I worked in the Bassani factory in my younger days and the jigs used in "manufacturing" were at best little better than a knowledgeable craftsman could duplicate in a garage in little time (read: primitive). Bending a spoke to a 90ยบ angle is no different than the method used in wrought iron work. I would suggest firmly holding the large end in a fixture that will not deform the head (a counter sunk steel plate comes to mind) and using a round(small dia.) bar (another spoke?) for the fulcrum placed as close to the head as possible, The spoke should be supported(inside a small tube)beyond the radius to prevent any bending where you don't want it to. The only tricky part that comes to mind is getting the spoke out of the fixture after the bend is made. The fixture can be no thicker than the hub flange between the head and radius. Or you could split the fixture through the center of the hole and separate halves after bending. This should then be shot peened, polished and chrome plated and nest in an oak box cut from a tree harvested before '83.........
David Cowie Sutherlin, Oregon Not afraid of jigs.
Steve Maas wrote:
> If you're concerned about making the spokes seat properly, you can do
> this with existing spokes. Brandt's book, "The Bicycle Wheel," addresses
> this directly (p. 80, 3rd edition). If you're concerned about the
> aesthetics, I'd consider this minor compared to the potential problems.
> It will be difficult to get the bend precisely right, and then the
> lengths may be off. I'd also be concerned about the tight bend's effect
> on the fatigue resistance of the spoke. Since this is where fatigue
> failures are likely to occur, it's a safe bet that, in commercial
> spokes, the bend radius is controlled pretty carefully in manufacturing.
> You probably won't get as much control with a simple, home-made fixture.
>
> If you try this, though, I'd be interested to hear how it works out.
>
> Steve Maas
> Long Beach, CA
>
> Jan Heine wrote:
>
> > My problem: Old-style hub flanges are thinner, and the elbows of current
> > spokes are too long.
> >
> > Current solution: Brass spoke head washers. But they don't look right -
> > and add weight ;)
> >
> > Possible solution: Straight-pull spokes, where I can bend the elbow
> > myself. Bending the elbow should be easy - I'd take a steel plate the
> > right thickness (approx. the thickness of the hub flanges), drill a hole
> > (2 mm diameter), insert the spoke, and bend the elbow. Tedious, but for
> > 72 spokes and a few spares, it wouldn't be so bad.
> >
> > Questions:
> > 1. Are 2.0-1.8 mm straight pull spokes available - ideally in a length
> > close to 265 mm, but I could shorten a longer spoke, if that is required?
> > 2. Any problems with my approach?
> >
> > Thanks for your help.