Anyone ever used a chain saw on rubber?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Guido Salvage

Guido Salvage

Supreme Saw Whoreder
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
11,513
Location
Farmville, VA
I want to clean up some scrap metal tomorrow and raise a few bucks. I have a number of old cast iron rear tractor rims that I would like to recycle that still have tires on them. I need to remove the rubber from the rims and I do not have any power where the wheels are.

The tires are probably at least 40 years old and rather weather checked. Due to their age there will not be any steel belts in them. Has anyone ever tried to cut a tire with a chain saw and if so, what were the results?

Any thoughts?
 
Guido Salvage

Guido Salvage

Supreme Saw Whoreder
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
11,513
Location
Farmville, VA
Never tried it, but on the "any thoughts" question, how about a sawzall?
REJ2

No power there and I need to pack the truck with as much stuff as possible when I go. I have a junk pickup, old hydraulic cylinders, a counterweight off an old dozer, a homemade lathe, etc. to haul away.
 
Eccentric

Eccentric

Mister Wizard
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
14,224
Location
Northwestern Wyoming
If you could squeeze a generator in the truck, then I'd strongly suggest using a sawzall instead of a chainsaw. You're gonna be gumming that chainsaw up with rubber (goo and chunks) and whatever cording is in those tires, and you'd have be extremely careful not to hit the rims with the chain. Also, those tires probably still have steel wire beads, even if there's no steel belting in the tires...:agree2:
 
Last edited:
lly_duramax

lly_duramax

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
366
Location
Virginia
I have a bent John Deere 640 skidder wheel in my yard for a fire barrel. A logger gave it to me and his son sawed the tire off it with a 044. When he got to the bead he had to use a sawzall because it had a pretty heavy steel cable.
 
dingeryote

dingeryote

Blueberry Baron
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
13,603
Location
Michigan
I want to clean up some scrap metal tomorrow and raise a few bucks. I have a number of old cast iron rear tractor rims that I would like to recycle that still have tires on them. I need to remove the rubber from the rims and I do not have any power where the wheels are.

The tires are probably at least 40 years old and rather weather checked. Due to their age there will not be any steel belts in them. Has anyone ever tried to cut a tire with a chain saw and if so, what were the results?

Any thoughts?


Guido,

If those rims ain't eaten up with rust, they are likely worth 3 times thier weight to the old Iron Collectors/restoration fanatics.

Hell. I have seen old rust eaten Fordson fenders go for a thousand bucks.
Crazy, but true.

Just sayin...

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Zombiechopper

Zombiechopper

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
3,484
Location
Saskatchewan
Guido,

If those rims ain't eaten up with rust, they are likely worth 3 times thier weight to the old Iron Collectors/restoration fanatics.

Hell. I have seen old rust eaten Fordson fenders go for a thousand bucks.
Crazy, but true.

Just sayin...

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

yes!

tractor freaks will spend way more than we do on a saw!

This would be like me telling you I took a load of old chainsaw bars to the dump..."they were huge big ol things with rust on em and they were for those old old chainsaws...ya know those old yellow ones and them red and blue ones....so I just chucked em away...."
 
eyolf

eyolf

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
May 5, 2001
Messages
1,916
Location
Mini soda
Tractor tires seldom have steel in the cords, and I doubt if any from way back in the past do. Most likely they will have steel cable in the beads, and you'll have a radical time cutting next to the rim, through those with a chain saw.


I have scrapped out some big wheels from an old loader: we used a chain saw to cut all the way around the rim on both sides and left the beads on the wheels. Worked fine. Also took a badly worn tractor tire off a rusty (leaky chloride) rim with a chain saw when we couldn't break the bead: Bring a wood chisel and a couple of cold chisels: the wood chisel cuts down TO the bead, and the cold chisels will cut the wire bead. It isn't as hard as it sounds, especially if you arent worried about saving the rim.

I hope I'm not picking nits here, but I don't recall ever seeing a cast-iron tractor rim. Many tractors had cast center spiders, and most were available with cast wheel weights, but not the actual rim itself. In my area most tractor rims are worth a couple bucks as scrap metal, but as much as $50 as a fire ring.
 
Top