Technical cutting 16" ford wire wheels to 15"

I'm an old ,new guy to this site and this is my first attempt at doing anything like this so please bear with me.
Not sure if there is any interest in this or even if it has been done before but here I go.
I collected 8- 35 Ford wire wheels for my build. A few had quite severe rust and a few kinks on the rims but the hubs are OK. Rather than junking them I decided to try cutting them down to 15". This could also work for 32 to 34 wires. Cutting them to 15" or even 16".

First I zip cut the spokes close the rim and removed the hub. Sandblasting is easier now with the rim gone. Straighten the spokes too if needed.
I sacrificed some 15" x 6" Chevy rims, cut the centers out and cleaned the mounting surfaces and set them aside.

 

I guess this has to be done in sections.

I didn't know if this would work out so I never spent a lot of time making this jig. It looks fairly crude but does a nice job.
The jig is an early ford spindle and drum bolted to a half inch plate that clamps in my swivel vice. An angle grinder is bolted to 1/4" plate. I welded the back of the plate to the bench top and the front is adjustable up and down with a 5/16" threaded rod and a few nuts.

 

Show us more! I love ingenuity.......

 

Cool project, keep us posted.

 

The front edge of the disc is centered even with the vice jaws.
Now bolt the hub to the jig. You will notice there is no spacer on the drum to support the inside of the hub. It is not needed. The wheel bolts don't have to be torqued down, just good and snug.
Lower the grinder all the way, clamp the jig in the vice so the hub is verticle and the spokes are centered over and just above the grinded disc.
I am doing this after the fact so the pictures might not be in order, but hopefully they will get the point across.
It takes a bit of readjusting and you might need help. Once it is lined up I used a cheater pipe on the vice handle to give ;it some torque to make sure it was not going to move. I also marked the swivel on the vice so it could be returned to the same spot over the grinder every time.
First I cut all the spokes to the same length as the shortest one. Run the spokes through slowly as the zipcut blade flexes a bit.

 

I had no good way to measure the diameter of the spoke circle so I kept sneaking up on it. Cut a small amount off all the spokes, swivel the vice and try the rim. I locked the vice swivel and grinder height nuts every time to keep everything accurate tight and accurate. Patience. Pull up a chair. relax. Back and forth. Kept at it until it finally slipped on by springing the spokes slightly.
The spokes center the rim nicely and keep it from moving. If they were cut to short it could be really tough to align it.

 

I have a set that someone modified to 15". The spokes were not cut, the 16" hoop was cut leaving the spokes still attached. What was left of the 16" hoop was welded into a 15" hoop. Will try to post a pic ASAP.

 

Remove the grinder and swivel the vice back. center the rim roughly side to side and then set up a dial indicator for lateral runout. Use a hammer to tap lightly. The spokes hold it in place nicely. Dial it in as close as you can and then tack a half dozen spokes on both sides of the rim.
The first two rims I did were under 0.010" Laterally and axially, which I believe is as good as or better than factory specs. It surprised me how easy this was.
A journeyman buddy of mine finished welding the spokes for me and I am really pleased with them.
I blasted them, spray bombed them and baked em in the oven to harden.
I installed my used tires on the rims and bolted them to the rearend. I dialed in the tires on the rear end. 0.025" axially and 0.015" laterally.

 

Man, that's nuts.
Great job

 

Nice job !..Thanks again for posting

 

Also I used this setup to cut my front rims from 6" to5" wide but I didn't get a lot of pictures.
I turned the grinder 90 degrees so the disc was vertical
I marked where the cuts were to be. Adjusted in the vice and lifted the grinder so it just touched the rim. Rotated the rim and made a revolution with the rim. Small cuts. Kept doing that until it was through. Moved it over an inch and did it again. The rest I think has been done on the hamb.

 

Thanks for taking the time to document and post, great job!

Do you have any close up pics of the welded spokes?

 

I just went and took a few. my buddy used my millermatic. He said he would have liked them a little smaller but because he used spatter release they ended up a little bigger. I don't have any problem with them.

 

no55mad Yes I would like to see a picture. I have never seen that before.

 

my kinda low-tech tech. Well done.

 

What a slick way to save some old wheels and turn them into something desirable -- well done!

 

Here's something to ponder:

Thinking static load- ie the car is not moving- is the weight of the car standing on the bottom spokes, or hanging from the upper spokes?

That's the entire weight of your vehicle borne by just a few wires...

Super-cool tech by the way, Reyn!

 

Neither is the case. All the spokes carry a portion of the load. It may vary some, depending on position, but the load is distributed more than top and/or bottom.

 

that's some interesting pics and technique

"keep it simple" - shows again that even with some simple tools 'n some brain real professional results can be achieved

thx for sharing

 

Nice job! I had a pair of 21 inch model A wheels that were cut down to 16 inch rims, it was done back in the day, always wondered how they cut things. Bob

 

Thanks for posting this fine Tech, very cool job!! JW

 

cool tech, i am not a static expert but my left ball tolde its a kind of scary. A spoke rim works because all the spokes are under tight tension, thats in my mind the reason why they can share the wight of the car . I would not trust those rims. Hey dont get me wrong nice tech and looks pretty clean done but its a wheel, it fails maybe only once in your live

 

How did Henry make the rims? Weren't they welded? I don't see a problem with welding the spokes. The process of welding them will tighten the spokes.

Reyn, Thanks for sharing the process. I have a set that are garbage. This would be an option.

Neal

 

nice, work, I like it !

 

There are 32 1/4" spokes and he did a great job welding them. I believe these rims to be just as strong as Henry made them. The spokes are also shorter which makes them stronger.
I guess I will be betting my life on it.

 

no shit right!! I fkn love this site
ballsy way to do it indeed. creative

 

BITCHIN !! NICE JOB !! Chris

 

I build bicycle wheels that are 20mm wide with 24 spokes that are 1.5mm in diameter and can hold a 300 pound man (standard wheels are 32 or 36 spoke with 2.0mm spokes).


Getting these wheels to run true laterally and side to side would be the hardest part in my opinion. I wouldn't worry about how strong they are, unless your welder sucked. Very cool write up.

 

I would run em!