weight slides down vertically to a collar and delivers a hammer blow to the bead? Correct?
The truck tire shops have a neat tool for breaking beads....it's like a long spud bar with a sliding weight on it. Like a slide hammer. Seems to work pretty good.
You should be able to whip one up in a few minutes time........
Super price on Ken-tool 35926 at ToolTopia.com
You should be able to whip one up in a few minutes time........
Super price on Ken-tool 35926 at ToolTopia.com
Don't worry, if the skidsteer doesn't do it I will just bag it. Or when the panel gets to this coast I could get a shop over there to break it down for me. The other day when I mounted a used 7.50 x 17 tire on my cleaned and painted tonner wheel, it was a cake walk. Just dropped it on, pulled the stem through, pushed the tire's bead down with the forks and tapped the lock ring on. Lifted the forks a bit and aired it up. It's the break-down that I can't exert myself over. The tire isn't worth anything, I just wanted to have 4 decent roller tires while I 'fix it up'. (Notice I didn't say 'restore it')
I've driven over tires, placed the base of a hydraulic jack on the bead under a truck bumper while I beat on it with a sledge, all kinds of things over the years. When I drive over them they often flip up on their side. I get tired just thinking about all the rusty rims I've beaten and pryed on over the years. Once I removed a 24" tractor tire and patched a nasty sidewall tear with black sikaflex polyurethane and a patch cut from another tire's sidewall. I placed the 'boot' on the inside and fastened it around the perimeter with 1" sheetrock screws. Once I got it aired up I ground the points of the screws off with an angle grinder. Heck, it's a 25 mile round trip tp town, and when you get there you have to spend money on 'store bought' things. Edit: It was still holding fine 5 years later when I sold it.
Hats off to Truckdog! He is shipping me those two tires, and they did look real nice in the pictures. Stu, being a MH guy only collects the traction variety so he passed these my way. They look WAY nicer than the junk I've been working with. Thanks Stu.
Stu is the only guy on here that I have met in person. He was at a dog event in Portland last year with family and he and his son in law drove up here to visit. He is a first class guy for sure. He even hopped in my cummins powered frankenfridge 350 for the ride out to my place from town.
Pictures of Gary's place always make me jealous. Beautiful place and neat old stuff.
One thing I really like about this forum, in our crazy world, here are a bunch of genuinely good guys.
One thing I really like about this forum, in our crazy world, here are a bunch of genuinely good guys.
Sorry about the son/son in law mix-up. The stubborn widowmaker has been relegated to the land of the misfit tires. No, I didn't roll it down the ravine this time,
it's in an ugly pile of tires on the back 5. Looks like 4-5 days above freezing in Central Minnesota, maybe some desperate trucker will pick up my panel and bring it this way. I upped my offer price on Central Dispatch a bit to sweeten the pot.
it's in an ugly pile of tires on the back 5. Looks like 4-5 days above freezing in Central Minnesota, maybe some desperate trucker will pick up my panel and bring it this way. I upped my offer price on Central Dispatch a bit to sweeten the pot.














