Straightening a slightly bent wheel

[mherrcat]

I'm pretty sure I have seen a thread on this somewhere in the Forum but couldn't find it in a search.

The wheel on my 30+ is slightly bent. Bent in the sense that someone probably leaned forward on it hard at one time. When the wheel is rotated freely the outer rim does not remain in the same plane; it moves forward and back.

It's not really a problem except that when the wheel drive for the auto pilot was installed by a previous owner the indexing shaft was left too long and it would rub on the inside of the front cover of the drive. This caused the shaft to gouge the inside of the cover. I cut the shaft a little shorter and fixed that problem but the damage was already done; I just last week replaced the front drive cover because it had cracked where the gouge was the deepest.

I am wondering if there is a way to straighten the wheel myself, or if that is something a fabricator of railings and such could do inexpensively. It's more an annoyance than a problem so I don't want to do anything to make things worse...

 

[Loren Beach]

From a theoretical standpoint, all that's needed is a way to immobilize the center hub, while applying pressure carefully on the rim.
In practice, I foresee some sort of steel table with a one inch piece of shafting, and then a clamp about 6" across to hold down the hub. Then use some gentle hydraulic persuasion on the rim, with padding, in very small increments.

If too challenging for a DIY approach, then a speciality shop that does ss welding and fabrication could do this, IMHO.

Loren

 

[mherrcat]

I thought about the hydraulic press. I have a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and he has one in his shop.
I was thinking more of using the press to hold the hub in place while lifting the outside rim a little.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Straightening your bent wheel.

Mark, To add to what sage advice Loren just gave you, I wonder if you couldn't get the same result by purchasing a 1" bolt long enough to clamp vertically in your bench vise and still have length to slip your wheel over. Stack up some small paint cans, chunks of wood or use a measuring tape somewhere on the bench to gauge your progress as you progressively bend the wheel back into shape. This could be done at a minimal cost and give you the satisfaction of having done it yourself. I can't imagine the bench work taking more than five to ten minutes once you've gathered all the materials. Actually it sounds like a rather fun project. Go for it, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[Shamwari]

I did mine by the direct approach

My wheel was bent when I tried to install the wheel autopilot so I rotated it to find the spot where it was bent the most and smacked it with the heel of my hand with increasing force until it started to move. I wasn't overly violent and it was straightened in about 2 minutes. If you don't go too crazy it is safe enough to do it this way - just take your time - oh and have a rum set by to take the pain out of your hand.
Maybe start with the rum.

John Gleadle

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Bent Wheel

Mark:

Had the same problem you describe.....almost eerie .......

What I did after cutting and repositioning the A/P Shaft......

I took my small (12") adjustable square and picked the spot immediately above the A/P shaft and put the square on the King Spoke and the rule against the pedestal.......locked the square against the spoke, and the proceeded to do this with each spoke pushing, or pulling until the wheel became uniform at all of the six spokes......it has been fine ever since......and since I was told the P/O weighed 300+, and I have had no one on the boat at that weight to lean against it.....it has been just fine.....

All of the above seem like they should work just fine.....but this seems a bit easier.....

Good Luck