MTFCA Forum

Hi, I have superficial voids on a few spokes on different wheels. I am planning to fill them with this Bondo for wood product for 'hard to stick surfaces' I already bought. Good? Hey the label says 'Professional' that means it has to be. Any reviews or suggestions welcome.

I don't know about that "High Bond" stuff, never seen it before around here. Regular Bondo should never be used on wood. I made that mistake many years ago and spent years occasionally replacing areas that flaked off. And I did some good preparation, clean and primed etc.
I have used J B Weld to fill minor flaws in wooden spokes. Some wheels I did ten to fifteen years ago still look good. I wish I still had some I drove quite a bit, but had to sell that car several years ago. They were still looking good after a few thousand miles.
One thing about using old wooden spokes. Sometimes, even when they look good, after a couple years, the wood will shrink some more. I had some that I tightened up nice and solid about fifteen years ago. The funny thing is that they looked fine and tested nice and tight five years later. Then the car sat for about three years, and two of the wheels got really loose. I replaced them with a couple others I had rebuilt. Hundred year old wood, no matter how good it looks, needs to be checked regularly. I like old wood, and have good reasons to trust them even in abusive use. Wooden spoke wheels are a lot stronger than most people think they should be. But they do NEED to be watched and checked often.
The truth is, suspect a lot of the rebuilt wheels with new wood from a couple decades ago will start having similar troubles occasionally in another twenty years.

Is that a wood borer hole I see?

I had same issue... I used West System Marine Epoxy, need to use the SLOW activator. Also spread old fashion PLAY DOE around the top nipple & the flats of the mating surface of the spoke. The play doe won’t let stain or epoxy in that area, simply chip away after it dries.

I have used this wood bondo on all sorts of projects with good results . I have even filled door knob holes with it . It is easy to work with and matches wood better than other fillers . Also easy to sand .

From the pic of course it's really hard to tell "how bad" this issue is. Don't take this wrong, but I have to say "I thought I was picky"!!
Personally, I'd leave it alone. Odds are, with the flexing these wheels have (more than we realize), I doubt anything will last anyway.
Just live with it. Who's gonna walk up to that wheel and "poke fun" of it?

I'm with the other Tim - I suspect there is a lot more movement in those spokes than we imagine.