Repair Wheel Lining With Cork (recycled)

Hi Dear Reader,

The aim of this instructable is to repair a small wheel worn lining (from a foldable sofa in my case) using recycle wine cork. Cork is an amazing multi-purpose natural material and it is convenient for a wheel lining (it does not make sound when rolling and it absorbs shock)

As stated on wikipedia the idea is not new, as it was already use in ancient Greece in footwear :

In ancient Greece (1600 to 1100 years BC) cork was used in footwear, to manufacture a type of sandals attached to the foot by straps, generally leather and with a sole in cork or leather.

So, let's see how to proceed !

• One Cork
• One Cutter
• Cyanoacrylate glue
• Gloves (to protect hand from sharpness of the blade and stickiness of the glue)
• Patience (as always)

Dispose the cork on your workbench for slicing operation (in the image : my desk protected by a sheet of plywood)

Carefully begin to slice the cork. I made 2-3 mm thick slice trying to be as much as possible repeatable in the process.

Take a moment to admire the raw material just being created ;)

From this steps, you can actually use it for a lot of various application, remember cork is marvelous :

• low density (lightweight),
• impermeable buoyant,
• natural fire retardant,
• thermal properties,
• acoustic properties,
• etc ...

A step closer to the final lining, the slice width is ~0.4 inch.

Prepare yourself to the process of bending cork. I made the test on a scotch tape with an elastic to maintain pieces in place. This process is to be repeated on the real wheel.

Et voilà !

I glue the slices using cyanoacrylate, be carefull when applying (keep gloves).

Hope it'll be useful,

Thanks for reading, see you.