Banded Steel Wheels
Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 2:38 pm
This is a new service that i'll offer to folk, alongside the wheel trading, refurbishment and finishing that i already do.
Its not rocket science, its basic metalwork and fabrication at the end of the day, but also as a road wheel it has to be done right and with appropriate materials.
As an exercise, i made these ridiculous 10j and 11j wide Carlos Vandango's from my old Vauxhall Vivaro steel wheels, and since then the interest in having more traditional sized and original wheels done has kinda taken off.
So you can see the processes, here are the van wheels in build stages, and completed prior to any refinishing, and some more sensibly widened original Alfasud steels belonging to Sudboy1490 that i refurbished,
Cut apart,
I then shotblasted the wheel parts so i can clearly inspect the wheels for suitability for the job, and to ensure no unwanted ingress into the welding from paints, rust, dirt etc
New band, 3mm cold drawn steel, guilotined and rolled to an approximate diameter, and set up ready for tack welding into position.
Fronts first so that it can be prepped and smoothed externally
Back to positioning, check, double check, tack, triple check, tack together into the tight joint, and then start the welding proper.
Repeat x 4
Stand back and realise what the hell have you just done! lol!
My current process, should anyone want to know, or try it yourself, is to weld the fronts from the inside and out because the exposed dish weld has to be smoothed off after a guaranteed penetration, but the rear weld, back onto the drum section is first passed at medium amperage into the tight channel formed by the joining edges, but is then V ground out again for a high amperage second pass. This is both for strength and to ensure that they will be air tight with absolutely no porosity in the welds.
Normally i can pressure test with a tyre but on this occasion i didn't have a 16" tyre that will inflate onto a 11j rim! lol!
I've also just bought some new welding plant too, so i may adjust the process slightly as i familiarise myself with the new machine soon, but right now i think the multi pass route is best practice, even though very time consuming and heavy on the wire, gas, and grinder use!
Finally, they will be sanded and prepped again, and powder coated etc etc.
The eagle eyed amongst you might also spot that i have plug welded the usual valve holes. This is because i believe it ruins the look of a really deep dish wheel, and these particular monsters will likely be nothing more than show wheels or sales exhibits, so a secret repositioned valve is put into the rear section instead in this instance. This can be tailored to suit anyones preference of course.
Thats what i do, and if anyone wants some doing i'm all ears.
I can normally source wheels pretty reasonably, but maybe the best arrangement is for the customer to supply the steel wheels, and i'll do the rest.
Finally, here are Sudboys oroginal Alfasud wheels all refinished and looking splendid with a much more sensible banding exercise i have to say!
Its not rocket science, its basic metalwork and fabrication at the end of the day, but also as a road wheel it has to be done right and with appropriate materials.
As an exercise, i made these ridiculous 10j and 11j wide Carlos Vandango's from my old Vauxhall Vivaro steel wheels, and since then the interest in having more traditional sized and original wheels done has kinda taken off.
So you can see the processes, here are the van wheels in build stages, and completed prior to any refinishing, and some more sensibly widened original Alfasud steels belonging to Sudboy1490 that i refurbished,
Cut apart,
I then shotblasted the wheel parts so i can clearly inspect the wheels for suitability for the job, and to ensure no unwanted ingress into the welding from paints, rust, dirt etc
New band, 3mm cold drawn steel, guilotined and rolled to an approximate diameter, and set up ready for tack welding into position.
Fronts first so that it can be prepped and smoothed externally
Back to positioning, check, double check, tack, triple check, tack together into the tight joint, and then start the welding proper.
Repeat x 4
Stand back and realise what the hell have you just done! lol!
My current process, should anyone want to know, or try it yourself, is to weld the fronts from the inside and out because the exposed dish weld has to be smoothed off after a guaranteed penetration, but the rear weld, back onto the drum section is first passed at medium amperage into the tight channel formed by the joining edges, but is then V ground out again for a high amperage second pass. This is both for strength and to ensure that they will be air tight with absolutely no porosity in the welds.
Normally i can pressure test with a tyre but on this occasion i didn't have a 16" tyre that will inflate onto a 11j rim! lol!
I've also just bought some new welding plant too, so i may adjust the process slightly as i familiarise myself with the new machine soon, but right now i think the multi pass route is best practice, even though very time consuming and heavy on the wire, gas, and grinder use!
Finally, they will be sanded and prepped again, and powder coated etc etc.
The eagle eyed amongst you might also spot that i have plug welded the usual valve holes. This is because i believe it ruins the look of a really deep dish wheel, and these particular monsters will likely be nothing more than show wheels or sales exhibits, so a secret repositioned valve is put into the rear section instead in this instance. This can be tailored to suit anyones preference of course.
Thats what i do, and if anyone wants some doing i'm all ears.
I can normally source wheels pretty reasonably, but maybe the best arrangement is for the customer to supply the steel wheels, and i'll do the rest.
Finally, here are Sudboys oroginal Alfasud wheels all refinished and looking splendid with a much more sensible banding exercise i have to say!
