flywheel truing

[cscott]

have a pair of chief flywheels all together and almost set up perfect, all they need is to be spread apart slightly opposite the crank pin, any suggestions? thanks chris

[Jerry Wieland]

I use a wedge made out of UHMW (teflon) but most old timers used wood. I drive it in slightly and then tap around the crankpin and it usually spreads them depending how tight you have the crankpins torqued.

Jerry

[PanheadFred1]

^^^^^^this^^^^^^

[T. Cotten]

have a pair of chief flywheels all together and almost set up perfect, all they need is to be spread apart slightly opposite the crank pin, any suggestions? thanks chris

I left them in the centers but loosened a skosh, Chris,..

And then applied an opposed pair of cheap HarborFreight 18" light crowbars, as I could then feel the wheels actually spring under pressure, and then could quickly check for change.

Another approach would be a very small screw jack made from a simple nut and bolt:
flywheel drill support.jpg
(Shown here to prevent the wheels from closing up when drilled for balance.)

....Cotten

[cscott]

i am having no luck, the wheels do flex with the wedge but come back to were they were every time, the nuts are torqued to 100lbs ?

[exeric]

I fought the same situation on my Scout wheels. Using Cotten, and Jerry's methods eventually worked for me but not without a lot of poor judgement on my part. Flywheel truing is a difficult process. I found Tom Cotten's suggestions on the Virtual Indian site to be most helpful.

[T. Cotten]

Found the pic, Folks!

WHEELPRY.jpg

Its all about feel.

And a big C-clamp if it goes too far.

And that's fine, because you want to 'wallow' the pin into the tapers, as you work up to "torque", whatever that might be....

.....Cotten
PS: Yes, those are brandX wheels, but the crowbars don't know it.
PPS: Truing wheels became a breeze after I started lapping tapers first: http://virtualindian.org/10techfly.htm.

[cscott]

how much force can be used on the pry bars? and what should i reduce the nut torque down too? thanks chris

[T. Cotten]

how much force can be used on the pry bars? and what should i reduce the nut torque down too? thanks chris

How big are your forearms, Chris?

The whole point is you can feel what you are doing (better than with a hammer or even a screw-jack), and quickly apply exactly where the wheels need to be moved, based upon the run-out on the shafts (not the wheels themselves). Take it too far,.. just grab the C-clamp.

The pins wallow into malleable Z wheels, so its best to work up to full torque in successive truing steps. It is normal for an adjustment to require the nuts to be brought back to torque.

How are you holding the wheels square and firm when you torque?

....Cotten
PS: Tapers hold themselves together; The nuts are just assembly aids.
If a nut is loosened, a shock should be required to release the pin in the bore.

[tfburke3]

FLywwheel truing is way easier for me sine I made a clamp.
A piece of 3" x1 1/4" x9"long channel.Machined bevels about 30deg.on the edges parallel then cut in half with a 5/8 threaded rod thru the middle of each 4 1/2" piece.
The wheels almost true themselves and the channel can be put in the vise to hold everything while torquing.
Tom

[T. Cotten]

FLywwheel truing is way easier for me since I made a clamp.
A piece of 3" x1 1/4" x9"long channel.Machined bevels about 30deg.on the edges parallel then cut in half with a 5/8 threaded rod thru the middle of each 4 1/2" piece.
The wheels almost true themselves and the channel can be put in the vise to hold everything while torquing.
Tom

Mine is the same principle, Tom!

But I needed to get it in and out quickly and often, and the sturdier the better..

FLYJIG.JPG



The screwpress ram held things firmly with minimal pressure, and I could hold only one wheel when I wanted to, and didn't want to twist like a bench vise.

....Cotten
PS: Ram is Datsun jack; Wrench on table not calibrated!

[cscott]

Well it finally went into place ,thank you for all the help,chris