watching the fire heating the tire in anticipation of slipping the wheel inside.
There are several modern ways of determining the correct temperature but for nostalgia sake, we placed a slug of babbit on the tire and waited until it liquefied — about 500F — and watched the color of the metal change from shiny silver to light straw to dark straw.
Once the tire reaches the correct temperature, the axle/wheel assembly is lowered into the tire, the fire is switched off, and we wait for the fitted tire to cool.
