Straightening Front Rims

With the exception of some pitting on the interior (tube area), the wheels are in pretty good shape. However, the rims have been dented in several locations around the perimeter.

Please share any techniques you've found to do the job.

Thanks,
Ken

i hope ken achieved results too.

A wheel and frame alignment shop will have a tool to straighten those curled/bent rim lips perfectly w/o beating on them with a hammer. (See my response to las vegas below.)

On the outside diametrer bent up places on rims, I work them with various hammers and dolly's as suggested. I havn't had the pleasure of working with bent centers.

An elcheapo body hammer and dolly set from like harbor freight will have a hammer shape for just about any occasion for the novice like me.

Sometimes I get kinda high tech and aafter I think I got the shape correct, I set the rim up on a smooth concrete floor and give it a roll and follow it and observe for wobbles indicating larger type outer deformations and use the at least four pounder on drifing the big ones back in place. It will be up to you on how much you want to grind samd and fill the hammer dings afterward.

Guaranteed to make our ears ring - that is if they don't do it all the time like mine.

Anyone know how to straighten a bent CENTER? how about wheel shops? think anyone has the capability to straighten them?

Find yourself an old, established wheel and frame alignment shop. They should have an old piece of equipment that can align/straighten a wheel center perfectly. If you were in MN, I would send you to Andover Wheel & Frame Alignment. Also, they will have a tool to uncurl those bent rim lips without beating on them with a hammer.

I"m just thinking out loud here, so I"ve never tried this, but what if you were to take your good rim, and use it as a pattern to cast two blocks of concrete, one for each side of the rim. Make them a foot thick. Then put your bent rim between the blocks and press them together in a 20 ton hydraulic press? Might this not straighten out the center?

Might make for an interesting weekend, anyway.

Kurt

IT SURE WORKS BETTER THAN BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF THE CENTERS!

I was just doing this job today. I got some advice from FIT on how to straighten that rim, and it seems to work pretty well. Find youself a small ballpeen hammer, of the right size so that the head of the hammer will fit right in the small curve outside of the bead of the rim. Use a dolly or a body hammer to knock on the other side right opposite the ballpeen. I found I had to wack it pretty hard, as I was using two pretty light hammers, but it did straighten out. Took me about 45 mins. to get the hang of it. Hammer on the side that is bent in, and it will come back out toward the hammer. It might ding it up a little.

See the disscussion a few pages back

Kurt

Kurt

Ken