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Rim shrinker

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The machine shown on the left is a wheel shrinker. The rim would be placed in it and the lever would be worked. This compressed the steel making the rim marginally smaller than the wheel itself. It also put a curve across the rim (ie. made the center higher tthan the edges. Once this process was accomplished, a fire would be started in a pit that was for that purpose. The rim would be placed in the fire to heat. This caused it to expand until it was of a size to fit easily onto the wheel. As it cooled, it shrank back down to a size smaller than the wheel. This made a virtually inseperable fit without damaging the integrity of the wheel with nails or bolts.