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Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:55 pm
by Drknjme
Please share some techniques on how you guys do this. I found a lot of info saying to polish the bore then burnish with graphite but couldn’t find anything saying the best ways to go about this. Thanks in advance

Re: Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:32 pm
by whodathunkit
Hi Drknjme!

Some topics about Burnishing :
viewtopic.php?t=5223
wheel bore prep:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4995

Stan Pope also has a web page with a few techniques as well.
http://www.stanpope.net/pwfrictn.htm

Here lately after getting fed up with destroying wheels.. with using pipe cleaner's with wires or the Q tip shafts that swell up.
I've moved on to using the Tamiya spears for all of my wheel bore prep now as I'm having better luck with using them.
https://www.tamiyausa.com/items/paints- ... swab-87105
The spears can also be found at Hobby Lobby in 3 different sizes.

Re: Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 4:34 pm
by Drknjme
I got the tamiya q tips but I thought something harder was needed to burnish with graphite. How has it been working for you

Re: Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:50 pm
by Speedster
If you really want to have Fun learning about Burnishing, buy Doc Jobe's Big Green Book,( it's only $100.00) plus shipping of course. Go to page 306, and read all about it.
Apparently .092 kit nails were used when the book was written. Very briefly, and probably not super detailed, here's how you do it. Buy some .092 axles, or use a drill bit, put some graphite in the bore, stick the nail in the bore, roll the wheel up and down a flat surface several times about one foot each way while applying approximately 1 kg (2.2 lbs) force to the axle.
That's it.
FWIW, I don't do it.

Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 7:05 pm
by whodathunkit
I just dip the spear into some graphite that's been pored out in a small jar.
From there I work it into the wheel bore for about 15 sec. on a slow to midium speed on the drill.
Then i'll re-dip the spear and reverse the direction of the drill and work more graphite in for the same amount of time.
I'll even change sides of the wheel.. outer hub side forward and backwards in the bore..inner hub side forward and backwards in the bore.
I even use the spear to work graphite in to the inner hub ring & outer hub.
This way just seems to work better for me as a personal preference.

Most will use something like a polished rod, or smooth end of a drill bit, and even the Derby worx pro hub tool to burnish the wheel bores and inner hub with graphite.
By rolling the wheel back and forth on a flat surface.. to embed graphite into a wax or
Into the pores of the plastic wheel bore.
Some problems you can run in to by doing it this way.. could be caused by pushing down to hard with one of your hands as you roll the wheel.
This can cause an angle in the wheel bore if your not careful about it. ( so the wheel wobbles in spin testing to the axle!)

At least that was some problems I ran into no matter how careful I thought i was.

Re: Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:15 am
by Vitamin K
When we have to use graphite (not as often these days, thank goodness), we burnish with a metal rod (one of those straight axles from the Pinecar kits works well). In order to keep from distorting the wheel bore, I get a foam rubber pad that we use to press the wheel into as we roll it.

Re: Burnishing wheel bores with graphite

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:15 am
by whodathunkit
I never gave much thought to using
A rubber pad to roll the wheel back and forth on.. good tip there VK!


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