On Monday, July 30, 2012 9:14:07 AM UTC-5, Jim Wilkins wrote:
"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

Do you have any pictures? I am having a little problem visualising. (I also dont have acess to a lath and mill).