Mike Wilson
New Member
- Messages
- 14
- Location
- Bedale, North Yorkshire
Grind it out and fill it in I'm guessing then grind off any excess.
speed isn't the issue if u do any decent trialing it will collapse if u do any jumps or wheeliesView attachment 98575 Any tips on weldingView attachment 98576 cracks in aluminium motorbike rims, for a trials bike (so won't be going too fast).
Grind it out and fill it in I'm guessing then grind off any excess.
I'm part of the no weld club I'm afraid.
It's very easy to say weld it and it's probably very easy to weld also but without understanding what your doing to it when welding it ref putting in a HAZ the results can be catastrophic.
A car wheel will usually deflate if the weld cracks which is mainly a wheel change at the side of the road. Having had a puncture on a bike I can say I don't fancy another any time soon. And this is the best case scenario in the event of a failure. It's not about been wheel police chev it's about understanding your materials, manufacturing processes and what a new heat effected zone can do to them.
how are they stuck together in the first place if they can't be welded? I assume they start flat and are bent round to form a circle rather than machined from solid?
Yes and at the end of the manufacturing when they get checked ime sure any rims that have any cracks/bends/impact marks are put straight in the melting pothow are they stuck together in the first place if they can't be welded? I assume they start flat and are bent round to form a circle rather than machined from solid?
To a point I very much agree. All critical parts on a vehicle should be address with a proffessional standard when welding is concerned and you are right Chassis suspension etc can be just as bad if they fail. That said wheels are different. Not from a importance if they fail POV but from a likely to fail POV even if they are done well. I will weld most things from a vehicle because I know what they are made of, I know what consumables will be suited and how to address it.Richard, i didn't for a moment think that wouldn't be a backlash against my post,
The main point that i was putting across that it appears to now have become a law passed oh here that an Ali wheel simply cant be welded at all and all Ali wheels must be scrapped once any damage is found,
Whereas its perfectly acceptable and with the "well done mate" and "that should be ok" comments on serious sub standard welding and fabrication on vehicle suspension, braking and chassis components that appear on here,
and theres been quite a few over the time i've been here,
All of the above should they suffer a failure would just as quickly put you into the armco as a wheel failure.
To a point I very much agree. All critical parts on a vehicle should be address with a proffessional standard when welding is concerned and you are right Chassis suspension etc can be just as bad if they fail. That said wheels are different. Not from a importance if they fail POV but from a likely to fail POV even if they are done well. I will weld most things from a vehicle because I know what they are made of, I know what consumables will be suited and how to address it.
Do you know what grade of Alu that wheel is???? No and neither do I.
Do you know what effect a HAZ is going to have on it???
I don't either.
I'm not suggesting new comers go out and weld up critical parts on a bike but some of these parts are very weldable and can be risk free if done well. A lot Wheels ain't one of them. I could make a mint doing wheels I'm asked all the time but I don't like come backs and I don't know enough about them to start offering that.
"Not weldable" often means TIG or MIG etc are gonna ruin it (mechanical properties and/or corrosion based stuff like SCC) or result in mess full of cracks but resistance or spot welding methods can work if done correctly because the HAZ is waaaaaaaaay smaller and/or because some flavours are solution annealed and artificially aged afterwards to 'fix' the random grain structure of welds. Like the bicycle wheel vid i'd expect the joint is also sleeved or reinforced some other way too... with pushbike stuff pinned rims are common, either just pinning (cheap tat) or pinned and welded although the method shown in the vid is probably more popular 'cause it's lighter than stuffing some solid bar into the thing like https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pinned+rim+jointhow are they stuck together in the first place if they can't be welded? I assume they start flat and are bent round to form a circle rather than machined from solid?