Calimer's Wheel Shop

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Calimer's Wheel Shop
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Spotts on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 03:32 pm:

Anyone else ever had a bad experience with Calimer's Wheel Shop?

I sent him one wheel to re-spoke on 9/2/14 and to date he hasn't even started working on it... I've made repeated "status" update calls every 2-3 weeks inquiring about it with no progress being made. I don't want to be a nag, but I do want my wheel back!

Is there anything I can do to rescue my hostage wheel?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 03:38 pm:

I have not used Calimer for my re-spoking needs. However, two months does not sound unrealistic. Three or four months is probably the norm unless you paid for and was promised an early delivery.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 04:11 pm:

I have used Calimers, and have been very happy. They usually have a 6 month wait time, unless they can work your wheel in with some they are are already working on.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Justin Heim on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 04:41 pm:

I have to second what Larry said. There is a good 6 month lead time as it is a one man shop. You will not be disappointed with the work if you can wait. I can say that Calimer's is a step above Stutzman's. I had Stutzman do my front wheels and Calimer's do the rear for the TT. Stutzman did a good job but Calimer's were flawless.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warwick Landy on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 04:44 pm:

Terry, Going by the results I saw on a friends T I placed an order and sent a deposit for a full set of new non demountable wheels three months back. Bill told me at the time he was very busy and had many orders to be filled to be delivered to Hershey. Now with Hershey gone I hope he is onto my set? I am prepared to wait for a quality job but hopefully not to long!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Woolf on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 04:51 pm:

Bill Calimer did the wheels on my T and his work is excellent! It did take six months, but I knew up front he had a very heavy workload.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 05:59 pm:

Justin, I picked my four round felloe wheels up from Noah Stutzman last Saturday. His quality must have improved because I and the crowd clustered around my trunk last Sunday think my four are flawless.

My wife told me she will not be home when I paint them because she believes it to be a sin to cover up such beautiful work.

Noah's timing is what I based my three to four month estimate in my note above.

Note to Chris, why is felloe rejected in spell check?

I will check the word list and add it, any other words let me know.

Chris

(Message edited by adminchris on November 01, 2014)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Val Soupios on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 07:06 pm:

Calimer did the wheels on my Chalmers and did a great job. He is not fast and is usually very busy but the quality is there. I usually drop wheels of to him at Hershey and pick them up there next year. Saves the shipping and is more realistic time wise. That said, he turns around Model T wheels a lot faster.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Friday, October 31, 2014 - 10:53 pm:

Felloe, babbitt, ogee, and some other old technical terms get the spell check alert when you type them. I suspect it may have something to do with the ages of the folks writing the software. The odd thing is that words with nu3m5era1s stuck in them get a pass.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan B on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 07:19 am:

Terry,

Just to confirm what most have already said here, I believe my wheels were also around a 6 month wait period. My experience is that he's an honest man who has perfected his craft. My wheels will last my lifetime and the next.

I'm not sure what you're basing your feeling on that it should be done in a month or two unless that's what you were specifically told. But quite honestly, that seems a little unreasonable.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charles W. Little South Paris, Maine on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 09:10 am:

I have had him do at least 10 wheels in the past. Four clinchers and six demountables. They were perfect. I dropped them off when I went to Gettysburg one year, and picked them up the next. Well worth the wait.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Will Copeland - Trenton, New Jersey on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 09:44 am:

I think Stutzman's is at a four month wait.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By James A. Golden on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 03:12 pm:

I just got a call from a lady that said her 1911 Runabout has been in a garage at Front Royal, Virginia for over a year now, waiting for new wheels.

She said she told the owner that she would pick the car up today without the wheels, as she wanted it home to show some visiting relatives.

She said that she then asked if she could pick up the wheels and take them someplace else later.

The owner said he was too busy to talk to her.

She asked me who took the longest to do wheels, and where might they be located.

I told her I did not know of anyone that slow.

Does anyone else know of a place to wait over a year to get wheels re-spoked?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed in California on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 03:19 pm:

This seller frequently sells respoked sets of wheels.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Restored-Early-Ford-Model-T-Clincher-Wheels-complete-set -/331328167230?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item4d24b29d3e&vxp=mtr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Will Copeland - Trenton, New Jersey on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 04:52 pm:

Opps, I ment Stutzman's is at four weeks. Sorry


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Georgetown TX on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 06:34 pm:

Stutzmanns has done several sets over the last ten years for me.

Typically take 4 weeks from the time my hubs and rims arrive, sometimes as little as two weeks. Quality is always flawless, they even grow their own trees. Last time it was $185 per wheel.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Coco on Saturday, November 01, 2014 - 07:21 pm:

I've had great luck with Bill Calimer, he's done four sets of wheels for me (and he's just an hour away!).. yes, a wait of months, but he forms the wood, dries it to 1.5% moisture, reassembles wood, and as the wood gets to it's natural 14% or so moisture the wheels get tight tight tight..you cannot get the same result just putting wood together...he once showed me a picture of a Stanley with his wheels, wrecked fairly dramatically, but the wheel on the side hit was still intact...I'm sure others do fine work, but I'll stick with what I know works...I'm 20 miles from Front Royal, is it the Rolls Royce shop she's discussing?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Spotts on Sunday, November 02, 2014 - 05:18 pm:

Thanks for all the responses!

I will dial up some more patience and find other projects to work on. I'm definitely willing to wait for quality work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan B on Sunday, November 02, 2014 - 05:55 pm:

Good call Terry. Your patience will be rewarded.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Sunday, November 02, 2014 - 05:57 pm:

James, I sure hope things work out for the lady that has been waiting a year for her wheels, sounds like she needs to find another shop if the owner is telling her he is too busy to talk to her. :-(


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