Fixing A Wheel

[mainline]

Ji, as informative as these posts are, for some reason my eyes constantly wander off the text and veer left

[Ji Gantor]

Hi mainline,
Sorry.


Ji

[mainline]

no apology necessary, I wasn't complaining

[Ji Gantor]

Hi mainline,
I have been asked to remove my last avatar.
She will not be coming back as you requested.
I understand that you did not complain.
My apology was for those that found it offensive.

Ji

[Hornet]

Does that mean , I can use it again ?

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Hornet,
It is so good to see you back.
This forum is now a brigther place.
The avatar that you borrowed off me is not the one that has been sanctioned.
So, sure please use it as much as you like.

Ji

[Hornet]

Lets hope no one on the balcony gets offended     LOL

[Hornet]

Back to the nipples , I watched my mechanic using a torque wrench and a little lube  to twist them gently .

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Hornet,
Yes, there is a white grease that Pro wheel builders use during lacing.
There is a torque wrench available for setting the nipples up.
They are made in the States and don't cost all that much.
If you over tighten your nipples you will get a flat spot on the rim or your rim will not be centred on the hub.
When building a wheel the rim is centred on the hub and then the rim is trued. The next process is to torque up the nipples, this is done slowly by a quarter turn on each nipple all round the wheel on both sides. When you reach the beginning again if the nipples are still not torqued up you have to repeat until they are right. The oil or grease removes most of the friction so a true torque reading can be made.
Your mechanic sounds like a great guy for working your nipples gently and using lube.
As I said they strip out so easily, and I don't mean the thread I mean the four straight sides that you place the spanner on.


Ji

[Hornet]

dont tell me about it 

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Hornet,
Cool.

Ji

[Freakshow]

I know of shops and guys who buy blank spokes and make there own so you must be able to cut a thread ?

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Freakshow,
From discussions with John Titman and other wheel builders the thread is pressed into the spoke. There is a commercial threader that costs about $5000.00 but again from my understanding it presses the threads in. The threads on my 9g 3.6mm spokes are 40tpi and the only die that I have found available is a Whitworth 1/8" 40tpi but 1/8 is 3.175mm so the die will not fit onto the spoke.

Please give your guys at the shop a call and lets all see what they do. I hope there is an easy and cheap  way to thread a spoke.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

A good way to remember how the spoke pattern was on the wheel before removing the spokes is by placing A4 sheets of paper in between the layers of spokes and take a photo.

On side or drum brake side. Also mark where the valve stem and rim lock holes are in the rim.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

Off side or non drum brake side.

Ji