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Kick wheel troubles


TougeiBoy

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I have an elderly kick wheel: wood frame with a large-diameter concrete wheel. When I try to turn it, the entire frame travels a bit on the concrete floor and there seems to be a great deal of friction in the wheel itself--i.e. it doesn't maintain speed for long.  As it's rather heavy and before trying to tip it up to examine its underside, I would like to know if the problem is most likely the axle or bearings, and maybe the axle should NOT be resting on the floor. Thank you for any good advice you can send my way!

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liambesaw -様, Thank you for your reply and thoughts. You're probably correct. Although I cannot see the underside, I can see that there is a point from the axle resting on my floor.  Odd that I received it for free when at R.I.T. in the US, moved it with me here to Japan 26 years ago, and now that I am trying it for the first time since the move, it doesn't work... I guess travel does that even to the inanimate.  Must get some able-bodied neighborhood boys to flip this up for me so I can take a look.  Thanks again, from northern Japan.

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TougeiBoy,

Welcome to the forum.. . those old concrete kick wheels are quite heavy to move, and if setting up for 20 some years, the bearing may need some loving care. I would make certain everything is lubed up well when you have those lads turn it over, and if the bottom bearing needs replacing make certain the shaft is aligned when remounting.

 

Once again welcome to the forum!

best,

Pres

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Dear Pres-様,  Thanks so much for the additional thoughts. That behemoth is quite heavy, indeed (I am certain its weight increases with each attempt to lift it...) , and I will heed your advice.  Oh how I covet those beautiful Japanese/Korean kick wheels!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello again from snowy northern Japan. I have managed to flip up the wheel and take a few pictures (unfortunately, they are too large for this forum, but the link is: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lhosa8fnvy6nhy4/AAD7OzXIKogjnrQNiKdxmwnaa?dl=0. )  I can see that the bearing wheel is still there, and it turns. But I THINK there is some sort of cup missing on the bottom that would keep the axle from sitting on the ground--to enable it to float above the floor and let the bearings do their work. Apologies if I am unclear, and hope someone can help...  Thank you!  

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As Hulk has said, it does look to me that a bottom plate or cup is missing. As you say the whole thing has shifted downward. Otherwise the studs sticking down from the concrete wheel would not be touching the frame. If you have someway of comparing to another similar wheel or if you have someone around with more knowledge of mechanics I would think the repairs would not bee too expensive. I would also consider sealing the concreted and patching some of the cracks with some epoxy/concrete patch.

 

best,

Pres

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Agreed, the bearing housing/flange is missing. Even if you can measure it very accurately it's probably cheaper to buy a whole new bearing assembly including the housing that will fit the shaft. Unless the bearing is a loose fit you are likely going to need a (bearing) puller or some way of wedging and prying it off. A generic bearing with housing should be around $20 -25 (not very expensive). Looks like the bearing will sit proud so I'm guessing this wheel needs to sit on blocks of wood so there is clearance.

edit: Another thought, if the bearing is good, (spins freely without binding) then you might be able to do a simple workaround. A block of wood with a hole drilled to the outside diameter of the bearing and then screwed to the under-frame for the bearing to fit in. There may be adjustments necessary for height.

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I went through this exact same situation a couple of years ago with a "FREE" kickwheel. The bearings were shot, so I decided to replace them. And found pillow blocks that would fit the bill. I looks like the outer housing to the bottom bearing has gone away and it was a major factor in the support of the entire assembly. The shaft has slid down a couple of inches and protrudes through the bottom of the frame. The bearing/pillow block should be up inside the frame. The heads of the carriage bolts are worn simply because they actually sat on the ground. The bearing housing was on top of the frame and probably got broken somehow and just went away. You can go to www.grainger.com and find what you need under bearings. They have a pretty good selection of what you need.

JohnnyK

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So... The solution to this, if I am going to retain the bearing set 'in situ', is "simply" to fit the outer part of it snuggly into the wooden hole (so that the inner pole moves, while the outer part is stabilized)... Of course, making certain the set is OFF the floor.... Does this seem accurate?  Thanks again.

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Basically yes you could make that work. The outside of the bearing needs to be on center and snug in the hole as you said. To do so you might need to put some shims radially around the wood hole to center the bearing and snug the fit. There also needs to be something to stop it from dropping out the hole in the wood board like it is now. Originally that bearing would have come with a flange, but it might have been  rigged over the years to use a block of wood or something in place of the lost flange.

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Dear Members,

I placed a short piece of pipe ring beneath the long wooden strut with the bearing sitting comfortably atop it on the floor, and the old wheel turns in a wonderful way!  (Now I get to improve my skills... Must relocate Simon Leach's video channel...   ; )  Sending thanks to each of you, for your kind attention, advice, and patience. Now I know exactly where to turn "the next time".

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