Got a quick question for the board. I have a 39 banjo wheel with really nice spokes and a good center but the grip is trashed. Is anybody out there recasting these old wheels?
recasting is really the best way to go, but it's not cheap to have done, i sent my Crestliner wheel out for recast to Quality Restorations in Poway,Ca did a super job ! He does pay attention to detail( even caught before the recast the wheel had been key wayed , and the splines removed( repaired hub) be prepared to wait for it to come back about three month back log on the wait, maybe longer now with show season in full swing and swap meets. The recast cost on my wheel was $800.00 , plus another $300.00 to put a core hub in my wheel to fix the damage. There are lot of other opition also , and i know this has been covers on older threads on the hamb( me for one starting one back in November) Just explore all the opition and i know you will here more from others on this subject
Clean up the rim, remove loose materials, patch with POR 7 after sanding you can finish up with plastic body filler, I did mine that way and got it to 90%+without a lot of effort. I plan to cover the rim with a leather cover so 100% is a waste of time. I am in it for about $25.00 and a little time, the cover will be about $40.00 sure better that an $800.00 restoration.
Well I sure don't have to put a leather cover over the wheel , go the 100 % and do it right, or however you decide to fix it. Hopefully you won't come up with a $65.00 repair you won't be happy with.
39 Banjos were available NEW some years ago. Perhaps Mac's has redone them, they owned the new tooling.
It all depends on how bad the rim is. 1/4" cracks and some missing pieces can be repaired at home very cheaply. Many would say it was trashed then too. I did this one 15 years ago. Maybe 5 bucks in materials. I'm sure there are several people that can recast the wheel so price shopping may be in order.
My Olds wheel was cracked all to shit. A little JB Weld, some sanding, priming and painting and she is all better. -Abone.