MTFCA Forum

Today, I thought I would try to tighten a couple of loose spokes with screws. They seem to have helped a lot, has anyone else tried this method with success or? Like to hear from others. [/size][/b]

Daniel

it is in fact a terrible idea that sounds great, and because it sounds great, has been done many many times. If my barn is leaning more and more everyday, is near collapse, and I put up an angle brace on the outside wall, I stopped the leaning movement for now, but did I restore it's structural integrity? Would you let your child play in it's shadow?

If you felt the need to do this, you need new spokes...sorry about that.

There are ways to shim a solid but otherwise loose spoke in a wheel, that can be done well and last for a whole lot of miles. But this isn't one of them. A screw, or nail temporarily removes unwanted movement by filling a tiny amount of a large gap. It WILL work the screw or nail into the spoke tenon and get loose again soon, then continue to grind away at a small area making the tenon smaller, weaker, and badly distorted. Any such shims need to be full coverage around the tenon, and shaped so that they CANNOT loosen and fall out. In addition inner hub looseness must also be similarly shimmed so that tightening is spread throughout and cannot be shaken out.
Better yet. Unless you are totally broke like me? Buy new spokes and do the wheel right.

Best method I've seen for tightening spokes:
1. pick up phone
2. Call Bill Calimer
3. Follow his advice for shipping of old weels/parts
4. Send some money
5. Wait for new wheels to arrive
6. Finish paint as needed
7. Install and motor on SAFELY.

Scott's right. If a spoke is loose at the felloe, surely it's loose at the hub as well. More, driving a screw through a spoke is an invitation to split it. Properly rebuilt wheels are the best (and most important) investment you can make in the safety and "good running" of your model T.

No !! The beginnings of a cracked spoke !

I agree, time to respoke the wheel.

From the photos, it looks like you have Hayes felloes. If you decide to rebuild your wheels with new spokes, be sure to get the 1/32 inch longer spokes that are made for Hayes and Kelsey wheels. Also be sure to get the right size tenons (they come in 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch sizes).

https://www.modeltford.com/item/2800HS-HY.aspx

Here is a link to the plans for the John Regan wheel press:

http://funprojects.com/pdf/WheelpressA2.pdf

Here is a link to an older thread showing some Kelsey wheels that I built a few years ago. I have since sold these wheels to another member in Texas.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1404960383

The hub end of the new spokes have a chamfer to allow clearance to the fillet in the hubs. Be sure to orient the chamfer so that it provides this clearance.

Good to know you will soon have new wood spoke wheel to replace that one.

Loose spokes will make clacking sound as you drive giving warning of bad thing to happen.

Close up of that glossy paint shows cracks, indicating poor wood, likely dry rot. As the book title said....’un-safe at any speed’!

I repaired a wheel with very loose tenons by drilling the tenon with a 1/2" drill bit in to the spoke about an inch and inserting and gluing a new full size hard wood dowel.

Problem with drilling and installing a replacement, the tenon is a crush fit not a slip fit. In the end you will still end up with loose spoke's. While I am not going to recommend a screw, it does at least spread the tenon to fill the hole, that coupled with shims might get you home. The holes might call for 1/2 or 5/8"" tenons, but in reality the holes are a bit smaller.

Not in my wheels.

Who's afraid of a little death ?