On Tue, 13 Dec 2016 22:00:38 +0000 (UTC), Frank Baron
wrote:

On Tue, 13 Dec 2016 20:25:01 +0000, Stormin' Norman advised:

Which bead breaker do you use?

Is it this one?
http://i.cubeupload.com/ics54M.jpg

Yes, except the base is painted orange, I assume it is the older
version.

Thanks for that information.

Why does your experience totally clash with that of
though?

I suspect Clare has never actually changed a tire using these tools where
you have?
Ha Ha Ha. I've changed tires with nothing but tire irons. I've used
the cheap manual changers. I've used "professional" manual changers
made in the fifties, and I've used several different high tech power
changers. I've changed tires from 4" to 50+ inch tires - car tires
from 10 inch Mini tires to 20 inchers - including clinchers, as well
as split rim and split ring truck tires, and tractor and industrial
equipment tires on 2 continents, and on vehicles from 1928 vintage to
the 2000's. I haven't done it for a living for the last 26 years or
so, but I've still done a fair number of them.
Would I waste my money on one of those tire changers to do my own?
Not as long as I lived within 10 miles of a real tire machine.
I've balanced tires with bubble ballancers, high speed on-car
ballancers, high speed and low speed off-car balancers
I've aligned cars with clip-on bubble level aligners, visualiners,
acculiners, and computerized alignment machines, Would I use a bubble
balancer to balance the wheels on my own vehicles today? Not on your
life.
When I change my own steering parts I line the front up to
"reasonably close" and then drive it over to a local shop and pay them
to do an accurate alignment. - and i KNOW how to do it.
One place I worked we had a "slip guage" that told us when we drove a
car into the shop if the alignment was apppreciably out - and that
test was done free of charge to every vehicle that came in the door.