Mag wheel refurbishing

[Sean]

Turns out my tire did not have a puncture at all, but rather my L/F Barnby 3-piece mag has developed a leak - leaking air at the joint of the two aluminum halves at the center of the wheel. I was overdue for refurbishing them anyway, I reckon. This should be fun...

[moosetestbestanden]

Polisher.

You probably know this but if not kindly note that the Barnbys have been known to crack at the spokes. Stokes went through about 4 (not including the crash related failures :-O). So while you're down there give em all a good looking over.

[Sean]

Yes, I have read about the cracks and failures that sometimes occurred prior to the re-design of the centers, though I'm not sure exactly when that happened. Anyway, I have not heard of any recently, have you?

I figure all four (4) are due to be dis-assembled, stripped with aluminum oxide, crack tested, re-chromated, re-painted, and re-assembled.

[Roll a 7]

The problem may be that the goo between the wheel peices is no longer holding air, which would not be hard to fix.

A few years ago a moronic tire changer here in SD buggered one the aluminum outer peices on a Barnby wheel whilst attempting to forcibly change a tire and, of course, denied that he had done it! My solution was to send the peice to Bogart wheels to have another made. This was done and I have had no furtther problems. I also had the outer peices made to change the rim width from 6.5" to 8.0" with no issues, to date. Considering the cost of trying to replace a Barnby wheel, it was not that expensive; maybe $100-150 per wheel. Bogart is located in Phoenix and has a website.

[Sean]

Yes, I realize that I could just put in more sealant at the seam to resolve the leak issue, but the centers need to be checked and re-finished anyway. I'm hoping to find someplace local that might have some experience at this, but if I cannot, thanks for the tip on Bogart.

[Roll a 7]

According to their website Bogart Wheels does fix damaged and repair wheels needing help. Refinishing should be well within their capabilities.

I was impressed with the quality and precision with which my pieces were manufactured. Also, they used spun aluminum, same as Barnby. My pal David Laird has bought a lot of wheels from Bogart for his 7s; so they are not new to our little niche market.

Would absolutely use them again. First.

[Michael Murphy]

You could also try Jongbloed in Morgan Hill. They refurbished my F2K wheels like new.

[Sean]

A friend who is into the vintage racing scene (he has a 70s F1 car and a CanAm car) recommended a guy earlier this week, so I made an appointment with him. Just need to get the tires off, dis-assemble the wheels, and deliver the mag centers to him. While he reconditions the centers, I will clean the rim halves and get some new bright zinc plated 12.9 socket head cap screws, washers, NyLock nuts, and silicone for re-assembly. Then I'll look into getting some R888s.

Thanks all for the tips. I can see this thread as being potentially useful to me in the future, and hopefully to others.

[moosetestbestanden]

Polisher. :-D

[Sean]

Turns out finding a place to strip and re-chromate the centers was not nearly as difficult as finding some zinc plated 12.9 M6x1.0-25 SHC screws. I found a supplier for some un-plated ones (Mr. Metric), and am looking into having them plated - waiting for a quote on that now - but I could not locate any off-the-shelf suppliers in the U.S. They need to be plated to prevent reacting with the magnesium.

[GWise]

http://www.aftfasteners.com/m8/SK1-4521--m6-1-00-x-25-mm-metric-socket-head-cap-screw-12-9-coarse-alloy-zinc-plating-plus-bake.html

Not sure if these guys will sell you a small quantity, but it may be worth looking into.

[Sean]

Thanks Geoff. I sent them a RFQ for the zinc plated 12.9 SHCSs, but too late to hear back until tomorrow.

Mr. Metric never replied to the RFQ I sent them yesterday morning (I called them as well).
McMaster catalog/web page does not list them.
Grainger catalog/web page does not list them.
MSC catalog/web page does not list them.
Olander catalog/web page does not list them.
And I didn't see them at OSH either.

[GWise]

I went home and checked my Carroll Smith book

Here's a few more to try:

Global Metrics Inc. (located in the bay area)
519 Marine View St
Ste K
Belmont, CA 94002

http://www.metricspecialties.com/home.nxg

http://www.metricmcc.com/ (Though I didn't see a 12.9 zinc in their catalog-only 8.8)

That wouldn't happen to be the OSH on San Carlos, would it?

[MHKflyer52]

Sean,

McMaster Carr caries metric zinc plated capscrews in the 12.9 alloy steel.
Metric Zinc-Coated Class 12.9 Alloy Steel.
Here is a list of the part numbers and a link to the page.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#socket-head-cap-screws/=gupgut

Class 12.9 screws are high strength and coated with a layer of zinc for rust resistance. Size M3 screws are zinc plated; all other sizes have a coating of zinc flake, which provides 600 hours of salt spray resistance. All screws are fully threaded and have a Class 5g6g thread fit. They have a minimum Rockwell hardness of C37 and tensile strength of 174,000 psi. Dimensions meet DIN 912/ISO 4762. Screw length is measured from under the head.
Lg.,
mm Pkg.
Qty. Per
Pkg.
M3—Pitch: 0.5 mm
6 50 95263A110 $5.66
8 50 95263A122 5.93
10 50 95263A134 6.27
12 50 95263A146 6.55
16 25 95263A158 3.90
M4—Pitch: 0.7 mm
6 50 95263A221 5.03
8 50 95263A234 6.72
10 50 95263A247 5.86
12 50 95263A260 6.67
16 50 95263A273 6.37
20 50 95263A286 7.57
M5—Pitch: 0.8 mm
10 50 95263A332 8.13
12 50 95263A346 8.14
14 25 95263A360 5.07
16 25 95263A374 4.34
20 25 95263A388 4.65
25 25 95263A402 4.86
Lg.,
mm Pkg.
Qty. Per
Pkg.
M6—Pitch: 1 mm
12 25 95263A516 $5.38
16 25 95263A531 5.48
20 25 95263A546 5.69
25 25 95263A561 6.62
30 25 95263A576 8.05
M8—Pitch: 1.25 mm
16 25 95263A605 9.34
20 10 95263A619 4.73
25 10 95263A633 4.31
30 10 95263A647 4.50
35 10 95263A661 4.87
40 10 95263A675 9.47
Lg.,
mm Pkg.
Qty. Per
Pkg.
M10—Pitch: 1.5 mm
20 10 95263A735 $6.02
25 10 95263A743 6.13
30 10 95263A751 7.46
35 10 95263A759 10.10
40 10 95263A767 11.14
M12—Pitch: 1.75 mm
25 5 95263A846 7.00
30 5 95263A859 7.16
40 5 95263A872 7.42
50 5 95263A885 8.84

[Sean]

Thanks you guys. Just checked my McMaster book, and it is from 1996! Maybe I should get a newer one...
AFT contacted me, and will be sending a quote this morning.
Yes, the OSH on San Carlos.

edit -- AFT came back with a quote, and I placed an order. Minimum quantity was 100, so I bought 200 (3 x the 64 required for 4 wheels = 192 + 8 spares). Thanks again.