Wheel Balancer

chrisguyw · 18th-Jan-25, 08:12 PM

(18th-Jan-25, 05:48 PM)ARUP Wrote: For those intetested in 'rolling your own' (hah!) chuck an axle in your drill and while spinning use your Dremel with a cut off wheel to grind the point. This job turned in a lathe would be ideal.

Unless the "point" is absolutely dead center,....you will likely do more harm than good,....luckily, precision ground axles for balancers are available.

Cheers
Chris Walker

OXO cube · 19th-Jan-25, 06:23 PM

(18th-Jan-25, 08:12 PM)chrisguyw Wrote: Unless the "point" is absolutely dead center

exactly my point , forgive the pun
luckily i had access to a 4 jaw chuck , and using a DTI managed to get the point centers very good ( alot of faff though )
believe me , a 3 jaw chuck did not do a good enough job
tbh i never thought of using a Dremel collet to center the axle , that could be the way to go Yes

Kev

Kevan · 19th-Jan-25, 07:10 PM

It doesn't have to be a point, domed will work also.

ARUP · 21st-Jan-25, 02:04 AM

I spun the axle while chucked in a drill press then gently applied a spinning cut-off wheel's flat surface (not its edge) to slowly grind a point. Accuracy... probably not that great but it does seem to spin true and... for about 10 seconds... by giving it a start with my finger. When I get a wheel or gear balanced it spins a good lick before it stops. It was a fun exercise and gets those brain waves a-wavin' about making your car smoother.

BAracer · 27th-Jan-25, 10:35 AM

I blame you ARUP for the purchase of this bit of kit that I never realised I absolutely needed!

How could I have every built cars with out of balance axle assemblies?

Hopefully it will get used more than once!

Kevan · 27th-Jan-25, 10:40 AM

Looking forward to seeing reports of a leap in your cars performances...

BAracer · 28th-Jan-25, 08:44 AM

Used it last night on one of my GT proxy cars. Really interesting learning experience and really makes you think about the mechanics of a slot car drive train.

Right now, I can't imagine not using it on all of my car builds. It's a simple exercise to load up each component onto the test axle and see how it spins.

Having a balanced drive train has got to be better than un-balanced one, so in this hobby of simple technology, I'll take every marginal gain I'm given.

pinit6 · 8th-Feb-25, 06:42 PM

I happened across that Cleve vid on balancing too - it only made sense that at the scale speeds these things travel, any elimination of vibration would have to be a positive.

Had a small machinists vice I had made decades ago & it filled the bill nicely while also being .. you guessed it ; a vice. Useful for holding things.

On most any / all of the solid axles there is a tiny nub left from the parting off process in manufacturing, it's but just a few thousandths ( if done correctly ) but thats all thats needed to have it spin perfectly on center.

It really is apparent just how unbalanced a wheel is with even a shortened, hollow grub screw in place.
Have only used it once too, but balanced 4 wheel sets.
Like others I haven't really experienced lowered times I can quantify, but the car is just a bit quieter on track satisfying to a degree an obsessive nature of leaving no stone unturned.

Kevan · 8th-Feb-25, 06:55 PM

The speeds they travel at are actual speeds, I've never believed in 'scale speed' as we race full size model plastic cars, no part of which is scaled down from anything bigger...it might LOOK similar to a 1:1 version but that's all that's scale, the looks.

If you built a car twice the size of a 1:1 car does that mean it's 'scale speed' is only half?...it's a daft notion, speed is speed.

pinit6 · 8th-Feb-25, 08:08 PM

(8th-Feb-25, 06:55 PM)Kevan Wrote: The speeds they travel at are actual speeds, I've never believed in 'scale speed' as we race full size model plastic cars, no part of which is scaled down from anything bigger...it might LOOK similar to a 1:1 version but that's all that's scale, the looks.

If you built a car twice the size of a 1:1 car does that mean it's 'scale speed' is only half?...it's a daft notion, speed is speed.

I suppose .. but my eyes tell me a different story watching slot cars circulate a track & imagining that in a full size car / full size track of same layout & distance.
A cursory search reveals endless point-counterpoint discussions on the subject.

The Guinness World Record committee appears to recognize scale speeds of slot cars. In error apparently in the opinion of more than just a few.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/wor...t-slot-car

Anyway , I balanced my wheels.

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