Where can I buy a rubber wheel ~1/2" wide x 1 - 1.5" tall

August 7, 2018 2:56 PM

Not quite sure why this has been so hard to find but I'm looking for a wheel that is ~1/2" wide, height not as important but perhaps 1.5" tall. Every one I find online seems to be much wider...
posted by zeoslap to Shopping (14 answers total)

Depends on how much "~" you're able to have, but McMaster-Carr has 3/4" wide x 1 5/8" diameter.

Maybe a hobby store would have something smaller? It's harder to sort/filter on Hobby Town but there seems to be a wider selection of smaller wheels there.
posted by mustardayonnaise at 3:13 PM on August 7, 2018

Are you looking for just a wheel, or a caster unit? I bought some casters from CabinetParts when I had trouble finding any small enough elsewhere, and they've worked well. I don't think they have a search by width (height was my big problem) but do list all dimensions.
posted by asperity at 3:15 PM on August 7, 2018

Those dimensions almost exactly match a "pinball machine rebound rubber". You can buy these lots of different places, and in different colors. They are fairly resiliient, but won't hold up ourdoors very well. At $2 a pop, you can replace pretty often though.
posted by cosmicbandito at 3:32 PM on August 7, 2018

To clarify: are you looking for a rubber disc with a hole in the middle, or are you looking for something that has a rubber tread and a centre bearing designed to support rotation under load? If the latter, how much load and how much rotation?
posted by flabdablet at 7:26 PM on August 7, 2018

Response by poster: So I'm going to be building something similar to this which has thin wheels in the base. I'd just need the wheel itself.
posted by zeoslap at 9:43 PM on August 7, 2018

Response by poster: @flabdablet load bearing - and I'd estimate 75lb +, wheel for a media cabinet
posted by zeoslap at 9:47 PM on August 7, 2018

Response by poster: @cosmicbandito - that's pretty close, wonder if I could enlarge the hole and insert a bearing...
posted by zeoslap at 9:48 PM on August 7, 2018

Best answer: You might be better off basing your design on industrial ball bearings, which are available in all kinds of diameters and thicknesses, and adding a non-scratch surface around them with some large heatshrink tubing. They'd easily handle the load and roll nice and smoothly, and if you got sealed types they should be suitably dust bunny resistant.
posted by flabdablet at 10:17 PM on August 7, 2018

Perhaps these bearings wrapped in a couple of layers of this tubing? Should run nicely on 15mm wooden dowel axles.
posted by flabdablet at 10:33 PM on August 7, 2018

These 15x35x11mm roller skate bearings have rubber seals, which would give you somewhat better dust protection than metal shields.
posted by flabdablet at 10:39 PM on August 7, 2018

Best answer: Lego have quite a few rubber tyre dimensions, maybe one of them will fit a bearing that's right for you?
posted by Harald74 at 1:26 AM on August 8, 2018

Response by poster: Directly using bearings is a great idea! As is using Lego tires with them. Appreciate you guys thinking outside the box. Odd that there isn't a readily available option out there though.

Thanks :)
posted by zeoslap at 4:40 AM on August 8, 2018

Response by poster: Bearing with tire was the magic search term.

Perfect thanks :)
posted by zeoslap at 5:20 AM on August 8, 2018

Best answer: The 8mm width of that tyre is only 5/16". That's a pretty small footprint to put 75lb on; I'd worry about denting my flooring. This one might be marginally better at 11mm (7/16") wide and it has rubber seals as well.
posted by flabdablet at 12:14 PM on August 8, 2018