Spoke cutting and threading
 

I need to have 32 spokes shortened and threaded. Anybody out there with access to a Phil Wood machine willing to cut and thread them and how much would you charge?

Most shops charge only a modest fee to shorten spokes, since the job goes pretty quick.

Where are you located?

How much do they need to be shortened? If all the existing thread is not cut off, a Phil Wood machine does not do a good job of picking up the existing threads.
My Morizumi machine on the other hand, does an excellent job of this, but shipping spokes 2 ways for cutting is probably not economical.

I have a first generation Phil machine, and have never had a problem picking up thread when cutting 3mm or more from spokes. Of course, if you trim 8mm off a 10mm thread, the risk of not picking up the remaining 2 threads increases, but even in the worst cases, I damage less than 1 out of 100 spokes.

To the OP -- you were asked where you live. If you enter that into your profile, people will have an easier time pointing you to a local resource.

I'd gladly cut your spokes for $5.00 for the lot, but there's $5.25 shipping in each direction, and you should easily be able to find a local guy to do the job for less than $15.00

I'm in San Jose, CA with a Kowa spoke machine. Bicycle Express in downtown San Jose, CA has a couple Phil Woods.

Phil Wood located in Japantown San Jose, CA does it for walk-in customers as well.

=8-)

Phil Wood machines are nowhere near accurate as Morizumi machines. Morizumi machines have micro thread adjustment too.

I've been using a Phil Wood, but I'm getting a Morizumi soon.

Phil Wood, Morizum and Kowa all do the same thing:

1. Cut
2. Conform softer steel to the profile of two harder opposing steel elements via roll under increasing pressure.

The Phil handle is arranged such that both actions are carried out in one movement.

The others are two separate operations.

The Phil is horizontally configured making it more prone to debris buildup. The others are vertical. The Phil and Morizumi are made of the highest grade steels and overbuilt making them ideal in a multi-user multi-personality enviroment.

The Kowa is made of the minimum grades of steel necessary to do the job - built accordingly - better in a single-user single-personality environment - and a thousand bucks cheaper.

Early Phil's like FBinNY's allow for 13-16mm threading for old school 16-25mm nipples - when rolled manually. New ones have done away with this ability. Far as I know, the Morizumi cannot do this. The Kowa can do 13.2mm by flipping the spoke-end stop.

As to micro-threading - big deal. If you want micro-threading on Phil Wood - a little more or less pressure on the upper slide guide with the thumb when setting the dies gets it done. Another old trick it to loosen the upper slide screws - stick a business card between the slide and bearing above - tighten the screws - set the dies. (Your mileage will vary...)

=8-)

I've found a way to adapt my Morizumi to roll 13mm threads. With another monor modification, I could do 16mm as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X6vFFbvrWQ

Fantastic!!!

Mine is easy - the spoke ramp and spoke stop are two separate pieces bolted in at the same location. I just turn the stopper portion 180 degrees.

I guess in the Morizumi - the ramp and stop are one piece - which would explain why you had to have a machinist duplicate it with a thinner stop.

So that means both of us Dan are able to provide old school long thread for folks who want to use old school 20mm and 25mm nipples with better head engagement.

Awesome!

=8-)

I've had others tell me their Phil machines were capable of this too, but far more that say the opposite. Maybe precision of setup, or operator skill?

Operator skill...

Not only is thread pickup pretty realiable - but also - about 50% of the time I can use a Phil machine to repair damaged threads. I wouldn't be surprised is FBinNY has reported success in doing this as well.

My success rate with thread salvage on the Kowa is probably well below 10%. Not sure why this is - since all of the machines are doing the same thing with the same dies. Maybe the overbuilt status of the Phil and Kowa provide a more stable foundation for this kind of operation?

I'm not a mechanical engineer...just guessing...

=8-)

I've tried the sad excuse for a "pro" shop in this town. They don't have a spoke cutter. The last time I asked for some spokes, they spent ten minutes scrounging through their stock for the right length. Seeing as how I'm now building an IGH wheel and need a very short length that's not available stock, there's no way they'd have what I need.

I've always had this capability, but it was much more labour intensive when I was using my little Hozan roller.

LOL. Do you have a micro pressure adjustable hand? ;)

Yes...it works like this...

Press down a little...lock bolts...try out...um nope...

Press down a little harder...lock bolts...try out...um not quite...

Press down even a little harder...lock bolts...try out....ummmm....close enough...

Trial and error...

Unfortunately as the generations have gone by - slack has been removed from the Phil as well as the long thread space. And now instead of a smooth spit out the back - it is a constipated spit of the spoke out the back. I simply do not like the current generation of the Phil Wood machine. I prefer the older ones up to the late 90s, early 2000s.

=8-)