Recently Martin's were asked to manufacture a set of tyres for a vintage Pram that the owner was restoring. The original white rubber solid tyres had been compression moulded in high volumes back in the days when this was the standard method of producing such items, long before modern injection moulded Buggy wheels became the norm. Whilst Martin's naturally has the facilities to produce a new mould and compound to exactly replicate the original item, this was, understandably, outside the budget available to restore just one Pram. Therefore, the leading edge option of CNC machining a set of tyres from solid rubber billet was suggested to the customer, which provided a method of refurbishing the pram at a fraction of the cost of a moulded item that would also require the necessary tooling. Our machining team like a challenge, and this was certainly one of the more unusual ones, however within a few days the owner of the Pram was back to collect her wheels, complete with refitted, perfectly machined tyres, which will certainly outlast the original items.
Author: Adam Hooper
Date 2 Aug 2011
