Rim Dent Removal

[blaat!]

I have a set of steel rims, but one had a dent probably from hitting a pot hole, curb, etc. Otherwise in decent shape though.

I made a jig to remove the dent and it worked out pretty well. Figured I'd post the method here in case anyone has the need to do the same.

I found and marked the dent in the rim on a truing stand while it was still laced up. I needed to take the wheels apart because I'm using different hubs and spokes, so I used and homemade compass to make a perfect circle on a piece of mat board to check the progress of dent removal.

perfect-circle.jpg

You can see the dent where it diverges from the circle.

before-straightening.jpg

The jig is made from scrap plywood and 2x4s and is sized for a snug fit just inside the rim. This keeps the rest of the rim from distorting while the dent is removed. The part on the right is the plunger that will push the dent out.

jig-right-side-up.jpg

jig-up-side-down.jpg

Works out nicely as you can stand on the wheel. I originally planned to use a flat bar, but I ended up getting out a real crow bar rather than break a sweat.

pry-1.jpg

[blaat!]

This is all set up just before prying. I made the radius on the plunger slightly smaller than the jig so it has the ability to "push beyond" and let the rim come back to the right place.

b4-straightening.jpg

You can see in this image that the rim is just about round again. I did a few final tweaks and put it in the arbor press to push the flange flat again.

almost-there.jpg

As you can see, the crow bar damaged the jig. If I had more dents to fix I could probably optimize the gap for the crow bar and add some aluminum/ABS to support the prying.

pry-2.jpg

Hope this is helpful to someone. Anybody found a better or easier method?

[ecurbruce]

Hi Jim,
I like the whole thing!
A piece of angle iron on that trailing edge to pry against might work.
If you could squeeze the rim back to the corrected width while holding pressure with the wood block also might work...

Bruce

[Ventodue]

Nice solution! Bravo!