I am going to replace the spokes on at least one of my wheels...I have removed the hub bolts. I there a secret handshake to get the two halves of the hubs apart? I guess I could just cut some of the wooden spokes in half???
Thanks!,
Michael
The front plate is rusted to the center hub. I generally just place a ply bar under the plate so that there is enough force to 'pop' the plate , but not warp it. Then with a torch, heat the seam until the plate pops off. Then just pound the old spokes out.
Mike...so, I force (pound) a pry bar between the wooden spokes and the front plate?
Michael, assuming you have the bolts removed, take a drift punch and place the blunt end into one of the holes on the plate side of the hub and drive the plate one way or another. Do not try to pry the hub off, it will warp the plate. Once the plate has been rotated back and forth several times, take the same punch and place it through the bolt hole until the punch hits the plate that has been rotated enough to cover the hole on the opposite side. Go around the entire set of holes with the punch and tap the punch, your will see it slowly move toward the outer end of the hub assembly. If there is substantial crud such as paint or encrustation of rust and dirt, remove that before trying to drift the plate off. A little Marvel Mystery oil or very light penetrating oil will help. Be patient, it will come of and you will maintain the integrity of the outer plate. Good Luck, Ken Swan
Ken is right you do not want to pry the plate off (it will warp), but a little force cause it to pop up once the heat is applied. I do hammer the pry bar under the plate, but a little. Seems that depending on how patient you are the oil and turning method will also work, but heat will be quicker.
When I was ready to re-spoke my right front wheel and was ready to dismantle the hub, I took all the bolts out and was not able to get the two parts apart. There were many layers of black enamel and rust locking the hub washer onto the hub. The paint was so thick the seams of the two parts were totally covered and would not budge. I removed the paint with paint remover and removed the rust with muriatic acid. After the paint and rust was off, the large hub washer that slid tightly over the outer hub, easily slid off over the exterior hub extension, exposing the interlocking spokes. Jim Patrick