[Healeys] Knock off grease

[John Sims]

There are two articles on the Technical page, Safety section at the bottom
of that section. One is an article that explains why knockoffs self-tighten
by design and the second is the original drawing for the patent.

John Sims, BN6
Aberdeen, NJ

www.healey6.com

-----Original Message-----
From: healeys-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of BJ8 Healeys
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2012 3:50 PM
To: healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Knock off grease

I also smear grease on the conical surface of the wheel hub that the
knockoff tightens down on.  
It is not necessary to whale the tar out of the knockoffs when installing
them.  They are designed to tighten themselves as the car is driven, and you
can prove that they do by tightening the knockoff as much as you want, then
marking a "slip mark" on the knockoff and an adjacent spot on the hub with
paint or nail polish.  The marks will separate in a tightening direction as
you drive, even if you have hammered the knockoff on as tightly as you can.
 
My technique is to install the knockoff with the wheel off the ground,
tighten it until it feels snug and you don't see it move when you hit it
with the hammer (really heavy blows not required), and you're done.  I also
never hit the knockoff directly with any kind of hammer, but use a scrap
piece of wood between the knockoff and the hammer, and hit that instead.
This preserves the knockoff, but also the lead hammer.  My current wood tool
is a chunk of oak, which is pretty tough and doesn't splinter as quickly as
a 2 x 4, but wood is cheaper than either a knockoff or a new hammer.
 
Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC  USA