I was told when I bought them that they were ex NZ . They are from a Marshall 'round pin ' engine , probably 1890's . The spokes still carried the name of the makers in the Black Country , and the BB , I think , stamp for the grade of wrought iron . When adapting them the quality of the hub castings was rather questionable , containing sand and water , and voids . The centres for the driving pins had to be altered , and an eccentric bush had to be fitted to one of them to bring the middle into the centre . These early Marshall wheels never carried hub caps .
The front wheel centres , which I bought ready butchered , were from the water cart supplied with the Allen Bros ploughing set . They needed rebushing , and that was a job not without problems . The old chilled iron bush was fitted into a taper of about 1/16 in 7" . I had to drill them length wise through the wall , and then split them down their length with a bolster chisel . Only then was the taper on the outside of the bush revealed . At the critical moment my local dump had provided me with a long enough drill .
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