"stryped" wrote in message
...
Is there a way to balance wheels at home without a computer baalancer?
I have seen at harbor freight kits designed for motorcycle tires,
bubble balancers and the like. I have heard bubble balancers are not
acurate.

-Does anyone have any idea on "good" redneck ways to do this? I dont
live near a shop. (Amish country).
-I appreciate any advice.

I balanced my truck tires to run smoothly without functioning shock
absorbers with a home-made balance. It consisted of an aluminum disk
with a step turned to a close fit in the wheel's center hole, and a
tapped hole through the center. The balancing mechanism is an upright
post of sharpened music wire mounted in a small ball bearing and a
bolt that screws into the disk, with a conical recess in the threaded
end that rests on the point of the post.

Its sensitivity depends on how high the point is above the tire's
center of gravity. Turning in the bolt raises the tire until the
balance is very delicate, a quarter ounce or less tilts the tire
considerably. It could be set so sensitive that it didn't need a
bubble. I compared the tire to the horizon.

On those wheels at least, if the heavy spots were high on one side and
low on the other the tire would wobble when spun slowly even though it
had been in static balance.

*If you don't see why, hang a wrench from a thread slightly off center
so it hangs freely at an angle, then spin it and watch centrifugal
force level it. The wrench ends simulate a tire that's heavy in
different places on opposite sides.

You can decrease the effect of a too-heavy weight by using a pair of
them, one on either side of the light spot. Their apparent weight
decreases as you move them both further apart. When they are directly
opposite each other they don't affect the balance at all.

Then I noticed that the shock mount had broken loose at the top where
it was normally hidden.

The balancer is spinning on the desk beside me now, minus the tire.
I've adjusted it to be slightly unstable, CG barely above the balance
point, so it tips sideways just before it stops turning.

The problem with this design is rapid point wear. I had to resharpen
the point for each tire.

jsw