Cutting and threading bicycle spokes

May 16, 2018 1 Replies

Should I worry about temper when cutting through a 2 mm diameter stainless steel bicycle spoke using a rotary tool?



After the cut, I dipped them in a cup of water, with a little fizz, if it matters.



We do not cut threads for bicycle spokes, we press them with rollers. They say that helps maintain strength. I bought a little spoke making gadget (Hozan C-700 Spoke Threader).



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No micrometer, but using a decent quality caliper...



The spoke is 2 mm diameter. The farthest threads are about 2.1 mm diameter. The threads nearest the end of the spoke are about 2.2 mm diameter.



I suppose that could be attributed to the angle of the bolts coming out of their base. But easy to figure the bolts are not strong enough, considering the force required to press threads into steel.



Some say use cutting fluid when making the threads. That sounds silly to me. I am sure the rollers require heavy duty grease, and I doubt you can just spray or drip cutting fluid onto that without messing up the grease.



Thanks.



On 5/15/2018 7:23 PM, John Doe wrote: > Should I worry about temper when cutting through a 2 mm diameter > stainless steel bicycle spoke using a rotary tool? > > After the cut, I dipped them in a cup of water, with a little fizz, if > it matters. > > We do not cut threads for bicycle spokes, we press them with rollers. > They say that helps maintain strength. I bought a little spoke making > gadget (Hozan C-700 Spoke Threader). > >

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> > No micrometer, but using a decent quality caliper... > > The spoke is 2 mm diameter. > The farthest threads are about 2.1 mm diameter. > The threads nearest the end of the spoke are about 2.2 mm diameter. > > I suppose that could be attributed to the angle of the bolts coming out > of their base. But easy to figure the bolts are not strong enough, > considering the force required to press threads into steel. > > Some say use cutting fluid when making the threads. That sounds silly to > me. I am sure the rollers require heavy duty grease, and I doubt you can > just spray or drip cutting fluid onto that without messing up the > grease. > > Thanks. >

Rolling the threads into stainless makes the ends quite hard. Most common stainless alloys work harden.

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