OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: E74 on June 29, 2008, 10:47:03 am
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I bought a wheel truing stand from Walter and it has been sitting on the bench for some time, I am a Fitter Machinist by trade and i was thinking surely it couldn't be that hard but have always been a little hesitant, I found this and now I am more confident i can do this, if nothing else its a great read.
http://micksmx.com/resources/SPOKE%2BWHEEL%2BBUILDING.doc
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You are right E74 , its not that hard . I only got into it 10 years ago, because I paid " experts " only to get bad results. The Key is ,to make sure the holes line up 100% and the spokes are relaxed when tightened up. When you have to readjust 2-3 times after use , that indicates it was not built correct in the first place. There are two categories of wheelbuilding . a) replacing existing spokes to old rim or correct drilled new rim. ( anyone can do that , just remember spokes work in lots of 4) b) build a new wheel from scratch with no spokes to copy . That is a bit harder , as you have to make new spokes to the right lenght and drill the wholes to line up with the hub. . ( especially when the hub is offset) For that you need a maschine that holds the rim and also holds the hub in position.As far as I know there are only 3 of those maschines in Australia. Les from Mainly Maico is getting the fourth one soon. Since 90% of all wheels should fall in the first category ,I believe , I am cofident most handy people can do a good job themselfs . Make a pic or drawing before you pull down the old wheel , measure the offset ( if applicable) , layout the spokes in groups of 4 and loosely tighten up all spokes equal. Then use a universal trueing jig. ( only around $300 or you can make your own out of a swingarm , if you only do one type of wheel) When you get good at it a wheel should only take 30 minutes to do . But be prepared to spend a couple of hours for the first one ;D ;D ;D
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I posted that a copy of 'Model Engineers Workshop' had the perfect wheel jig.Made from a few bits of rollers on threaded rod, some key steel the axle arbour and an mdf base. If anyone wants a scan of the article they are welcome.
http://ozvmx.com/community/index.php?topic=433.0