Cool, i'll keep the big bubble. Makes sense NOT to beat weights on the machine. I filled mine, as suggested to the red mark, installed the head, removed the head, and the witness mark of fluid's right to the top. I'm ready to use it!
one other thing i was thinking about if you just BARELY touch the thing it scoots and it's out of center (with or without the tire) I'd like to find some thing foam, plastic, rubber or something to put under each foot....i think it would have save me some major headache! story i was going to post if i started a thread... for about 4 years, i was on the look out for a mechanical tire changer and balancer.......over the 4 years, or so, i found a set of tools and two complete changers (i have an addiction!) well, back at the very beginning of the search, i ran across a balancer at a flea market with a few lead weights.....the guy wanted $50 for it...i think i offered $30......at the time, i really thought that was a LOT.....anyway, i p***ed it up but i did take the guys #...... FF about 4 or so years....i was flipping through my trading deals book (i try to keep things down, or you forget!) and i saw this.....i thought, what the heck.......so i called him up and he said he had just sold it about a month ago......i prodded him about did he know the guy.......he didn't know him but knew some facts about him......knew that he was an older gentleman, delt in hub caps and knew the vicinity of where he lived... well, i was on the phone, chasing leads on bodies for a hot rod (before i found my brookville roasdster body) and i just happen to ask this guy if he knew a fella that delt in hub cabs......yep, and he told me a more precise local of where this ole' fell lived..... so, about 6 months later, i found myself near this vicinity and thought i'd do a quick search for this guy....after a few stops at gas stations, etc.....i zeroed in on this place that had all sorts of stuff sitting around.... i knocked on the door and just as i turned to walk back to the car, this ole' fella came to the door and told me to wait......he came out in a (i can't remember, now) wheel chair or a walker........i explained to him this whole story and told him i was buildin an old model a roadster with a flathead v8 in it......and, as i ask all old guys, i said did you ever own an old ford with one of those flathead s in it.......he tole me to wait a second and he came back out of the house with just a couple of pictures......wow! he only had a couple but they had pics of some coupes at the tracks back in the 50's......i had such a great time talking to him that i just about forgot why i was there...... he couldn't believe i had chased this balancer all the way to his house......he told me that he wasn't able to use it anymore and since he had two, he'd let one go.......for the same $50 he gave for it......and he threw in two large coffee cans of weights.... you know, i have never got up the nerve to stop back in and talk to him....i'm afraid of the answer- that he has p***ed-........i'd feel like a heal if his widow came to the door and i asked for him......however, i feel guilty because i told him when i got the little flatty on the road, i'd come back to see him.... sorry for the rambling, but i live for this sort of thing.....chasing leads, buying old parts, talking to ole' timers, getting to know other people......especially the old guys... if i ever get the nerve and stop by, i'll post the results
Ya don't want to hit the weights on when the wheel is floating, when you drop it down solid with the lever it's OK. I tap mine in enough to hold them then recheck the balance, take the wheel off and give the weights a hit to make sure they're set solid. If I need for example 4 oz. of weight, I use 4 - 1 oz. weighs, 2 on the inside and 2 on the outside. Spread them out about 6 inches on each side of the light spot. A lot less chance of screwing up the dynamic balance that way.
I try my best to stay away from those contraptions. Got the worst *** whipping of my 9 years after I broke the second gl*** in a 4 week period in my Dads shop. Seems my older brother lead me to believe that was the only way to get the little bubble out of there.
can you still get parts for these? say i broke my gl***, etc..... one of mine says "calibration guaranteed accrurate until 1973" or something like that hahahaha the other just has a early 60's calibration stamp on it.....
Don't know if any of you have tried this. In my tire shop I'll balance a tire on a bubble balancer and then put it on a computer balancer. It'll always show out-of-balance. Then I will remove the weights and balance on the computer machine. The weights will always be in different locations than the bubble balancer asked for. Then I will put it on the BB and the damn tire is always perfect. STRANGE..............................
grandpa and i were talking about this and he said the ole' fellas that taught him how to use them said never to put the whee/tire back on the balancer after you balanced it- said it will always read different and drive ya crazy....dunno! i have two and balanced tire on one and put it on the other....it was fairly close but different.......i also did what grandpa said not to do (put it back on) and he was right.....different.
Well, i'm sure it's not rocket science. An ounce here or there won't mean much. I have 8-lug wheels on my daily, and no adapter for the balancer. I have all 4 NOT balanced, and it's just smooth as a ***** going down the road. Based on that, i'm sure anything I can do with a bubble balancer will be good enough for me
same here, i've had these two for about 5 years or so and the first time i used them was about 3 weeks ago just to "see" if i could help my roadster handling......i could tell a difference....
for most balance jobs, a bubble unit will do ok. we still have one at the shop thats been there for years. one guy still uses it now and then because he learned it that way years ago. i like the new computer balancer we have but a good mechanic can get fine results with the bubble balancer. its a good find groucho!
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