MTFCA Forum

We are in an extended drought. Last year we had less than half our usual rainfall. Most crops failed to deliver anything like a decent yield. Stubbles are thin, so for the first time ever we have had to buy hay to feed stock. This year it is yet to rain and the outlook is poor.What has this to do with T's?

A back wheel on my tourer has developed a voice. It talks to me as it goes round and round. This is not an old clunker, but a professionally rebuilt unit with new hickory spokes. I am thinking the extended very dry period has led to this, so I am going to rebuild it while it is at its driest, in the hope that it will be even better when the weather changes and some moisture returns. 102 degrees tomorrow, after a week long build-up, so I might delay starting until later in the week.

Allan from down under.

G’day Allan…. We’re in an extended drought too! If we’re not receiving rain ‘up over’ and you’re not ‘down under’, then who’s getting our rain ??

But to your wheel noise; is it spoke clack, clack clacking ? Were the tenons correct diameter for the felloe ? Or have the spokes dried out to where you need a spoke jack and shims ?

George, they have had way too much rain on the east coast from Cyclone Alfred, but we will see none of that.
4 or 5 spokes are loose at the tenon end. I am not a fan of spoke jacks, as the cut out in the shim to go over the tenon compromises contact between the spoke end and the felloe. I have a different approach which I will photograph as I get into the project so others can see a different method.
Thank you for your interest. I am just waiting on a delivery of 6 hub bolts from Vintage Rims befor I get into it.

Allan from down under.

This may be a dumb answer, but what if you soaked the wheel(s) in water for a couple of hours?

Allan, I don’t know if this would help but would a sealer type product work to prevent the shrinking? A club member several years ago had an issue with clacking spokes at the tendon and used Kwik Poly on the tendons. That’s years & years ago and it’s still working. Best John

It sounds like the wheels are solid just drier than when they were assembled, I would shim them and if you have any wheels that are out of round this is an opportunity to do some adjusting. If they are as dry as they can get you should be good for the life of the wheels. When I shim wheels if it is round, I do 2 spokes, then go 180 degrees, do 2 more ,then 90 degrees, 2 more, then 180 degrees, that will usually get it tight.

Allen : here are some pictures of hoe I do the wheels, when they talked to me [ claking]
Toon

If you don’t disassemble the spokes, I assume when you shim 2 spokes at a time with the U shaped shim that slides onto the tenon, you shim opposing spokes (across from eachother), before revolving the wheel 90 degrees to do two more, then two more, then two more, etc. until all are done. Would a drop of epoxy on each shim be a good idea to prevent them from falling out?

If you get them tight they will stay in place. I use small block Chevy valve shims with a piece removed the width of the tenon, they are .015 and .030 thick, a drop of epoxy couldn't hurt. To John's question about soaking them in water, it will tighten them but when they get tight it crushes the wood fibers and when they dry out again then they are looser then before, the same thing with hammer handles.

This thread reminds me of the NSW country song
‘You Picked a Fine Time To Leave Me Loose Wheels’

The beauty of working with Canadian Kelsey wheels is the double taper on the spoke ends. Not only do they taper as usual to the hub, but they also taper between the backing plate on the hub and the bolt on outer plate. The photo shows one spoke partially tapped down. It is a simple matter to tap down five alternate spokes. Then the other six can be tapped down to meet them. This process is repeated until the hub is free of the spokes. It took me all of 4 minutes to do this. No damage to spokes, no press needed.

Now I have some shots to cut.

Allan from down under.

Oops! Darn autu correct. I have some shims to cut. Anthonie's are really neat.That stamped in flange will help to keep the tenons tight in the felloe too.

Allan from down under.

Back to the task. These shims were hand cut from a metal 4 gallon thinners drum. The brass shim I have was either way too thin or too thick

The crossed cuts were made with a Dremel slitting tool. Once they were done I used a blunt tapered punch to form the four points. These help to centre the tenon in the felloe hole. I will use. Some epoxy around the tenons just as a filler for any small gaps.
hub Allan from down under.

Linseed oil. Much better than water. Only have to soak it once.

Here is the wheel reassembled with the shims in place. They made it too tight to drive the spokes all the way down, so it's off to my mate's workshop to use his power press
My workshop press is not wide enough to take a wheel. Allan from down under