How can you narrow/cut down the width of traction tires to fit into narrower grooves on old Williams and Weaver brass locos???? Nothing stock size from MTH or Lionel will fit in the grooves. More Help Welcome here.
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Funny, me and my buddies were just discussing this morning …..
take a MTH tire and stretch it over a socket, then take masking tape and tape it off down the middle ….slice along the tape with a super sharp razor knife, and voila!,….two thin tires from one….😉
Pat
I'm thinking you could stretch it over a small sanding drum than then rotate it in a drill. Just bring your X-acto knife down and trim to size. A set of Forstner bits would be really good for the job.
Thanks, I will give that one a try. I have needed traction tires for the many Williams/Weaver locos in the collection for years and have come up mostly dry until now. Great suggestion....Greendog
John, I have also thought about wrapping it around a wooden dowel, chucking it into a lathe and making a holder for a scalpel blade to make the cuts. Thanks for your idea, I appreciate all you try to do on this site.
@Greendog posted:I appreciate all you try to do on this site.
Thanks, sometimes I even succeed. 
I just spotted the box of Forstner bit since I was punching a hole in my fascia, and it occurred to me that I had set of round bits of the right diameter. I frequently need old 3rd Rail, Williams, and Weaver brass tires, I think I'll have to take a stab at creating a few.
I like Pat's idea with the socket.
BTW, has anyone had any success with filling the groove with silicone and trimming to fit?
The method I’ve always used is take an MTH tire, stretch over the grooved wheel on the locomotive. Then carefully line up one edge of the tire evenly with an edge of the groove. Use a sharp Exacto blade to trim the tire using the other edge of the groove as a guide.
I have been 3D printing my own:
https://ogrforum.com/...d-tpu-traction-tires
I am in the early experimentation stage but so far I have 4 hours on the set I made for a High Iron K4. This engine showed up without tires and couldn’t pull anything at all. I’ve never had any luck slicing or stretching tires and they are getting a bit hard to find, especially if you run brass.
This is interesting; like most of us, I hate TTs, but as long as we're stuck with them, any new and perhaps better material could be significant as old stocks run out. Very cool... 👍
Mark in Oregon
I stretch it over a wheel against the flange, then put the wheel in my lathe turning at a slow RPM and hold a scalpel against the tire. Makes for a pretty straight cut.
Another option if you need a tire maybe 30% thinner is use smaller diameter tires. Stretching them over the groove will reduce the width as well.
Pete
