How did pioneers fix wagon wheels?

Answer 1

This is not an easy process and requires the services of either a blacksmith or a wheelwright, neither of which was usually available on the trail.

To repair a broken wagon wheel required the following steps:

1. support the axle of the wagon on blocks so it will not fall over
2. remove the damaged wheel from the axle
3. breakdown the wheel so that the iron rim can be removed intact (this may require chopping up with an axe some perfectly good spokes to reduce the pressure holding the wheel together)
4. cut wood to make replacement spokes and wooden rim sections (this may be difficult if trees are not readily available and on many parts of the trail they were not)
5. using spokeshaves carve the wood to make replacement spokes and with saws and wood chisels shape replacement wooden rim sections
6. reassemble the wooden parts of the wheel (hub, spokes, and rim sections) using a wooden mallet to make certain all pieces seat correctly, making certain that the iron rim is too small to fit around the assembled wooden parts
7. light a large wood fire and place the iron rim in it to make the rim expand
8. after perhaps 20 minutes of heating the iron rim in the fire, two or three strong men using blacksmith's tongs pick the iron rim out of the fire and place it around the assembled wooden parts of the wheel (it should barely slip on with little resistance)
9. hammers are used to align and center the hot iron rim rapidly on the wood (the wood will be scorched and may occasionally briefly emit flames while doing this)
10. pour water on the iron rim to cool it rapidly, locking it securely in place around the wooden parts of the wheel (this places several hundred pounds of inward force on the complete wagon wheel holding all parts solidly together)
11. allow the wagon wheel to completely cool and dry
12. grease both the wheel hub and the end of the axle the wheel mounts on very liberally with tallow, lard, or any other fat you have available
13. remount the wheel on the axle
14. remove the blocks from under the axle so that the wheel again supports the wagon

Given the conditions on the trail this process typically took days (and sometimes weeks) to complete. This delay could prevent the entire group from completing the journey before winter set in and they might suffer significant loss of life overwintering on the trail, so sometimes a wagon with a broken wheel would just be abandoned or the family using it left behind to repair it and try to catch up later on their own if they could.