home made bead breaker

[brightspark]

when I made the breaker I-rolled-it to the circumfrence of the wheels and tapered it underneath so when u push it down it pushes in to the wheel rim rather than just slide down the tire wall

 

[brightspark]

got to use it today had to rawl bolted it to the floor . it works a treat. took the manky old tires of the mobile compressor and fitting a couple of part worn ones makes the job easy

 

[the snooper]

got to use it today had to rawl bolted it to the floor . it works a treat. took the manky old tires of the mobile compressor and fitting a couple of part worn ones makes the job easy

Tyres aswell as fixing the engine, what's come over you

 

[brightspark]

Tyres aswell as fixing the engine, what's come over you

I want to put it in the garage to work on and it wouldn't move. its draughty and between the garage and fence . difficult to work on . its the only comp that will run me larger blasting pot

 

[the snooper]

I want to put it in the garage to work on and it wouldn't move. its draughty and between the garage and fence . difficult to work on . its the only comp that will run me larger blasting pot

so a means to an end you need to blast something without the comp overheating

 

[brightspark]

so a means to an end you need to blast something without the comp overheating

yup its a good help if it doesn't. I don't realy need it as I have the smaller portable one used with the 28cfm comp I have

 

[8ob]

When I first read the title I thought it said bread maker and was a bit confused when I opened it to see those pictures

Nice work!

Funny because that's exactly what I read when I saw the title - looks like we both should've gone to Specsavers!

Its a bit like the time I thought I spotted my name on a loaf of bread, when I looked properly it said " thick cut"( yes its an old one)

Bob

 

[brightspark]

I was looking at making one of these, I've fitted all my own tyres for years and I'm sure it would make the job a bit easier sometimes (seen too many alu rims damaged by the hit'n'hope method).

But, a very similar design is available on ebay for about 30quid inc. delivery...

Are the cheapy bought ones so bad as to make building one worthwhile?


(Edit: from a financial p.o.v. - by the time I've dug around, found the metal, cut it up, welded, drilled, etc. it's 'more expensive' to make than buy...)

but u get a more substantial machine and get the enjoyment of making it

 

[ned]

not for a bike at all but this is useful for bigger tyres

 

[Wallace]

not for a bike at all but this is useful for bigger tyres

A couple of gusset plates in the corners would strengthen that up nicely.

 

[ned]

agreed, good idea. Those tyres are 9.00 R16's and they are a pig to work with.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I bet I could get them done faster with a sledge hammer and piece of 2x2 angle. Probably have both sides broken while you're still jacking on the first bead.

 

[brightspark]

I bet I could get them done faster with a sledge hammer and piece of 2x2 angle. Probably have both sides broken while you're still jacking on the first bead.

is this the famous rusty trusty bed angle

 

[Bill Edwards]

is this the famous rusty trusty bed angle

Not bed angle no, far too thin. Just a piece of roughly 6mm thick 2x2 angle, a couple of inches long with the corners rounded off and a chamfer on one edge helps get it started when there's a rim protector bead that's hard to get under. There's not many small tyres that take more than a couple of hits to do.

 

[8ob]

This home made slide hammer/bead breaker is non to shabby, its an old hollow machine drive shaft with the end welded up and an 1" diameter bar with a spade on the end. Its got about 2` of stroke and is heavy enough to knock a truck tyre off its bead.

Bob

 

[ned]

ive seen that done , sledge / angle, but never tried it myself. might have a go next time.

8ob that slide hammer is tasty. have to make me one of them.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I've said it before, but...

Truck tyres are easy. A bolster and a lump hammer gets them off the bead.

Ditto the majority of older 4x4 tyres, land rover type stuff.

Things like mini wheels - a stout flat screwdriver wobbled around sees them done.

Modern low profiles (or worse, runflats) on alloys? Not a chance with things like angle iron and slide hammers I'm afraid. They need a steady push to get over the bead hump or they simply bounce back. I reckon the wheel would deform before the tyre gives if you hit it. It varies between makes of tyre too - some are tighter than others. I've seen a bike wheel collapse while tyre irons were used...

Bear in mind, I've done this for a living. People using big tyres to 'prove' how good their chosen percussive device is holds no sway with me because I know how they behave. A tractor/dumper/hgv tyre is a walk in the park up against a 40 profile runflat on a spindly soft alloy.

You're right in that many of these tyres are a piece of cake. But there aren't all that many tyres which aren't easy to remove with the angle iron method, I reckon I could get most things broken a good bit quicker with a big hammer to hand than you could with a bolster or similar. There are odd things where it's hard to get the angle started, or where it's more of a push that is required, or where it's a 40 year old crossply on a cold day that ain't keen on moving. The good tyre fitters round here reach for the angle iron first and do almost everything with it, pulling out the hydraulic kit only on rare jobs. This applies to roadside repairs on a Sunday too, where getting back home is their priority and every second counts!
If you can get a good swing (which I'm struggling with these days) a piece of angle is just brilliant. I don't do very low profile tyres so can't speak on them from my own experience.
If ever I remember and also have time I'll try to video the angle doing the job, it is just so easy. Why people mess around using jacks is just beyond me, I could get a lot of ordinary tyres off the rim altogether before they've done the second bead.

 

[Bill Edwards]

@Bill Edwards - I shan't quote the whole post...

Are those agri fitters?

Swinging a sledge at an offcut of angle balanced on a heavy steel rim (that's likely not straight anyway) is a bit of a different prospect than a double handed overhead death swing at a soft yet expensive car alloy

I wouldn't bother with a jack either - my preference for a sustained push is one like the old dunlop manual breakers (lever from above, pushes down - maybe I'll find a pic) or a posh machine (which seeing as broken ones seem to fetch multiple hundreds around these parts isn't on my 'likely to acquire' list...)

Yep, agri work.
I hardly ever do alloys unless I'm in a garage with the machines, I never feel comfortable hammering round them for fear of damage. Then consider scratching them with levers plus wanting to balance them afterwards and it's usually best to pay them £7-10 to do it.

When I do have to break a bead on an alloy it's off the vehicle laid flat and my steel toe cap boot placed right where I would hit the rim if I were to miss. Never had any problems whatsoever but that's the only time it's not my preference.

 

[ned]

video would be excellent of you ever get round to it Bill.

 

[RichardM]

Made it ages ago, used it today for the first time as a bead breaker, double function as a wheel clamp also. Need to refine the piece of wood to bring it under the rim and a pivot point would be good as well.