Another reason I can't get Rockets right now...

[ergott]

Ain't she purtty?

[dave thompson]

Ain't she purtty?
Er, what is it?

[ergott]

Er, what is it?

Phil Wood spoke machine. After a few spokes I got the hang of it and it works like a charm. It's got to be the most ingenious bike tool.

Thanks Brent!!

[H.Frank Beshear]

I thought maybe you needed a new shirt :D Frank

[Too Tall]

So, you roll your own ;) bah dump bump.

[David Kirk]

I heart that machine!

Dave

[coylifut]

Phil Wood spoke machine. After a few spokes I got the hang of it and it works like a charm. It's got to be the most ingenious bike tool.

Thanks Brent!!

what's it do?

[David Kirk]

It will cut spokes to a given length and then thread the end with one pull of the lever.

BRILLIANT!

Dave (a lover and maker of tools)

[The Spider]

so does that mean you just by a standard length spoke without threading and then 'tailor' every spoke you use to the size you need? How would that work with the buttering on a J-bend spoke?

[dave thompson]

so does that mean you just by a standard length spoke without threading and then 'tailor' every spoke you use to the size you need? How would that work with the buttering on a J-bend spoke?
Basically, you can buy one length of spoke, then cut them and roll the threads as needed for a job. Very neat machines. Very expensive machines!

[coylifut]

It will cut spokes to a given length and then thread the end with one pull of the lever.

BRILLIANT!

Dave (a lover and maker of tools)

cool. I always like to see folks dedicated to their craft.

[ergott]

so does that mean you just by a standard length spoke without threading and then 'tailor' every spoke you use to the size you need? How would that work with the buttering on a J-bend spoke?

You can but only one size of straight gauge spoke for all your needs. The machine cuts and rolls the the thread in one pass of the machine.

The only issue is with double butted/aero spokes. They have a limited amount of room for cutting. Generally, a 2.0/1.8/2.0 spoke has 20-30mm of room to work with. 2.0/1.5/2.0 and aero spokes have about 5mm of play. You can't cut at the transition of the spoke. You could cut at the 1.8mm middle and use 1.8mm nipples if need be.

[ergott]

Very expensive machines!

Yeah, no competition does that. Although it is a work of art. :cool:

[Louis]

If you want to see tons (literally!) of really cool machines check out this site: http://www.owwm.com/

(Old Woodworking Machines) They also have a forum…

This is a late 19th century tenoning machine.

Louis

[theprep]

What a cool machine. I saw this thing in action yesterday. Ergott cut and threaded 32 spokes in about 5 minutes all the while BSin with me.

At first I thought he was merely cutting the spokes and the threading was a seperate step. Not so, the machine cuts and rolls the threads in one shot.

The nipples went on the spoke threads smoothly and the wheel built up no problems. The wheel may explode under me later today, but it won't me the machines fault.