Wood Wheels good bad or ugly?

[Graham Man]

I have a friend restoring a 1933 Graham, he has the choice of wood 17", wire 17" or disk 15" wheels. All were stock offerings for Graham in 1933. My question is about the wood wheels, they were fantastic looking in 1933, and he would have one few remaining 1933 with wood wheels. I know 1934 was about the last year for wood wheels but what was the downfall? Did they go out of style? or are they just that much work to maintain? or were they just a lot more expensive to produce?

Original 1933 Graham Wood Wheel

[mrpushbutton]

By 1934 they were a vestigial styling element, sort of like the dealerships that insist on putting "vinyl tops" on new cars like the current Chrysler 300 or Ford Tarus because a certain older segment of the market still likes them and will pay extra for them, making a profit center for the dealer. Technology had moved beyond the wooden wheel, certainly for manufacturers interested in moving cars out the door quickly, but as I said, there were customers who felt all warm and fuzzy by them, would pay the extra amount, so they produced them. If everything is right in an Artillery wheel (the correct name for wooden wheels like this) they are fine, and work well.

As for taste, that's up to the consumer.

[Restorer32]

Packard had wood wheels available as an option as late as 1936.

[Rusty_OToole]

In the early days (1900 - 1930) wooden wheels had the advantage of being tough but flexible. They absorbed road shock and vibration and did not "ring" like steel disc wheels. On the rough roads of the day, disc wheels could be bent, or wire wheels break spokes . Wooden wheels would bend or deflect to a remarkable degree and spring back unharmed.

As roads got better, chassis design got better, with rubber mounted bodies and other improvements. Wheels got smaller, spokes got shorter, disc wheels got stiffer. Highway speeds got higher.

By the early thirties the advantages of wood wheels had practically disappeared. Steel disc wheels, or spoke wheels, were easier to keep in true, lighter, and cheaper to make.

About those disc 15" wheels, I did not think 15" tires became commonly available until 1949.

But, some tire makers offered special "super balloon" tires with wheels as small as 13". Were the 15" wheels actually used in 1933, and if so, were they the "super balloon" type?

My choice would be the wire wheels for looks but there is nothing wrong with wooden wheels if they are in good shape. I leave it up to the wood experts if they would trust 80 year old wood wheels or if they need some special treatment.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

Yes Graham offered the "Super Balloon" 15" disk wheels in 1933, being an independent they were always pushing the design limits both style and mechanical for better sales. 1933 was Graham-Paige's lowest total unit production year, but they made a small profit, maybe the only car company to make money in 1933. This body style was introduced in December 1931. The 15" tires did not catch on till years later, most production cars were changed back to the standard 17" wheels after the 15" tires wore out. The consensus seems like wood wheels just went out of style?

1933 Graham 57A Coupe with stock 15" disk wheels

[Rusty_OToole]

My position is that wooden wheels had practical advantages in the period 1900 - 1930. Eventually, better roads, better chassis design, better tires and smaller diameter wheels made them obsolete.

Another factor I barely touched on was tire design. The earliest cars used narrow, straight sided tires pumped up to 60PSI. In the 1920s lower pressure balloon tires became the rule. It seemed every year tires became fatter, softer, and used smaller diameter wheels.

The softer tires also reduced the need for wooden wheels to absorb shock and vibration.

Before the 1920s roads were often very bad, rutted and rocky. Steel wheels would bend permanently, wire spokes would break, but a wooden wheel of the Model T type would bend and spring back. By the 1930s wood wheels were so small and the spokes so big, this was no longer true. But the real bad roads were mostly a thing of the past.

This is not to discount the importance of fashion or changing styles. But the wooden wheel was obsolete anyway. What surprises me is that some autos offered wooden wheels from 1932 to 1936. I suppose there were some old timers who insisted on them. Even though they no longer had any advantage over the cheaper steel wheels.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Wood looks great on some cars and it would be unique. Not sure how I would feel about going 60 mph on wood however.

[keiser31]

I have a friend restoring a 1933 Graham, he has the choice of wood 17", wire 17" or disk 15" wheels. All were stock offerings for Graham in 1933. My question is about the wood wheels, they were fantastic looking in 1933, and he would have one few remaining 1933 with wood wheels. I know 1934 was about the last year for wood wheels but what was the downfall? Did they go out of style? or are they just that much work to maintain? or were they just a lot more expensive to produce?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]248082[/ATTACH]

Original 1933 Graham Wood Wheel

To answer your last three questions...yes, yes and yes. They did fall out of style. Upkeep was a bear if you lived in a very dry or very moist area. Steel wheels were mush less labor intensive to build. And all of the things that Rusty said.

Edited May 15, 2014 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

Interesting by 1936 wire wheels were almost obsolete. If I remember correctly Packard and Rolls Royce used covers to make them look like disk wheels. On the tire pressure, I did find Graham-Paige listing of 34psi for the 1929 cars that was for the 19" 650 tires.

I picked up a 1933 map of Minnesota, there were only three major roads (highways) paved the rest were gravel and still more were dirt, no wonder chains were a necessity in the spring. Most likely anything over 45mph was taking your life in your own hands, it was an entire different world.

[nashtwin8]

I think there was another factor not yet mentioned. Metallurgy was advancing rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Steel disc wheels may have been prohibitively expensive to make in 1900 (if they could have been made practical under the conditions then at all). Given the high ground clearances required by the rutted roads found almost everywhere, they also would probably have been far heavier than comparatively light wood wheels. By 1932 or so, all these factors were changing, including the steel alloys available, and the cost of producing things made of various materials.

You could also think of things like product packaging and containers. Up until 1930 or so, lots and lots of ordinary products came in sturdy wooden boxes. Some things also came in steel boxes. By 1940, cardboard-like materials had taken the place of both wood and steel packaging for a great many products. Industrial things were changing rapidly in the 1930s, and wood was being used less and less in cars. Wood-framed bodies were falling from favor by the mid-1930s, and wood was not even used for upholstery tack strips in cars much by 1940, a dramatic change from 1930, when many cars had wood-framed bodies, and virtually all cars had some wood in them somewhere.

I think those thick-, short-spoked wood wheels that closed out the age of wood wheels look great on some cars of the 1932-1934 era, generally, and find it interesting that steel artillery wheels, made to look practically identical to the wood variety, were briefly popular from about 1934-1937, although during that time the look did move away from that of the wood variety to a smoother, more "streamlined" spoke.

I learned quite a bit from this thread. For instance, I never knew that Packard, or any other car, was still offering wood as late as 1936, nor that super-balloon tires were ever available. Thanks to all you guys for sharing your knowledge!

Edited June 11, 2014 by nashtwin8 (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

15" balloon tires, just 20 years ahead of public acceptance...