Hey List,
I've looked at the threads on tire chains and I've seen one case where a guy made his own (right here in Colorado) back in 2006. Looks like there was some questions about how hard the cross link chains were?
Has anyone built their own tire chains? and what did it cost compared to buying them?SNIP. Do you guys think I could build them for less from scratch? Any thoughts on where to get the bulk chain?
I'm probably that guy in Colorado. Making your own chains isn't hard, it just depends on how much you enjoy tinkering. I'd say a set is a two evening job. You absolutely have to have a big vise - the bigger the better, a selection of two foot pry bars with pin ends and flat ends both, a big hammer, and a good hacksaw with sharp blades or a big chain nipper. Your first set of chains will pay for all of those tools several times over. That's about it. The idea is to force the malleable iron connecting links apart and reconfigure the set, not to cut anything you don't have to.
BTW, farm stores, tractor stores, and lots of others have chain parts, but you don't save much by buying new bulk chain and making your own. That, the connecting links, and the latches are most of the expense in chain making. It's easier and better and cheaper to re-size old chains.
So if you want to go ahead, the first thing you need is several sets of old chains. They don't have to be serviceable chains. You don't care about the condition because even in worn-out chains the part that doesn't wear are the expensive pieces - those being the four long lengths that go around the tire circumference and have the latches on the end. Best would be to get some big enough that you can shorten; you don't want to bother with the work of lengthening if you don't have to. Although an exception to that might be good old automotive chains that are so dirt cheap that it might be worthwhile. For chains for big tires, Public Service maintenance garages and tractor repair shops often have used sets of truck or tractor chains they would like to get rid of. Often for scrap price or nothing.
You can clean them up by dragging them down a dirt road for a few miles.
Chains sets aren't welded together, they are a bunch of small sections of chain clipped together with malleable iron links that you can easily force apart and reuse dozens of times. You'll see how when you look at a set. Even in badly worn chains all that is required is to replace the cross sections, cut the long side sections to length and remount the latches. I like to make a cross or X patten for the cross pieces. That keeps them from falling into the tractor tire lugs, but frankly they work OK even if they are straight across.
You will find that the overall length for the chain set is not a simple given measurement. One set of chains will fit a variety of tire sizes because different width tires allow the crossing pieces to wrap around more or less of the tire and that ends up affecting how long the side pieces of the chain will be.
NOTE: if you make the cross pieces real long they will wrap so far around the tire that the side pieces can be very short....Those make beautifully 3-D basket shaped chains, but are nearly impossible to get on and off. Keep it simple. Make them simple and too long, fit them up, then shorten them to fit. The cross pieces near the latches often end up not matching the rest of the cross pieces when you do this but it doesn't matter.
Hint: Make the chains out of lighter chain than you think you need. They aren't going to break unless you have a 100 hp loader tractor. Road-going dump truck chains are way heavier than you need. Think automotive size for 40 hp and smaller tractors. You don't need aggressive cross pieces with welded lugs and weird teeth. The chains are more than enough. You don't want so much traction that you end up breaking expensive tractor drive shafts or worse.
Some more hints: As you reassemble the chain set, make it so the ends of the connecting links face away from the tire. No sense in having those sharper ends eating away at the tire rubber. Same for the latches; keep the tongue and any cotter pins away from the rubber.
Latches come in a bewildering variety of types. Some are over center types and others have a type of locking slider. I detest having to crank hard to latch chains. A good set of latches on a well fit up set of chains don't require any cranking down at all. But if they have to be cranked on the first time they will probably stretch enough to be easy next time. Plus you now know how to adjust them. Some of the best latches I found are on older chain sets where the latches were made of rounded metal instead of being stamped steel. I often put a twist of safety wire on the latches at the start of winter so they CANNOT unlatch while turning. You don't want to get slapped by a loose chain while running down the road. I am religious about safety wiring the latches when I had to crank hard to close the latches. Because I know the chains are going to loosen up in service and often darn quickly. BTW, the mounting direction doesn't seem to matter.
I use very light chains on the front of my little 4WD tractor. They are quick to put on by lifting the front wheels with the loader. After making them I realized that they were excessively loose and sloppy and I worrkied about them hitting the drive axle pieces which are close on the inside of the front wheels. So after putting them on I stretch one of those rubber "spiders" on the outer face of the chain and that keeps them happy. Amazing how long those rubber spiders last. Years.
Oh, you asked about how hard the metal of the cross pieces has to be. It doesn't. Soft iron is fine; might even be better. Tires aren't all that hard, and you want to protect the tire.
Good luck and let me know if you have questions.
enjoy! rScotty
I had very strong hands when I was done. I just let them go with a Suzuki SJ I had them on; after 15 years they did not show any wear but I did not run them on pavement or gravel, just snow and mud.
