Just ended up with a few hundred old 15" and 16" wheels. Sadly most have old bias ply tires on them that my tire machine is having a tough time dismounting no matter how much tire lube I use. 1 out of 3 will come off but the other 2 are a bugger. Sawzall? 7" cut off wheel? Open to suggestions.
Are we saving the rim? If no, then i cut the rim with a plasma cutter, i don't even worry about the tire itself. If yes, then i take a sawzall to the tire if my tire machine doesn't do the trick.
A few hundred? Damn, that's gonna be a task. Last year I got a really nice set of V12 Lincoln 15" steel wheels with tires on them that I just could not get off. Beads broke fine, but I couldn't get the bead over the lip of the rim, it felt like I was going to bend the rim. I drilled a big hole in each side wall with a spade drill, stuck my sawzall in there and cut the majority of the tire off, then cut the loose bead in half with a cutoff wheel. I've cut tires in half with a sawzall to remove them before, but the blade can sometimes beat up the wheel a bit and these were too nice to risk. For that number of wheels though, my method would take weeks. I'm curious to see if anyone else has a faster way.
Sawzall won’t generate the heat , smoke and stink of a grinder . Milwaukee has these ultra heavy duty demo blades work great . if your just trying to get the tire off the rim and scrapping the rim , hydraulic log splitter works freaking amazing !!!
Have over 100 at the shop now with 2 huge piles to still go through. Radial tires peel off easy. It's the bias plies that suck. Only taking the 15-16" wheels. Getting rid of that many tires makes me question my financial sanity,lol
Try wd40, oil, diesel... just about any kind of petroleum product that will react with rubber should help break the bead. If you just need the tires off to save room, a sharp utility knife can cut through the sidewall with ease if the sidewalls are still rubbery. I'd use a jigsaw over a sawzall, better control and lazy work.
I hear ya there, I've adopted a shit-ton of steel wheels over the years, and I brought a few more home from my late buddy's estate a few weeks ago. I gotta dismount them and pay 5 bucks a tire to get rid of the skins, but I just couldn't bear to let some solid 50's 15" wheels get junked.
Try a sharp carpet knife cut side wall around just above bead. Both sides remove tire peal bead off wheel done deal.
@carpok beat me to it. As long as they’re bias ply you can use a utility knife and cut circumferentially through the sidewalk on both sides. This will free up the beads and allow them to slide into the drop center. Two tire irons, up and over the rim flange with some lube and you’re done. We did many that way when I was in the tire biz.
Just want to say, thanks for saving the old wheels. I'm trying to track down older stuff and it's not easy. I'll also mention that when you sort and stack them, mark them too. Went through a yard in the heat and stuff was strewn everywhere and it sucks to try to find the right bolt pattern, then pairs.
I use a chain saw. take about a 10" chunk out, like taking a bite out of a donut. Cut along the rim as close as your skill will allow, then cutting torch the bead after its exposed. Its stinky, but faster than a grinder which stinks too. multiple blasts will blow /burn off the rubber to get you to the steel bead. you will have it on fire, which you blow out by hitting the oxy trigger, then cut again. water bottle for sissy's, but a blast of oxy will delay the fire enough to get the bead cut. Done many.
I mark them with diameter width and bolt pattern. Setting them in my racking they are also sorted by brand...Ford GM and Mopar. I sorta kinda hate leaving the 14" wheels behind but there doesn't seem to be enough of a market for them
When i moved from the city to rural TIEL 35 years ago i discovered a few small one-man scrapyards that netted me loads of 13 inch and 14 inch aluminium wheels that had since become a rage for late 60s early 70s sporty cars . Minilites galore for Opel Manta, Ford Escort/Capri, BMW . All dirt cheap scrap price. I removed all the tyres myself with a old antique hand operated thingamajig. So how to get rid of all the tyres. I found a big scrapper who was happy to take them all and guess why. They went straight into a 40 ft sea container that once full would go to some African country. Now to make the story even better these wheels sold as sets of 4 for a average of 200 a set. btw, the tyres all came of, i still get a few tough ones on vintage 15 or 16 inch and then it,s the knife and cutting wheel. With a knife keep your other hand out of the way of a stray knife and as someone said, thick gloves just in case.
Here, you can put tires in a dumpster if they are cut into quarters. No limit (as far as I know) and no cost. You might check to see if there is a company near you that recycles tires for use in repaving roads. They would probably take the tires off your hands for free.
Only did it once. I used a hole saw to cut a hole through the sidewall, next to the rim. Broke the bead, then used bolt cutters to gnaw through the bead wire. Was easy peasy and didn't stink up the neighbor hood.
^^^^^ I did the drill and sawlzall thing to 4 ATV tires. Solid 1/2 day of work. Never thought of @Doublepumper ’s method, now I’m thinking of lost time when I was younger !
A buddy pretty much ruined a nice pair of (my) Wiss snips cutting thru a motorcycle tire bead because he did not understand about the drop center in the wheel. Plus some m'cycle tires are so small and stiff they are tough to pry/ tire iron. Might have been bulldog snips, or might not. Ever since I've been too skeered to cut bead wire., But never really had to.
The slice the tread and bolt cutter the bead area works pretty good. But I'm getting tired these days so they go to the young guy down the street with a Coats tire machine in his garage. $5 bucks each to dismount is worth every penny.
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