This is the first step in the process to build a mold for making
the wide whitewall tires for the Futurliner restoration. The
original tires had raised lettering stating "Parade of
Progress" (see below) among other things. From one of the best
original tires we had on hand we are making a mold to make a
1/8" think whitewall which will be bonded to a new set of
tires.
We made a
first pour from the original tire. We decided to do a double pour to
eliminate the possibility of damaging the tire with the hard epoxy
resin. We will pour another silicon from this and then use that mold
to produce the hard tool.
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Here is a close up of one of the tire seals in our
first impression. (About the size of a nickel.) As you can see, it
replicated the seal very well. The white stuff is mold-release. We
put a lot of mold-release on the tire before pouring this stuff on
so we don't damage the tire. Ross at Select Manufacturing Services
was concerned about the clarity of this seal in trying to make a
mold of the face of the tire. This seal has a US in the center and
spelled out around the rim of the seal is: "UNITED STATES
RUBBER COMPANY". These letters are so small that I could not
read them on the tire. As you can see the mold will produce them as
clear as the original tire. If you want to see other products that
Select Manufacturing Services makes look at their web site
www.selecteng.com
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