Spinner Spanner

[Ragtag]

Hi Guys,

 

Does anyone know where I could get a spanner (or special tool) to undo a two ear spinner (wire wheels) rather than beating them to death with a mallet. I have seen one on the web for 3 ear spinners but not two.

 

Thanks in anticipation...........

[Bill Bourne]

Hi Guys,

 

Does anyone know where I could get a spanner (or special tool) to undo a two ear spinner (wire wheels) rather than beating them to death with a mallet. I have seen one on the web for 3 ear spinners but not two.

 

Thanks in anticipation...........

 

Moss do one - but it will still mark the ears on the spinners - being metal. I found the best solution was to buy a "Thor Hammer" - lead one end but plastic the other. If you use the plastic end - no marks. Mine cost about £8 and I won't use anything else.

 

Best Bill

[Steve R]

SC parts in Crawley have them, I use a large rubber mallet on mine, doesn't seem to damage the spinners. But If you are going to buy something else to undo the spinners anyway the wooden spinner spanner seems a good Idea.

Steve

 

 

http://www.scparts.co.uk/index/lang-2/lkz-...log.tpl,x-a.htm

[RogerH]

Hi Chris,

the spanner that Bill mentions does in deed mark the ears in the "as bought" condition but with a bit of fettling and the use of a few metal spacers at the contact area will stop this.

However there are two weaknesses to this spanner

1. It is structurally weak - it will eventually twist out of shape quite quickly. I reinforced mine with 1" angle iron.

 

2. On the front wheels, if the ears are very tight and the ears are aligned vertically, the wheels will turn in

rather than undo causing a possibly interferance between the wing and the spanner handle.

 

Plus point for the mallet, you can tighten the wheel with them still jacked up. You can't do this with the spanner.

 

Roger

[North London Mike]

Hi Guys,

 

Does anyone know where I could get a spanner (or special tool) to undo a two ear spinner (wire wheels) rather than beating them to death with a mallet. I have seen one on the web for 3 ear spinners but not two.

 

Thanks in anticipation...........

 

 

Hi Guys

 

All this beating it to death with a mallet is a bit un scientific isn't it ?

 

I've seen the three ear one on the Web as well, know the bloke in fact.............

 

I was watching some footage of the works TR4 team changing some wheels and the poor guy was knocking 8 bells out of the spinner, rested and then did it all again just to be sure !

 

I suspect Triumph know what the correct loading on the spinners should be, say, 105 FtLb? But clubbing the spinner doesn't give you a reading, other that that old motor trade standby 'FT'

 

You wouldn't go out with loose wheel nuts or other safety related items and equally wouldn't overtighted them for the same reason. If your a big bloke with a 10lb lump hammer you've over done it and if you're a 7 stone weakling with a 4 lb hammer you've not done them up tight enough !

 

This guy had the same problem, so to fix it he made one himself ! Developed 'Spinitoff', swears by it, but currently it only serves three ear spinners as it was developed for Lotus & AC/ Cobras etc. However I think they are working on a two ear version

 

Have a look, seems like a neat idea and then you're safe AND sure.............(no axe to grind as I'm not on spinners or the payrole)

 

http://www.trees2timber.com/spinitoff.htm

[stuart]

Hi Guys

 

All this beating it to death with a mallet is a bit un scientific isn't it ?

 

I've seen the three ear one on the Web as well, know the bloke in fact.............

 

I was watching some footage of the works TR4 team changing some wheels and the poor guy was knocking 8 bells out of the spinner, rested and then did it all again just to be sure !

 

I suspect Triumph know what the correct loading on the spinners should be, say, 105 FtLb? But clubbing the spinner doesn't give you a reading, other that that old motor trade standby 'FT'

 

You wouldn't go out with loose wheel nuts or other safety related items and equally wouldn't overtighted them for the same reason. If your a big bloke with a 10lb lump hammer you've over done it and if you're a 7 stone weakling with a 4 lb hammer you've not done them up tight enough !

 

This guy had the same problem, so to fix it he made one himself ! Developed 'Spinitoff', swears by it, but currently it only serves three ear spinners as it was developed for Lotus & AC/ Cobras etc. However I think they are working on a two ear version

 

Have a look, seems like a neat idea and then you're safe AND sure.............(no axe to grind as I'm not on spinners or the payrole)

 

http://www.trees2timber.com/spinitoff.htm

I notice he quotes 210 ft lbs for the lotus he is doing the demo on!! that equates to a hell of a belt with a hammer!!

Stuart.

[ianc]

Back in the '20s, the "hammer" was heavy (much heavier than hammers I have seen being used on TRs) and had a large lump of solid copper sitting in a steel surround. The copper is comparatively soft and does the minimum amount of damage to the chrome on the spinner, and the weight ensures that one doesn't have to whack the spinner as many times. For my wire-wheeled TR2, I always used the hammer which my Uncle used on his 1925 3-litre Bentley.

Ian Cornish

[jean]

Very nice gadgets are available on the Continent to lock/unlock spinners, will look it up in my magazine. The only problem with the spanners is that you will have to use an xtra person to lock up the front wheels when handling the spanner. It's well known that it has to be done with the wheel off the ground and this works best with a hammer.

In fact the wheels receive the final lock while driving, so there is no reason to smash the spinners to pieces

[foster461]

Hi Guys,

 

Does anyone know where I could get a spanner (or special tool) to undo a two ear spinner (wire wheels) rather than beating them to death with a mallet. I have seen one on the web for 3 ear spinners but not two.

 

Thanks in anticipation...........

 

Check out part number CCP1098 on this page:

 

http://www.zeni.net/trf/TR6-250GC/131.php

 

Stan

[littlejim]

Could I butt in on this subject and ask how the cogniscenti tell when the spinners are tight enough?

The unnerving experience of hearing the metallic ring of my right hand front one falling on to the road during one test drive has made me rather nervous about them. Luckily I was able to pull over immediately with the wheel still on, but what do you do at eleventy twelve in the outside lane?

Belting with a Thor hammer is a new experience when you are used to spanners and nuts.

[claggy001]

Check out part number CCP1098 on this page:

 

http://www.zeni.net/trf/TR6-250GC/131.php

 

Stan

 

According to my garage, plywood spinner spanners like the SC Parts & Roadster Factory version quickly disintegrate in use. Anyone here got any experience of this?

 

If Spinitoff was available in a 2 eared version I'd buy one right away, it looks really well engineered, 'fit for purpose' as our beloved leaders would say! So, North London Mike, if you can gently apply pressure to your chum...?

[North London Mike]

If Spinitoff was available in a 2 eared version I'd buy one right away, it looks really well engineered, 'fit for purpose' as our beloved leaders would say! So, North London Mike, if you can gently apply pressure to your chum...?

 

 

 

I'll certainly pass on your comments (you could also email him from the site, there's nothing like customer feedback to speed up development !!)

[piman]

Hello all,

 

I too vote for the copper\hide mallet. Make sure the hubs and wheels are well greased. Tighten up the spinners until they don't move with normal blows of the copper end. As long as the hubs haven't been put on the wrong side they should stay tight as they tend to self tighten. If you are worried, wire lock the spinner to the wheel, but I've only seen that on racing cars.

 

Alec

[jean]

Have a look at - http://oldtimertools.de

[stuart]

Have a look at - http://oldtimertools.de

Jean that looks like a very good tool to me.

Stuart.

[vivdownunder]

The best hammer I have ever seen for wire wheels is a Thorex 716... 50mm-2"....."Made in England" engineer's hammer. It is double ended with a replaceable nylon striker at each end, so it causes no bruising whatsoever to the knock-on. This Thor has the perfect weight to get wire wheels tight, and has a heavy duty unbreakable nylon shaft with an excellent non slip rubber grip.

 

I have found the trick with changing wires is to have the tyre just touching the ground, whether tightening or loosening, as the first or last strikes to the knock-on are then transmitted down to the ground, rather than through the suspension. With removal, position the wheel so the knock-on is horizontal for the first few hits. Once the knock-on is loosened, just jack the car up a bit further and spin it off.

 

Cheers,

 

Viv

[Ragtag]

Hi Guys,

 

Does anyone know where I could get a spanner (or special tool) to undo a two ear spinner (wire wheels) rather than beating them to death with a mallet. I have seen one on the web for 3 ear spinners but not two.

 

Thanks in anticipation...........

 

 

Hello again,

 

Just taking a break from watching the Super Bowl during half time.

 

Thanks very much for the responses to my query. It seemed strange to me that there wasn't a "workshop tool" to do this job when you consider how long centre lock wheels have been around. I have a Thor hammer which is fine when you're out on the road and need to change a wheel but at home, for routine maintenance, I want something more scientific.

 

I welcome the news that "spinitoff" are developing a two ear tool but Jean wins the prize for coming up with the sort of tool I had in mind. The only thing is that I couldn't work out how to get to the price. Can anyone help?

[Steve_Dyne]

This should get you to the price:

 

http://www.shop-016.de/Oldtimertools-s24h2...Healey_Tri.html?

 

Steve

[Ragtag]

This should get you to the price:

 

http://www.shop-016.de/Oldtimertools-s24h2...Healey_Tri.html?

 

Steve

Thanks Steve.

 

Ouch, 170 Euros though. You can buy a lot of new spinners for that sort of money so maybe I'll stick with the stout piece uf wood and lump hammer method for the time being! It is a nice piece of kit though so maybe I'll also paste the link onto my letter to Santa.

[BrianC]

You can't really go far wrong with a copper and hide hammer. I use the hide face with some rag wrapped around the spinner. Only need the copper face for removal if the spinner has become really tight after a long period, or a tyre fitter or previous owner has belted it on with a lump hammer

 

The copper and hide hammer is a useful general purpose item for the on-board toolkit and doesn't exactly take up a lot of space.

Edited February 6, 2008 by BrianC

[Guest Keith P Warren]

Brian C

 

I have made a simple tool up that goes over the centre of the spinner with swivel rubber lined "U" sections that go over the ears, in the centre I welded a large nut so a socket and if needed a torque wrench could be used to tighten, if intrested I could take photo of this along with measurements.

 

KPW

[67_gt6]

The trick is to have the wheel completely off the ground with the spinner at 12 o'clock. Stand at the rear of the tyre facing forward and hold the top of the tyre with your free hand to prevent it moving. Two sharp blows on the top ear with a hide covered hammer ie back towards yourself should be enough to get it started. If you try and knock off the spinner with the tyre on the ground you'll be there all day.

 

Andy

[Andy Moltu]

What about a dead blow hammer. They tend to have a rubberised surface?

[Paulfc]

Andy,

Please, will you post a picture and dimensions of your “special “ tool.

many thanks,

Paul

[Keith Warren]

Hi

I have been using this tool for many years that I made up the arms swivel round to ether tighten or slack off please see photo but do also have drawing.