Question on wheel prep, I know about the bore prep but what about the tread surface prep, I have that shaving tool but when I tried it last year it seems that i kept shaving and shaving but could never get the wheel shaved continious all the way around. Also It seemed like it would catch no mater what I did on making an adjustment. What do the other racers do?
Wheel tread prep
- Thread starter rpenning1970
- Start date
The wheel shaving tool is junk! I purchased that tool a few years back and will never use it again! ZZ is correct if you don't have a lathe you need to buy a set of trued wheels. Even if you do have a lathe you can't beat DD4H cutting process. Buy them from who you may, but if you want the best ZZ already has pointed you in the right direction.
Shaved wheels are better than raw, but it is hard to use and you get those marks you are talking about all over the wheel OD. Sanding wheels with a drill press doesn't work...
As said by ZZ and Quicktime lathed wheels are the way to go....
As said by ZZ and Quicktime lathed wheels are the way to go....
For my first build I purchased that tool. I killed a few wheels before I got the hang of it. The other guys are right about it's inefficiency. If you are catching on the wheel you are applying to much pressure. If you can't get the good stuff and need to use that tool you are looking for small shavings, I'm talking about light fluffy. It is very time consuming. After you get them all the same I used some light sand paper against the block or silver bullet with the drill press. I was fortunate enough to find that early on. The wheels are no where near Derbydads, but they worked for my work race. I would chuck that tool, but I remember paying a good amount for it. I have wasted a lot of money on gimmicks. I'm glad that I found DD4H.
i am ordering the silver bullet today. I have that tool on my list for this year and will be using it to drill the rear holes t an angle.
Just get a set of BASX. You will spend way more then $12 worth of time using that contraption. My mounting fixture is set up with no movement checked to the hundredth MM. The wheels now are extremely round. My first set of wheels with that torture device took me over 4 hours.
I had the shaver before I started buying wheels. Is the shaver better than lathed - no. Are the shaved wheels better than stock - yes. Are the shaved wheels better than sanded or files wheels - yes. Is there a trick to using the shaver -yes. The trick is honing the edge. You must hone the cutting edge and then hone the whole flat blade itself. You must work the edge with a fine true stone. You can not leave any rough or machined areas on the cutting edge. Only then will it shave properly. Also polish the shaft that goes in the hub to a mirror finish or you will screw up your bore. Also hone a nice edge on the side of the blade to true the width of the wheel as well. This method can win you some local races. If you want to compete at a higher level you have to buy lathed wheels done by pro's.
khouse said:
I found the above to be true as well. For league racing I always purchase my wheels - but for scout racing we cannot purchase machined wheels but we can use the shaver to correct the runout. I agree - not as good as machined wheels - but better then stock and/or sanding.
I prefer to buy wheels DD4H for sure! Remember time is money. I am getting better with my lathe but still not getting close to DD. Last year I did use "shaver". The ONLY way I could get it to work was to cover blade with sand paper and "sand" out high spots on wheels by rocking wheel back and forth againt the sandpaper while slowly advancing blade. It worked ok, got runout down to about .001. But I think I totally messed up bores in process so be careful.. I refuse to even touch it now! It killed my hands doing this process. Maybe you can try this if it's your only option.
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