Fettle or skip this trailer?

[nikki]

3 different answers in 2 posts!     


I've been trying unsuccessfully to remove the 'dust cap'
...which has cleaned off enough of the crud on the other side to reveal a retaining clip!



Doing battle with that now as the hub won't sit nicely in my truing stand as it is, due to the different diameters of washers and other things going on.

[Kim]

Doing battle with that now as the hub won't sit nicely in my truing stand as it is, due to the different diameters of washers and other things going on.

If you do manage to get it off:

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=56266.0

[Davef]

The once in a decade outing for the circlip pliers.


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[Kim]

The once in a decade outing for the circlip pliers.

I bought some last year after a swearing-at-pingfuckits incident.  Haven't used them yet.

[Davef]

The once in a decade outing for the circlip pliers.

I bought some last year after a swearing-at-pingfuckits incident.  Haven't used them yet.

I bought some in the 1980s for some good reason I am sure. They have haunted me ever since, every time I need proper pliers they are there teasing me. The inny-outy are the worst, at least the outy-inny there is some hope of pliers like behaviour.


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[nikki]

Yeah, trying to get a screwdriver in isn't working.

I'll add pliers onto the Screwfix order with the galv spray...

Annoyingly I've got the merest hint of a memory that maybe, just maybe I've got a pair somewhere in amongst the distributed tool collection. That's not going to do much for the frequency of use stats if I end up with two pairs!

Nice tip with the thru-axle adaptor Kim, thanks.

Remembered I had a tap and die set while ranting about Battlestar Galactica

[Kim]

Remembered I had a tap and die set while ranting about Battlestar Galactica

Yes, I've been trying to work out the connection.   

[Brucey]

if you don't have a through-axle adaptor then an old axle from a cup and cone hub with two cones on it works quite well.

cheers

[nikki]

Soooo...

Next challenge: the bearings are no good - with the one hub I've looked at so far, the bearings are completely seized and it looks like the axle has just been rotating against the inner ring of the bearing unit.

It would be good to replace the bearings if possible. What's the normal approach for getting them out? I've been trying to use a screwdriver as a drift from the other side, but no signs of movement yet. I could get some Deep Creep in between the bearing housing and the hub - I don't suppose there's anything to be lost in terms of the performance of the bearings if it gets into them!

[Brucey]

one way of making the job easier is to 'travel in hope' and to build the wheels first before getting the bearings out.  The spoke tension loads on the flanges ease the fit of the bearings in the hub, so they will come out more easily.  Also modest heat will help; an easy/safe method is to tip a kettle full of boiling water over the hub immediately prior to using the drift on the bearings.

FWIW you have absolutely nothing to lose by using a pointed tool to remove the outer bearing seals and seeing if the bearings will respond to a little oil/TLC. Often they will miraculously spring back to (slightly rumbly) life. Again this is more likely to work once the wheels are built, because the clearances are more in your favour.

cheers

[nikki]

The spoke tension loads on the flanges ease the fit of the bearings in the hub, so they will come out more easily.

Good point! (You've done this before, haven't you...)

using a pointed tool to remove the outer bearing seals and seeing if the bearings will respond to a little oil/TLC. Often they will miraculously spring back to (slightly rumbly) life.

Whoop! One unit is now rotating! (Verrrry rumbly!)
The other is looking like it'll need some periodic soakings with penetrating fluid to unstick it, but it'll be a while before the parcel from SJS arrives, so I can play the long game with it.

Thanks.

[nikki]

After a quick lace and cranking up of the tension, I've managed to extract 3 of the bearing units and get them replaced with buttery smooth ones. The 4th shows no signs of moving, so I've refurbed it as much as I can and I shall quit while I'm ahead.

Through going through this process though, I'm bracing myself for discovering the spokes might be a tad too long.

This photo overstates the situation as the rim was off centre and the spokes on the other side of the rim were below the top surface of the nipples, but it is a single-walled rim so there's nowhere to hide (except under the rim tape) if the spokes do turn out to be too long.



So, question: how long is too long: how much protrusion might I be able to get away with before I start getting spoke-induced punctures?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Just grind or file off the excess spoke length if they protrude from the nipples, given it is a single wall rim.

[Brucey]

Just grind or file off the excess spoke length if they protrude from the nipples, given it is a single wall rim.

yep, SOP for single walled rims

cheers

[nikki]

Yes - so I gather - but because I'm working out of my front room with whatever tools I have to hand, rather than just being able to get on with it I'll probably have to make judgement calls on whether a) grinding/filing needs to happen b) to what extent and c) if that's going to need me to buy more tools. Hence trying to find out what sort of leeway there might be.

[Kim]

Blob some sugru over them and cover them with rim tape.  What's the worst that could happen?

Or dismantle the wheel and lop a few mm off the spokes with a hacksaw...

[LittleWheelsandBig]

A decent file takes length off galvanised spokes like butter and stainless isn’t much more difficult. I would be surprised if you needed to remove much more than a couple of millimetres.

[JonBuoy]

Or dismantle the wheel and lop a few mm off the spokes with a hacksaw...

If you do this it would be worth running a nipple onto the spoke first.  After you have cut the spoke, removing the nipple will reform the damaged thread.

[Brucey]

if the spokes are likely to poke out the top of the nipples then building single-walled rims with washers under each nipple can help with this and makes for a stronger wheel to boot.

cheers

[nikki]

Blob some sugru over them and cover them with rim tape.  What's the worst that could happen?

Or dismantle the wheel and lop a few mm off the spokes with a hacksaw...

Is that a doube-rec for adhesives followed by "What's the worst that could happen?". From you, Kim?! 

Hacksawing is my least favoured option due to not having a vice/sturdy workbench combination.


I've got one wheel trued up and the spoke pokes are all over the place, lengthwise. I'm going to do the other and see if that's a similar situation.

[Brucey]

I've got one wheel trued up and the spoke pokes are all over the place, lengthwise. I'm going to do the other and see if that's a similar situation.

the spoke lengths vary between 'inside' and 'outside', and even if the hub and rim are made perfectly this results in an apparent variation in the spoke length that persists in the built wheel if the wheel is built 'skew'.  By which I meant the inside spokes are leading on one side and trailing on the other (which is how the wheels were built originally).   By contrast if the wheel is built 'symmetric' instead (inside leading or trailing both sides) then the spoke lengths can be averaged (which always means less filing or even none), or made such that only half the spokes need filing, in pairs.

Normally I'd have said following the old spoking pattern might be the best option (even though it is skew) but in this case you might end up with more spoke filing to do.  In some wheels it can make a small difference to how the wheel works  whether the wheel is built skew or not, or which way the inside spokes face etc, but in the case of a trailer wheel (unbraked)  it doesn't.

cheers

[nikki]

(which is how the wheels were built originally).

*goes back and checks photos*
Well spotted!

I'd just automatically treated it as a rim-braked front wheel and gone for symmetrical, pulling spokes on the outside.

I can't see a pattern in the protrusions. I think the worst offender is related to the seam.

I'll see how the other one shapes up, anyway.

[nikki]

Wheels built (turned out one of the spokes was longer than spec) and a mahoosive box arrived today:



Well, two mahoosive boxes. After confirming that small children do still enjoy playing in large cardboard boxes, the outer one has been gifted to the family nextdoor.

The inner one is looking like it'll do the job on the trailer.





I 'just' need to sort out the middle bit...

Those of you with trailers, what kind of thickness is the main platform, and are there any nice features you'd recommend regarding fitting points?

I probably need to accommodate box on and box off, also bungee and ratchet strap fixings for $RandomStuff as befits an art student.

[Kim]

The Carry Freedom Y-frame's bed is a sheet of ~15mm ply with grip tape on top (slightly overkill weight-wise, tbh, but it's certainly durable).  4 largish holes to accommodate rubber feet mounted on the underside of a box to prevent slippage.  I've supplemented this with an assortment of smaller holes to accommodate the hook of a bungee.

My preferred box restraint mechanism is a cam strap, rather than the supplied velcro.

I've previously mentioned the only-slightly-surprising discovery that woodworking clamps are ideal for clamping bits of wood (load) to other bits of wood (trailer), when buying wood.

[Brucey]

the required bed timber thickness depends on what load you intend to carry,  how strong the bottom of the box is and how many rails there are in the chassis of the trailer.  I'd be tempted to break out the welding set and add a couple of rails to the chassis and maybe use marine ply ~12mm thickness, or even no ply at all if you intend to use the box always. It'll probably need to be thicker ply than that (or reinforced with screwed+glued timber ribs perhaps) without additional rails in the chassis.

I thought this trailer would have to fold....?  That is a big box!

cheers