Ok, I’m looking for something odd again. A way to re-purpose something for a use that it was never intended for. I’m looking for rubber in a strip, or a tile, 14” by about 3. I’m thinking ¼ or 3/8 thick. Then I want to carve tire tread into it with a sipping tool or similar. I have one of these http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10198029/ and want to replace the cork with something that looks like tire tread. Any ideas?
I have a real tire you can cut up. I can throw it in your open air cube if you want.
garage floor decking? Rubber tile like they use at hockey arenas?
Grainger will have what you need
http://www.grainger.com/category/rubber-sheets-and-strips/rubber/raw-materials/ecatalog/N-c1z
Logdog: i thunked about a real tire, but too thick and curved.
That granger link looks promissing.
Any ideas on carving treat into antire if you dont have a proper sipping tool?
tractor supply sells 1/4" and 3/8" thick rubber mat by the foot.
what about something like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Self-Adhesive-Rubber-Safety-Tread/dp/B006ZN7VWG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393269301&sr=8-2&keywords=rubber+tread
I have a knobby knife that I use to keep the tread sharp on my dirt bike. It should be able to cut the pattern you want if you are careful.
A retread from a truck tire?
A short run up and down any interstate is gonna offer up a thrown semi-rig tire tread. With the bigger tire, the curvature is less at the outside. Once the tire tread is off of the tire it'll probably return to flat with a heat gun. Seriously, way better and easier than grooving a chunk of rubber on your own.
Maybe . . . ?
Back in grade school we did an art project where we used a gouge tool to create 'art' into a rubber square. Check the local arts/crafts store near the rubber stamp supplies. They might even have the rubber material in black too.
In reply to RossD:
We did that too. Saw some blood on that project .
You could buy a stable mat and find a use for the remaining 6'x4' mat
For that project a pair of sharp scissors and a mountain bike tire should have you set. Any bike shop will give you a tire with a hole in it for free.
It's called rainbow and every plumber has some on his truck for making gaskets out of. Usually it's red. Standard sheet is 12X12, but you can get it in rolls as well.
Sounds like some used rubber conveyer belt is what you need. I'd check with local businesses or any type of manufacturer that utilized plied rubber belts. The belts have a finite service life and get replaced regularly. They usually throw away or recycle the old belts.
My dad has worked for a paper mill for 42 years. He brought home tons of that stuff. It makes great floor mats for the garage. He even made mudflaps for his Super Duty from a chunk of used belt.
I have the red stuff, I used it extensively making my veggie oil filter still. I'd like it to be twice that thick, and black. The other issue is, carving the stuff so it looks nice. If I can't figure it out, I'm just going to go with diamond plate.
I'll post pics.
I was going to ask about diamond plate since I know what you are going for. I have a bunch of scraps of aluminum diamond plate if you need some. It will need polished but it would look nice in there.
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