wheel weight wedges

Just picked up a set of wheel weights cheap locally for my 2N, they are the 2 piece style, #100 each section. They look like the Roloff style but I haven't found any casting numbers yet.
Typical with these they are missing the wedges. I am thinking if I can't find any, to make something that will work. Anyone get a good picture of the wedges and some measurments?
I already have the longer carriage bolts to fit.
Any other ideas would be helpful.
Thanks
Corey
a176110.jpg
 
I have a similar set of weights that I'm not using and am missing the wedges. I believe I saw a source for those from an antique tractor parts supplier. If I can find it again I'll post it here.
 

Pipe sleeves over the bolts that fit the contour of the weights and sleeves or nuts within the pipe to keep the bolt centered. Big flats with a ground-back edge, before the nut goes on ???

Just a thought.

T
 
About 13 years ago I was installing some Roloff 3 pc weights and noticed that several of the wedges were cracked. So I looked up Roloff in Wisconsin and contacted them.
They said they were willing to make new wedges for me. But I never followed through with it.
I just used heavy washers to back up the cracked wedges and they worked fine.
I also know that some years ago Palmer Fossum had Roloff make up a bunch of wedges for him and he sold several sets of them. But as you may know, Palmer has passed on so that information is likely gone with him.
Having been a machinest, welder, fabricator in my earlier days I can tell you hose wedges would not be easy to duplicate except if you have your own foundry or have a CNC mill.
I would look those weights over closely to see if you can find any part numbers on them. Then I would contact Roloff.
If you find any new information there are probably several people here who would like to know about it.
 
I have spent the afternoon looking for those wedges. I thought Steiner Tractor had them but no luck so I started searching. Not done but quit for now. Hopefully I didn't screw up by not buying them when I saw them.
 
making some out of hardwood would last a long time.

me, being a hack, I'd just slip some old large nuts over the rod to keep it centered. Then a big washer- littler washers stack, and cinch it down tight.
After all, where are they gonna go?
 
I bought a similar set several years ago---also missing the wedges. I've never actually seen one of the wedges, but Walt's Tractors sells one that looks like it would work.

http://www.link_disallowed/acatalog/UF81471---Mounting-Wedge-77026.html#SID=11018

I paid $25 for the weights and haven't been able to talk myself into paying $8.50 each for the wedges (plus the cost of bolts.)
 
NNP,
It's a two way deal the way those wedges work. First thing is they wedge the weights against the rims which wedges the weights into a tighter circle - against themselves.
More importantly, they're what allows the 6 wheel to center bolts to get tightened adequately.
My experience with those type weights is you put them on and tighten them up good. Then run the tractor around a bit and retighten. Run the tractor for a week or two and tighten again.
Otherwise you'll soon hear your wheels clunk as you drive as the bolts have loosened.
A guy might do it with stacked washers but it wouldn't be as good.
With the right wedges the bolt binds all three parts together - rim, center, weight.
I doubt hardwood would last very long at all.
One disadvantage to those style weights is they can and will rust out your rims. Dirt, etc gets caught in the 3/16" gap between the weight and rim and holds water. One of my sets came off of rims that were badly rusted there.
I try to pressure wash mine out at least once a year.
These are the 3 piece style.

rear20brackets.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 17:11:15 12/09/14) NNP,
It's a two way deal the way those wedges work. First thing is they wedge the weights against the rims which wedges the weights into a tighter circle - against themselves.
More importantly, they're what allows the 6 wheel to center bolts to get tightened adequately.
My experience with those type weights is you put them on and tighten them up good. Then run the tractor around a bit and retighten. Run the tractor for a week or two and tighten again.
Otherwise you'll soon hear your wheels clunk as you drive as the bolts have loosened.
A guy might do it with stacked washers but it wouldn't be as good.
With the right wedges the bolt binds all three parts together - rim, center, weight.
I doubt hardwood would last very long at all.
One disadvantage to those style weights is they can and will rust out your rims. Dirt, etc gets caught in the 3/16" gap between the weight and rim and holds water. One of my sets came off of rims that were badly rusted there.
I try to pressure wash mine out at least once a year.
These are the 3 piece style.
Hard to tell from the picture but it looks like the "wedges" are half round on the weight side to match the radius in the weight and more or less flat on the rim side. Do they require a longitudinal taper as well? Doesn't look like it would be overly difficult to mill "close enough" approximations out of rectangular steel bar stock using a concave milling cutter in a setup similar to the top or middle one shown below. If need be the rim side could be filleted or chamfered to more or less match that curvature as well. Certainly better than wood blocks or a stack of washers....

TOH

Fig8-33.gif
 
(quoted from post at 17:55:10 12/09/14) Here's what the originals look like.


.

Much better picture!! It looks like the raised "wedge" section provides the radial clamping force between rim and weight sections and the flat part with the slot is just a hold down. If that is the case could that not be accomplished with a two piece clamp - e.g. a curved wedge shaped "shim" and a flat hold down that forces the shim into the gap between the rim and weights?

TOH
 
(quoted from post at 14:11:15 12/09/14) NNP,
It's a two way deal the way those wedges work. First thing is they wedge the weights against the rims which wedges the weights into a tighter circle - against themselves.
More importantly, they're what allows the 6 wheel to center bolts to get tightened adequately.
My experience with those type weights is you put them on and tighten them up good. Then run the tractor around a bit and retighten. Run the tractor for a week or two and tighten again.
Otherwise you'll soon hear your wheels clunk as you drive as the bolts have loosened.
A guy might do it with stacked washers but it wouldn't be as good.
With the right wedges the bolt binds all three parts together - rim, center, weight.
I doubt hardwood would last very long at all.
One disadvantage to those style weights is they can and will rust out your rims. Dirt, etc gets caught in the 3/16" gap between the weight and rim and holds water. One of my sets came off of rims that were badly rusted there.
I try to pressure wash mine out at least once a year.
These are the 3 piece style.

<img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h56/Ultradog/snow%20plow/rear20brackets.jpg">

Thanks UD.
A good day, I learned something new.
Long bolt/1 nut system to hold all 3 together?
No inside nut before the weights go on?
I'd definitely have to change that idea.
It's hard enough keeping things tight without a design like that.

(totally scratch that hardwood thing with no inside nut and washer before the weights go on...)

I know you like mods, but others on the board don't, so I'll leave it at that.........
 
Good photo John.
Those are a little different than the ones I have seen. Mine do not have the lip. They are solid for the full thickness and IIRC they have more of a taper to the wedge.
They are 115 miles away from here or I would go out and take one off for a photo.
 
(quoted from post at 21:47:12 12/09/14) Good photo John.
Those are a little different than the ones I have seen. Mine do not have the lip. They are solid for the full thickness and IIRC they have more of a taper to the wedge.
They are 115 miles away from here or I would go out and take one off for a photo.

Well it wouldn't be difficult or terribly expensive to have them re-popped. Those are simple sand castings and there is an Amish foundry not far from me that works cheap.....

TOH
 
These are the ones from Walt's Tractor. Now I'm not sure which
kind I need for my 2 piece weights. The outer 2 holes would take
wedges, but the center hole isnt the same.
Coret
a176232.jpg
 
Just a thought here, but those almost look like they could be made from some angle iron. Not knowing the dimension, but guessing some 1/2 thick 3x3 or so. Cut to length, then cut the radius with a plamsa and grind the down part to make similar. Guessing a guy could make a complete set in 2-3hrs or so with a well equipped shop. Shoprate here is $60/hr

Jeff
 
(quoted from post at 11:20:36 12/10/14) These are the ones from Walt's Tractor. Now I'm not sure which
kind I need for my 2 piece weights. The outer 2 holes would take
wedges, but the center hole isnt the same.
Coret

If there is a current source for new ones not much need for me to deal with the foundry. From the way UD was talking I thought they were NLA....

TOH
 

In addition to my first suggestion of thick walled pipe that matches the weight cutaways pretty close . . .

Before putting the large flat washers on, one could tap in on two sides of each pipe, those [b:dee68fe517]tapered wedges[/b:dee68fe517] used for installing axe handles. The flat washers could press the wedges in even tighter and keep them from ever backing out.
 
I never thought about having some repopped, even though I live 50' from a high tech foundry.
If you do repop some I would suggest you have them made out of cast steel or good gray iron.
The first set of those weights I had had all the wedges but 4 of them were cracked in half.
I could still use them by cutting a flat on a large washer and putting that over the wedge. But I think the low grade CI they used was not strong enough to stand up to tightening.
Just a thought.
You can see the washers in the photo above.

Edit: For those following this thread, the 1/2 round slot where the bolt goes through the OD of the weight is not large enough in dia to put a nut on first to hold the rim to center and then add the weights. If that makes sense...
 

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