Skip to main content
EVENT TRACKER
Keep track of rescheduled, canceled industry events with our COVID-affected event tracker - Powered by Snap Finance
Close
Sister Publication Links
  • Rubber & Plastics News
  • European Rubber Journal
tb-logo
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • OPINION
    • CORONAVIRUS
    • AUTO INDUSTRY
    • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • FACTORY FIXES
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • INTERNATIONAL
    • MOTOR SPORTS
    • NEW PRODUCTS
    • RETAIL TIRES
    • SERVICE ZONE
    • SEMA/AAPEX
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • A year later, pandemic's full tire industry impact unclear
      Tire Cologne canceled; rescheduled until 2022
      New round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opens
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
    • DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
      Icahn Auto trims fiscal 2020 operating loss despite 14% lower sales
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Sumitomo adds treadwear-detection to 'Sensor Core' toolkit
    • 4 Wheel Parts celebrates 60th anniversary with deals, promotions
      CarAdvise partnering with RepairSmith mobile repair services
      Goodyear to raise prices by up to 8% on all passenger tires on April 1
      Point S posts strongest year ever in sales profit, growth, store growth
    • TRAC Intermodal redirects retread biz 100% in-house
      Giti rolling out range of GT Radial-brand urban/regional truck tires
      Conlan Tire buys BestDrive locations in Ark., Okla., Texas from Continental
      Michelin upgrades 2 lines of Energy-branded truck tires
    • USTMA joins coalition supporting passage of Equality Act
      McMahon's Best-One increases its minimum wage to $15
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Conti recalling 94,000 Conti-, General-, Barum-brand LT/SUV tires
    • Goodyear names Patterson to lead Cooper integration efforts
      DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
      Sentury's 10-year global expansion strategy will include plants in North America, Europe
      Rebound in car tire demand drives USTMA market forecast for 2021
    • DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
      Bridgestone World Solar Challenge canceled due to pandemic restrictions
      Pirelli, Goodyear ink sedan racing series contracts in Canada, Europe
      Goodyear extends partnership with Nürburgring race circuit
    • Giti rolling out range of GT Radial-brand urban/regional truck tires
      Milestar Weatherguard AS710 to be made in Tennessee
      Michelin upgrades 2 lines of Energy-branded truck tires
      Falken revamps winter tire lineup with studless Eurowinter products
    • 4 Wheel Parts celebrates 60th anniversary with deals, promotions
      A year later, pandemic's full tire industry impact unclear
      Milestar Weatherguard AS710 to be made in Tennessee
      New Nexen Tire Garage offers dealers digital resources
    • Pennzoil offering carbon-neutral lubricants for passenger cars
      Washington dealership uses new-school solution for recruiting auto techs
      Marinucci: Customers may ignore dangerous conditions
      Automotive Lift Institute introduces Check360 inspection, label
    • TIA seeking nominations for Tire Industry Hall of Fame
      SEMA survey shows resilient auto aftermarket in 2020
      SEMA scholarships and loan forgiveness now available
      WTC hosting webinar Jan. 20 on load-capacity standards
    • SEMA survey shows resilient auto aftermarket in 2020
      Trade groups oppose minimum wage increase proposal
      New stimulus package fixes PPP loan confusion
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
    • Goodyear names Patterson to lead Cooper integration efforts
      Giti rolling out range of GT Radial-brand urban/regional truck tires
      Milestar Weatherguard AS710 to be made in Tennessee
      New Nexen Tire Garage offers dealers digital resources
    • Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      Stocking Tires for Crossover SUVs
      Sponsored By AppointmentPlus
      Three Important Lessons Learned for the Tire Business During a Pandemic
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
  • SHOP FLOOR
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Video: Balancing Tire
      Safety tips for wheel balancing
      An introduction to wheel balancing
      Wheel weights: Balancing form with function
    • Video: Demounting
      Tire changer types, tips and trends
      How to clear rim rust and corrosion
      An introduction to demounting, mounting and inflation
    • Video: Safety
      Customers
      Considerations for shop safety policies
      Introduction: Creating a culture of safety
    • Video: Tire Repair
      Essential tools, materials and equipment for tire repair
      An introduction to tire repair
      How to properly patch a puncture
    • Video: TMPS Service
      The life-saving work of TPMS
      An introduction to TPMS service
      The importance of proper relearn procedures
    • Video: Training
      Internship ideas to attract tech talent
      Choosing the right auto service tech school
      Intro: Finding and training technicians
    • Video:Vehicle Lifting
      The gravity of proper lift points
      Safety essentials when using jack stands
      An introduction to lifts and lift safety
    • Video: Wheel Torque
      The importance of torque specifications
      Introduction to proper wheel installation
      Torque check and recheck recommendations
  • Multimedia
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PODCASTS
  • Events
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Resources
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
  • Awards
    • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
September 27, 1999 02:00 AM

AMISH WHEEL MAKERS PLY THEIR CRAFT OLD-FASHIONED WAY

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    At one time, wooden wheels ruled the roadways. Before the advent of the pneumatic tire in the late 1800s, travelers relied on wooden wheels for their buggies, carriages and wagons. Today, high-tech, air-filled rubber tires dominate the thoroughfares and provide a smoother, more efficient ride.

    But their simple, wooden predecessors are far from extinct.

    With the second millennium A.D. drawing to a close, wooden wheels continue to find productive use on popcorn wagons, beverage and food vending carts, as well as on wagons, carriages and buggies the Amish rely on for transportation.

    They also provide livelihoods for the craftsmen who build them.

    The largest such manufacturing shop in the world is the Holmes Wheel Shop Inc. in Holmesville, Ohio, an Amish community about an hour southwest of Akron.

    In a light-gray, cinder-block building on a rural country road, 18 mostly bearded Amish men craft wheels from long boards of green hickory.

    They work from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week, with a half hour for lunch and 10-minute breaks in the morning and afternoon. Pay is $10 an hour.

    Paul Stutzman, an Amish man, manages and co-owns the 30-year-old business with partner Ron Clark.

    Because Mr. Clark is Mennonite and does not belong to the Christian Amish sect, he's called ``English'' by the Amish, who favor living plain and simple lives as farmers and craftsman. For religious reasons, the Amish avoid many of today's modern conveniences.

    Mr. Clark's 50-percent ownership allows Holmes Wheel, unlike many Amish businesses, to use electricity to power the shop's saws, lathes, sanders and shapers.

    Although wooden wheels are its mainstay, the firm also makes wooden stirrups, wood mounts for rubber stamps and wooden stakes used by surveyors.

    Holmes Wheel produces between 11,000 and 12,000 wheels annually, said Mr. Stutzman, who lives next door to the business in a neatly kept brick ranch house.

    Some of the company's made-to-order wheels feature rubber treads; others have flat or curved steel bands. Mr. Stutzman said 50 percent of the Amish still use the steel-band versions on their buggies.

    At one time, Goodyear made buggy wheel rubber, said Mr. Stutzman, who buys his rubber treads from Rice-Chadwick Rubber Co. in Killbuck, Ohio.

    If properly cared for, wooden wheels can last 10 to 20 years—even a lifetime, he said. Maintenance requires keeping them painted or varnished to prevent moisture damage.

    Holmes Wheel wholesales locally to buggy dealers and other retailers and also distributes nationally and worldwide. The company recently shipped a big order to Japan.

    The firm's wooden wheels also can be found in such diverse locales as Puerto Rico, Denmark and the British West Indies. Due to the wide variety of applications, the company produces many sizes to meet the needs of its customers.

    For instance, the company makes wheels from 24 to 50 inches in diameter for Disney World's popcorn wagons and beverage carts. Show carts require a 50-inch wheel. Buggies typically require 38- or 42-inch wheels, while those for vending carts run 24 to 30 inches.

    ``There's a lot of business out there for vending wheels,'' said Mr. Stutzman, who estimated this segment makes up 20 percent of Holmes Wheels' sales.

    It takes four man-hours to build four wooden wheels, which retail for $125 each or $500 a set.

    The process begins with hickory boards that are air-dried for eight to 10 months before being cut to the appropriate lengths and widths. Some are used as rims; the rest, for blanks that will be turned into spokes.

    Wood for the rims is placed in a steam oven to make it pliable, then fastened to metal molds. The molds are placed on a huge bender—made by Defiance Machine Works in 1893—and shaped into half rims.

    Holmes Wheel's prior owners, who started the business in 1969, acquired the bender in the late 1960s. It had been used to bend wood at a site along the Ohio River and at one time was powered by a water wheel.

    The half-rims are then dried for two to three weeks in a room heated by steam to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Meanwhile, wheel blanks are turned into spokes on a lathe, then attached to a hub with a rim-setting machine—another Defiance Machine Works relic built in 1903.

    A separate device joins the two rim halves together and inserts the spokes.

    The basic wooden wheels—or "wheel blanks"—are then taken outside where workers heat and expand metal bands on fires stoked with waste hickory wood.

    The wheels either get a steel-band tread or a steel rim, which is then fitted with a rubber tread and are then ready for shipment.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    tb-logo
    Reader Services
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • OPINION
      • CORONAVIRUS
      • AUTO INDUSTRY
      • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • FACTORY FIXES
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • INTERNATIONAL
      • MOTOR SPORTS
      • NEW PRODUCTS
      • RETAIL TIRES
      • SERVICE ZONE
      • SEMA/AAPEX
      • SMALL BUSINESS
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • SHOP FLOOR
      • BALANCING
      • DEMOUNTING
      • SAFETY
      • TIRE REPAIR
      • TPMS
      • TRAINING
      • VEHICLE LIFTING
      • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Multimedia
      • VIDEOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PODCASTS
    • Events
      • ASK THE EXPERT
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • WEBINARS
      • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Resources
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION
    • Awards
      • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award