Tire Chains DIY

[BCMac]

I have a Massey 35 I have been using for plowing snow. But I need chains. I have access to a lot of chain for nothing so I was looking at fabricating my own from that.

I've seen calculations to determine chain dimensions, but his far they don't make a lot of sense to me. Anyone know the actual dimensions in inches of chains for 14.9-24 tire?

 

[MMagis]

Measure the circumference of your tires with a piece of rope.
Something tells me that about halfway through, the price of a new set of chains is going to sound like a bargain.

 

[MEMEMEME]

I've been having the same thought as you, BCMac-have about 3 buckets full of chain including a set of 3-rail truck chains which will probably be pretty close to the right length. Still trying to decide if I'll be better off cutting and welding the crosslinks or using quicklinks...just happen to have a few dozen of them I picked up for cheap awhile back. Keep me posted on what you do and I will do the same. Won't get a chance to work on 'em for at least another week, hoping to get the last of my dirt work done before freezeup this weekend...

 

[ovrszd]

If you want them to truly be effective you must build "2 link" chains. That means a crossbar every other side link. "4 link" chains have a crossbar every fourth side link. They don't work anywhere nearly as good. Especially on tractor tires where the crossbars will work themselves down between the tire lugs.

Something you might investigate. Go to the local road maintenance people. Not sure whether your rural roads are taken care of by County or Township. Anyway, their graders will most likely run 14x24 tires. When their chains wear down to the point they are breaking crossbars they replace them. Might get lucky and buy some used ones very cheap. Or even better, you might get luckier and find an entity that has upgraded to 17.5x25 tired machines and have a pile of non useable 14x24 chains out back.

 

[George2615]

I bought my chains on closeout at TSC. They didn't have my size but did have larger tire size so I bought them and cut to length.
I was going to make my own buy buying the side chain and cross links separately but would have cost more than the close out price.
If I had access to free chain I'd have made my own too.

 

[Rustywreck]

As I recall, the circular part of the chains on my tractor are fairly close to the circumference of the wheel. If you measure the radius of the wheel (from the center of the wheel to the edge of the rim, then enter that distance into this calculator it will give you the circumference of the wheel. You could also measure from the center of the wheel out to the point where you want the chains to ride around the tire and enter that number. Either way, I'd allow a couple extra inches for loosening or tightening.

 

[PILOON]

They sell a special tool to fab/repair chains.
One function is to spread the hooks and the other to close the hooks.
Mine has about 30" handles and works great.
They sort of resemble bolt cutters and makes chain fabrication and repairs a joy.

As said you want the crosses every 3rd link for max performance and a nice ride.
Mine are studded ice cross links and simply awesome.

 

[ovrszd]

Crossbars should be put on in even number increments on the side chains. This allows the side chains to stay "straight". If you fasten the crossbar to the wrong side link it will cause the side chains to operate under a twist. Not good.

This isn't a great picture, but if you zoom in on the chained tires you can see that the crossbars are each fastened to a side link that allows tension without twisting the chain. If they were periodically fastened to one of the other side links the chains would be constantly twisting. These chains are what's referred to as 2 link chains, meaning a crossbar on every 2nd side link.

 

[mwb]

I made a set of cheapy chains using only clevises. With trial and error I created a pattern where a single continuous length of chain would work. Advantage of this is you don't have to cut, weld, etc and if you change your mind, just remove the clevises and you have a full chain back! Keep in mind you do need a few clevises to make this work but is easy to assemble.

This pattern also creates angled cross-links so you get a smoother ride. Just add clevis or other (hammerlink) at the spaces in the pic below.