Pressing spokes

[Craig Leach]

Hi Guys,
I'm getting ready to make up a set of 21" steel felloe wheels. I have watched the videos using the Regon spoke press. But concidering I have 2
large hydraulic presses and only intend to ever do one set I'm thinking it would be counter productive to make a Regon press. I looked for a
video for using a hydraulic press. The ones I found are for replacing a hub or for those that make their own spokes. I have vender supplied
spokes like shown in the Regon press videos. Is there anything different to do when using a hydraulic press? Anyone know of a video or thread
on this? Also I would like to leave the spokes natural has anyone had gool luck with automotive clears? I know! but there is very little original
on this T. Thanks.
Craig.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Hi Guys,
Also I would like to leave the spokes natural has anyone had gool luck with automotive clears?

Craig.

I wouldn't use an automotive clear coat on the spokes. A good marine spar varnish should be all you need. Maybe a few coats.

[CudaMan]

Here's what I used on my spokes. The issue I see with using a press is you need to make sure that you support the felloe around its whole circumference so that it doesn't end up warping like a potato chip while you're pressing.

[Craig Leach]

Mark,
Good point on the support. Jerry do you know the difference between Marine & Outdoor Spar varnish? We used stain & Outdoor Spar varnish on
the bed of my grandaughters 1966 Chevy pickup & it was trash after 2 rains? Have holes drilled to drain water but it went threw the Spar & it
pealed up real bad. Any ideas are welcome.Thanks.
Craig.

[TWrenn]

One word of caution...READ the label carefully to be sure it's NOT water based varnish. Yes dear Watson, there is such a thing, and for this application it will be junk! Sadly, the government is taking away almost all of the good stuff since they think the VOC's in them are gonna kill us. Gonna keep quiet now on the rest of my thoughts.

[OlGeezer]

So, I'm diving into making my 21" steel felloe wheels, and I've got these two beefy hydraulic presses that I'd rather use instead of crafting a Regon press. Anyone here tried the hydraulic press route? Couldn't find much info besides hub replacements or DIY spoke making. Got vendor-supplied spokes, not making my own. Any insights or a video link would be golden. Also, thinking of keeping the spokes natural – anyone tried sealing them with automotive clears? Not much original stuff left on this T, but still.

[browning]

I have had good success with drying the spokes in an oven to near zero moisture content before assembly. They can then be assembled by hand with very little pressure applied. After assembly I remoisturize them to swell them to a tight fit. Sounds crazy but works quite well. Not for the faint of heart, probably. I have used automotive clear finish on spokes and it has worked very well too. It is water white clear, uv resistant, readily available, and will flex better than most finishes since it is made to withstand heat/cold cycles on plastic and rubber parts. Almost any body shop mixes and shoots it every day so it would be easy to purchase a small amount to experiment with. Once catalyzed the pot life is relatively short so it would have to be used soon.

[DanTreace]

Have varnished both old spokes and new spokes. Using only a very high quality varnish. The better ones are used on wood boats, I used only Epifanes brand, has extra uv-filter to keep gloss. Made in Holland, not cheap, but will last for years. Below photo is more than 10 years after finishing.

Trick for best results is to thin the varnish 50% for the first coat. Use only bronze wool between fully dried coats to remove any specs or tiny runs. Take your time, each coat then is less reduced until to get to the 4th or final coat, then apply full strength. Allow plenty of drying time between coats.




New spokes varnished in 2012, still very nice ten years later.

These are old spokes, refinished with varnish in 1981, looked good in this photo of 2012.

[Craig Leach]

The Spar varnish we used on the bed was the same as Mark recommended but used a different stain/sealer. I had a reccomendation for Total
Boat products they seem to be on the same level as Epifanes & in the same price range That's the look I'm after those wheels look great. The
spokes have been stored in the spare room in the airconditioning for more than a hand full of years they are probably so dry I'm afraid if put
in the over @ any heat setting they burst into flames . Andrew are you mocking me I had a generous offer from a club member to let
me borrow his Regan wheel press so I'm pretty much set. But please feel free to keep making regomendations. Thank you all.
Craig.