I've got wood spoke wheels on Eliza and thought I heard some clicking while cruising around the other day. I checked when I got home and pushed and pulled and I have 1-2 spokes that click/move just the teeniest bit on a couple of wheels.
One day I'd really like to get some wire wheels that work with my demountable rims, but in the mean time who can/does rebuild hickory spokes wheels? I'm in eastern North Carolina, the closer the better, but if they must be shipped then that's ok. What can I expect to have to pay? Thanks for any and all info.
Johnsons wood wheels in Ok, is at 150 per wheel http://www.woodwheels.com/
Two immediately come to mind on the eastern side of the country. Calimer's in PA, and Stutzman's in Ohio. Calimer's web site gives his pricing. Price depends if you want matched spokes for natural, or not. Since the only thing between you and the road are the wheels, you want them in good condition.
Here is Calimer's site http://www.calimerswheelshop.com/ Stutzman's is an Amish shop and unfortunately I don't have there contact number but I'm sure someone will supply it. I've had wheels done by Calimer for natural finish and I'm very pleased with his work.
I keep Stutzman on speed dial:
330-897-1391
Can't say enough good things about him, paramount among them, a man who can stick to his delivery commitments.
I really like the guy Mazza recommended so far, that he trues all if the metal parts of the wheel up. I know a lot of folks have spoken highly of Stutzmans, does he do all of that stuff to?
I prep all my metal parts before sending them off regardless of where they go, so I've never inquired of that service when dealing with Stutzman. However, I can tell you that I've visited his shop in person and I'd be surprised if he couldn't. It is very well equipped. He does everything from wood bicycle wheels to gun carriage wheels.
Noah Stutzman just built a set for my car. On time, reasonable price and an excellent product.
Last fall, I ordered 4 new clincher rims from American Vintage Rim and had them shipped to Stutzman. I also sent Stutzman 2 used front and rear hubs that I had cleaned up and primed. The Stutzman shop took it from there to provide me with 4 wood felloe wheels that were "new" except for the hubs and brake drums. (New drums are available). The 4 wheels fit my 1913 Ford.
The Stutzman Shop provides superior workmanship, very competitive pricing, and excellent turnaround time. Noah Stutzman gave me a fascinating tour of their shop when I picked up the wheels on October 7th.
For American Vintage Rims, see http://www.americanvintagerims.com/
McLaren Manufacturing Co. has morphed into American Vintage Rim.
Stutzman uses hickory, which is what Ford used originally for safety's sake.
I bought new spokes from Stutzman ($158 including shipping) for two wheels and used the Regan spoke press. I like the results.
I just had a set of four done for my 24 by Stutzman. I had the rims and hubs ready for him to assemble. The cost was $600.00 It cost me $44.00 to ship the rims and hubs to him. It cost $83.00 to have the complete wheels shipped back. The wait time as he told me was 6 weeks. Excellent quality.
Hate to do it, but I will be painting them black, as I like the look better.
Just had mine done my stutzmans also. Very happy with their work
Okay, so here's the next question - if I remove my wheels, where/how can I get the fellows trued up so they're as straight and round as possible?
I don't know that anything really needs to be done with the hubs, my hub cap threads are all good.
Don't be too fast to assume your hubs are perfect, particularly if your wheels wobble side to side. I thought my hubs were perfect too, when I had my wheels rebuilt by a local Amish shop. Side to side runout was bad, particularly on the fronts. Reason? The hub flanges were not true. Virtually every hub I had needed to be trued to be a truly straight flange. Think about how many curb checks these wheels have seen in their lifetime.
Ron Dupree
Johnsons DOES check the hubs for runout. In fact they told me my rear hubs were perfect and did not need truing, they indicated that they had not had a perfect pair hubs before! I didn't tell them that the hubs were new
Bill