Wood for binder rollers?

Richard Hare · Feb 20, 2012

Hi guys, me again.

Got to the bit where I need to make rollers for my McCormick-Deering binder.
I tried turning one out of good dry larch,(Tamarak) and it is tough, one from a spruce fence-post, and it had some cracks in it, so it was a kind of experiment, and today, I tried turning one from a dry dead old aspen poplar!
The poplar turned very nicely, but here"s my Q;
Is poplar OK for this sort of thing??
It sure made a nice looking roller, but looks ain"t everything!
Only 2 of the original 7 are any good, so any help re. what wood to use would be great.

Should add that here in the west we"re awful short of hard-wood....

Thanks in advance!

R.

Kevin Happke · Feb 20, 2012

I would recommend doug fir or hickory....that is also what the local amish use for repairs

Kevin Happke · Feb 20, 2012

Hello, Are you looking for canvases too? Did you ever find any wheel bearing? Do you need any part for your binder, I have some new old stock McCormick Deering parts

Richard Hare · Feb 20, 2012

Good evening Kevin,
Yes, I'm also looking for canvases.

I got some bearings from a chap on the forum here, and they are a great fit but slightly shorter than the originals, so may need a bushing as well.
I have just been given the name of a gent who has new bearings as well.
It's great news that you have some new old stock!
Is it best to send you a PM or E-mail?

Thanks for the tip on the wood, might be able to find some fir at a bigger lumber store here, (4X4 should make all the rollers allright)

Thanks again,
R.

jackinok · Feb 21, 2012

hickory or maple might be best but it would be expensive probably.red oak might be good and easy to find, though you probably would have to laminate it.Before i used aspen i would use elm myself ,but if i had my druthers of a local wood,i would find some locust. it will last a whole lot longer if your machine is stored outside,and in fact is one of the best woods as far a weatherability goes. if you could find some straight pieces of bodark (osage orange) it probably would be good also.any of the yellow pines would be stronger than aspen i would think.

Bret4207 · Feb 21, 2012

Hickory or Ash, and I'd seal it with the most effective sealer I could find.

formerly ny bill · Feb 21, 2012

i'm curious- what diameter and length are the rollers? i had a big old hickory tree blow down last summer. it isn't compleetly turned into firewood yet, but i don't know if there is anything left in the limbs of a proper size.

Richard Hare · Feb 21, 2012

Thanks for all the answers!
Jack,

Here in Western Canada, it seems awful hard to find any hardwoods in decent sized pieces.
No elms around here, no locust, no Osage Orange.
No ash, no hickory. I've been to 3 lumber yards and can't find anything yet in 3X3 or 4X4 x 48"
We have some pines, larch, and poplar on the farm.
I will go into the city to a big lumber yard, and see what I can find. Maybe they will have something thicker than 2"!

I'll forget about the poplar, unless I'm Really stuck!

Richard Hare · Feb 21, 2012

Ny Bill,

Rollers need to be 42 -48 inches roughly, and vary from 2 1/4" to 3 5/8" in diameter, but I live a bit far away for it to be practical to send some.
Thank you very much for thinking about it though!

All the best,
Richard.

jackinok · Feb 22, 2012

i doubt you will find much hard wood at a lumber yard in a 4x4 unless you laminate one up.ive never seen it here as i recall.Check around and see if theres a swamill around you somewhere and buy it rough sawn is what i would do.Might even try ash.

Chester5731 · Feb 22, 2012

Call Norm Macknair at (717)543-5136. He will have about any part imaginable for that old binder. His prices are very fair also.

Richard Hare · Feb 22, 2012

Hi Chester,

I emailed Norm last year, and he said he had some rollers, but seemed worried about sending stuff up into Canada.
In the last couple of months I've emailed Norm a few times and got no replies, so presume he doesn't want to ship up here.
Pity, as he has lots of stuff, inc. Canvasses!

Best,
Richard.

JDseller · Feb 26, 2012

The poplar and aspen are both soft wood and will not hold your shafts very well. Most of the orginals where hard maple. Here in North-east Iowa it is hard to fine good hard maple. I have just taken some hard maple boards that I bought at one of the big box stores and glued them together. They keep them for cabinet trim.

Where you are located there are not many hard wood trees growing there. You need to find a supply of harder wood. Just about any hard wood will work if it is seasoned.

Richard Hare · Feb 27, 2012

Thanks for the advice, JD.
I will ask around for some maple or whatever.
I Think the tamarac Might work, as it is heavy and hard, even if a soft wood.
Still It will be an experiment, and if something better turns up I'll certainly use it.
Ther's quite a bit of pulling apart to replace the rollers, so no use doing it twice if once will do!

Thanks again,

Richard.

smallercrawler · Mar 5, 2012

Richard, any chance of getting a heavy piece of structural timber from a demolished grain elevator, loading dock, or the railroad (maybe a cut down sleeper)? Good luck!

Anonymous-0 · Mar 6, 2012

Hi Richard:

How far west?

PaMmb

Richard Hare · Mar 6, 2012

Hi Smallercrawler,

I have thought about salvaged wood, as there should be some good wood there, (from elevators or such) but don't know of anything at present.

We are a long way of any seaside docks as well.

Are you from the UK?
I ask as you call them railway sleepers, and I thought we only called them by that name back home! (I'm from Yorkshire.)

Thanks very much for the interest.

Richard.

PS,
A local lumber -yard could get me maple, 8" x 4" and 8 -10 feet long, but it was going to cost $320 plus change....better than $80.00 a roller!

Richard Hare · Mar 11, 2012

PaMmb,

I live in Western Alberta, Canada.
Thank you for asking.

All the best,

Richard.

Wood for binder rollers?

Richard Hare

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Kevin Happke

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jackinok

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Bret4207

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formerly ny bill

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Richard Hare

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