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Uncorking the big tire bottleneck
CBSmarketwatch ^ | 11-17-2006 | shawn langlois

Posted on 11/17/2006 11:32:37 AM PST by em2vn

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - For those digging and hauling their way through the commodity boom, "naked" and "barefoot" are anything but sexy. The terms refer to monster trucks without tires - a painful sight to companies scrambling to keep pace with soaring demand in the energy, mining and construction industries. For small-time miners, trucks idled on bare axles are losing money by the minute, forcing them to curtail operations during an historic surge in metals prices worldwide. Meanwhile, the tires themselves have become red-hot commodities, fetching tens of thousands of dollars apiece -- even for retreads, in some cases - and creating huge headaches for companies struggling to get their over-sized equipment rolling on the job site. But Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. simply don't have the capacity to build the tires fast enough.

(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: mining; tires; tons
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To: rockinqsranch

I remember that. They repaved the highway in front of my house with a layer of ground-up tires some years ago. It made a springy top layer on the asphalt, but it wasn't durable. They've gone back to regular asphalt, using those giant machines that eat the old pavement, melt it, and deposit the new slurry back on the road, where it's rolled and flattened.


21 posted on 11/17/2006 12:24:30 PM PST by ozzymandus
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To: Fierce Allegiance

"Does your invention look like this:"

It did if it means I'll get royalties.


22 posted on 11/17/2006 12:26:57 PM PST by BadAndy (Speaking truth to wackos)
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To: camle
...decades ago, there was a cartoon on the walt disney show that argued: why not make the roads out of rubber, and the tires out of concrete. the cartoon was hilarious with cars bouncing all over the place!

Rubber roads are very popular in Phoenix right now. Everybody wants one for their noisy neighborhood.

23 posted on 11/17/2006 12:34:50 PM PST by BlazingArizona
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To: rockinqsranch

I wonder how many beers it takes for a guy to tell everyone that he changes those tires all by himself, by hand?


24 posted on 11/17/2006 12:49:49 PM PST by em2vn
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To: RightWhale

The best ideas I've seen are:

A:) for asphalt roads using a fabric underlayment to increase the integrity of the surface

B:) for cement roads using a giant grooving machine to take out waviness and increase traction as a road ages..

Asphalt is recyclable , the scrape/mix in new/re-apply paving technique is really nice.


25 posted on 11/17/2006 1:18:50 PM PST by Neidermeyer
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To: Neidermeyer

It doesn't matter much what you make a road out of if you build it on permafrost. Painting it white will reduce thawing of the permafrost, but the rest of it will do nothing except affect the construction cost. Within a few years there will be holes big enough to take several truckloads of asphalt just to keep the surface passable. You could pave it with 200 ton Baalbek stones and it would still need work within a decade.


26 posted on 11/17/2006 2:59:39 PM PST by RightWhale (RTRA DLQS GSCW)
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To: Ignatz
Why would you want to grind nickel-plated diamonds?

It is a grinding wheel wheel with diamonds as the abrasive - for grinding other extremely hard materials. The diamonds are fused to the rim by a nickle plating. Look at the tile cutter wheels at your hardware store.

Back when Americans made things ..... but that is another thread.

27 posted on 11/17/2006 6:02:18 PM PST by Last Dakotan
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