Need good tool and die / machine shop in north Jersey.

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stymie
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:48 am

Need good tool and die / machine shop in north Jersey.

Post by stymie »

Need good tool and die / machine shop recommendation in north Jersey to fix my Fikse wheels. Closer to Jersey City the better.

Had someone powder coat my wheels and the shop ruined them. They are 3 piece Fikse aluminum wheels. The guy took them apart, when he tried to put them back together he had no idea what he was doing. Apparently you need to replace the bolts when you put them back together since the soft aluminum sticks to the steel bolts a little bit or something. Either way, many of the bolts couldn't be bolted down all the way, a couple holes he tried to tap even though only the 3rd piece has threads, the other 2 sections are smooth. And for a couple holes he cut bolts and tried to glue the top in to make it look like a bolt was there.

The bolts are NAS bolts, so high precision bolts that have a smooth grip with the threads at the end. Not sure if it is better to go up in size big enough to offset the damage, or go up in size and drill straight through so the smooth bolt grip is on all 3 sections to a nut on the outside. Either way it is still a high precision effort and need a shop that will do it right. Plus there is a little coating on part of the mating surface so that will need to be removed.

edw1
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Location: Morris County
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Re: Need good tool and die / machine shop in north Jersey.

Post by edw1 »

stymie wrote:Need good tool and die / machine shop recommendation in north Jersey to fix my Fikse wheels. Closer to Jersey City the better.

Had someone powder coat my wheels and the shop ruined them. They are 3 piece Fikse aluminum wheels. The guy took them apart, when he tried to put them back together he had no idea what he was doing. Apparently you need to replace the bolts when you put them back together since the soft aluminum sticks to the steel bolts a little bit or something. Either way, many of the bolts couldn't be bolted down all the way, a couple holes he tried to tap even though only the 3rd piece has threads, the other 2 sections are smooth. And for a couple holes he cut bolts and tried to glue the top in to make it look like a bolt was there.

The bolts are NAS bolts, so high precision bolts that have a smooth grip with the threads at the end. Not sure if it is better to go up in size big enough to offset the damage, or go up in size and drill straight through so the smooth bolt grip is on all 3 sections to a nut on the outside. Either way it is still a high precision effort and need a shop that will do it right. Plus there is a little coating on part of the mating surface so that will need to be removed.

I think the damage is already done. You now have some nice coffee table bases.

If you want to take your life into your own hands, try Accurate Machine and Tool in Roselle Park. In addition to their progressive die work and jig grinding, they have handled everything I have thrown at them from nuclear hydraulics to MTB stuff to jet boat drivetrains. I'm not sure how much work they are taking on as the proprietor was thinking about retiring the last I heard.

EDIT: I am neither a lawyer nor a licensed professional engineer in NJ. Yes, you are taking a big risk on these wheels if any part of any bolted joint is suspect. A large flange, such as your where wheels bolt together, can come apart like a broken zipper without warning if a one or more bolts let go. Operating a pressure vessel with known issues at a flange can get you into trouble. Side loads due to tire traction only reduce any remaining safety factor.
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RealM3E30
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Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 7:55 pm

Re: Need good tool and die / machine shop in north Jersey.

Post by RealM3E30 »

I would call Fikse direct, let them tell you if they can be repaired or not, that way you know that your not riding around on something that will disintegrate, based on your description, they probably will tell you to make a nice coffee table out of them.
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stymie
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:48 am

Re: Need good tool and die / machine shop in north Jersey.

Post by stymie »

I've talked to Fikse already. They'd have me replace most of the pieces of the wheels which came to something like 3k give or take. (I had one of their authorized repair places do an analysis of each wheel. a bunch of years ago.)
There's no way they would tell me if my idea was feasible or not due to liability reasons. Plus they can't speak for someone else doing the work.

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