antique iron farm equipment wheel, with a twist

The same Sister-in-law that gave me the quarantine sign happens to live on a farm. During the same recent visit and in addition to the standard belly full of good authentic "southern home cooking" that comes along with such family gatherings, I also took the opportunity to spend some time (while everybody else was playing cards inside) to just wander around outside for awhile, up and down the road and around back in the pasture and wherever, simply enjoying the general peace and solitude (and cows and yardbirds, even a couple ducks) of 'the country', while also exploring anything that caught my eye. I've already shown pics here of the hulk of an old Chevy pickup that's out there, after checking it out again I wandered towards a little pile/collection of rusty bits of long decrepit farm implements over in another corner. A couple of plow-like things, parts of a mower, a seed planter thing maybe (I don't know for sure, it had the name OLIVER cast into its frame) and a few random other bits and chunks of related sorts of rusty iron.

As many folks here are already aware, I'll readily admit to having a certain fondness for random bits of rusty iron, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I noticed one or two specific things in that pile that intrigued me...? <LOL> And when I finally wandered back in the house, I (naturally) asked Sis if I could give her a $20bill for thing #1, which was actually a loose part in the pile thus all I'd havta do is grab it and toss it in the truck. She wasn't sure what thing it was so went back outside with me to look, and turns out she didn't want to get rid of that piece of whatever it was. While we were talking I pointed out my thing #2 -- the wheel shown here -- and remarked I'd love to have *that* too, except that it is still bolted onto a much larger thing, the first two pics here. Her reply was basically "oh, I'll never use that, you could have it if you can get it off of the rest of it?..." And we both laughed while starting back towards the house, but I (mostly jokingly) reminded her that I carry tools in my truck, so I could *try*? ;-)

And I did, and MUCH to my surprise (using only a big wrench and a pair of vise grips) pic 3 is where that iron wheel ended up about half an hour later, in the back of my truck for its ride home. Turns out the two big bolts holding its long already broken hub part came right loose, and it was actually amazingly *easy* to undo it all and pull the whole wheel right off the rest. Pic 4 is the hub assembly seen closer that also shows how way-bent-up all the spokes are, it has the number D F480A cast into it which is its only marking.

When I went back into the house, I handed Sis $25. She asked "what's this for?" I said "you told me I could have that wheel for 20 bucks, but I liked it more once I got it loose." Her look of surprise was genuinely amusing when she sorta exclaimed "wait, what, you mean you really *did* get that thing apart??" <LOLOL>

It is about 30" across, nicely heavy, and for the record I still don't really know what the thing it was part of is (was) or what company would have made it or how long ago -- much less what presumably unfortunate event happened to that thing (and when and how) to get its wheel bent up so thoroughly -- but I DO really LIKE its current shape and condition...a little old and bent and twisted, kinda just like ME, mebbe...??? :-) :-) ;-)