Had to stripe several wheels for a customer the other day and decided I would try to make an improvised arbor for rotating the wheels to be striped. As I like to use stuff that I have on hand rather than going out and purchasing something I came up with the following: The base is made from a video camera tripod that I bought at a yard sale several years ago for about $5.It is a nice heavy duty model that will easily support a full sized video camera and then some. I removed the fixture that attaches the camera to the tripod(it is a 1/4-20 threaded screw with a lockdown nut attached).I then made an attachment screw for my spindle by using a 1/4-20 carriage bolt about 1 1/2 inches long and a fender washer that I filed a square hole in to press fit onto the bolt. I then turned my attention to my spindle which is a common bowling pin.Using a hole saw I drilled into the bottom of the pin a hole large enough to house an old pilot bearing I had acquired in a box of old bearings.The hole was slightly smaller than what I needed and I opened it up with a pocket knife so the bearing was an interference fit. To assemble it I installed the bolt with the head on the inside of the pin through the bearing and hammered the bearing into the hole.In making the washer for the bolt I hammered it over the square under the bolt head which caused the washer to bow slightly which worked out well as it acted as a self centering device on the inner race of the bearing. I then installed the bolt through the bracket atop the tripod (using a flat washer under the bearing which just contacted the inner race;allowing the assembly to spin when it was tightened down) and tightned it down snugly. Set it on the floor and set one of the wheels(with tire mounted)over the pin.The taper of the pin centered the wheel nicely and the bearing allowed it to spin freely. I was a bit concerned that using just a 1/4 inch bolt wouldn't be strong enough but realized that all the weight of the wheel is centered downward on the tripod and there is no real side force imparted.The good part is it can be dis-assembled and easily stored. As an aside;it worked very well and there was no cost outlay save the initial cost of the tripod and hardware. It may not be used a lot but it is there if needed and can be taken to a job if required.
lets see a wheel on it, how hard is it to get it to spin "level"? also is that a vinyl top on the nomad? i just noticed your name, must be a safari huh?
I will get a pic up of it with a wheel.Actually I was surprised how easy it was to spin with the bearing attached.Also the taper on the pin self centers the wheel and the weight keeps it from tipping.If I do have a problem with that,I might glue a piece of rubber around the pin to stabilize it but I don't think it will be necessary.As I said before this was a temporary solution that just happened to work well.
Very cool. Thanks for posting this. I've got a few sets of wheels that I'd eventually like to put stockish striping on
I had to rig up something like this recently to polish an old set of Ansen Sprints that were a bit crusty. All I did was use and old sealed rear hub from our old Holden Vectra (front wheel drive) and clamp it in a vice. There would be plenty of cars in the US that would have similar hubs on them and easily adapted for this kind of use. Then I just sat the rim on the hub and used some small diameter bolts (5/16") and some body washers to hold the rim on to the hub. Although the hub is 5 stud pattern it is metric (110 mm PCD which is approx 4-5/16") and not the same as the rims which are Ford pattern (4-1/2" PCD) . Even with that discrepancy there is enough room to fit small diameter bolts and tighten them up to hold everything secure. The only thing against this which the OP's unit does have and that is portability. URL=https://imageshack.com/i/f0q7cwUzj][/URL]
I saw a guy take the axle out of a rearend, leave the bearing on it and cut the axle down short, the axle bearing was slid into a pillow block type mount on his bench, and the rear of the axle was cut off and keyed, coupled to an electric motor. He would bolt rotors and drums to it and turn them, as well as check runout. I thought it would be perfect to weld rim centers in, the motor was on a variable speed switch. His reasoning was no one would turn rotors anymore. This would be overkill for stiping, but reading this made me remember the set up. I like your set up, mobile, gets the job done. Do you use a hand rest, or go off the knee? I'm obviously not a striper.
I just rest my finger against the rim ;lay down the brush and start rotating the wheel/tire. I was going to cut down the top of the pin to facilitate mounting the wheel but decided to leave it for now as it would be a good place to reast my hand if I am doing the center of the wheel.Again this was just a temporary solution to a problem.I have used bar stools to stripe wheels before and they do a credible job as well but their portability isn't all that great.
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