Weld on Bead lock production

upnover

upnover

Grumpy, decrepit Old Man
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Mar 20, 2005
Location
Morganton NC
A friend of mine and I are thinking about going into the 4X4 production of different things, one of them being weld on bead lock kits.

A few questions:

I assume most kits are drilled for the 32 holes using a drill index. Any idea of where to get one, and what would be the cost. It would need to be able to go anywhere from 16" to 21" for the variety of sizes.

Again, I am assuming that you do need a indexing head to be able to make all of the rings interchangeable.

2. What is most preferred
a. drilled holes?
b. tapered holes for flush mounted Allen bolts?
c. Nutserts or use nylock nuts?
d. Would you prefer bare steel for outer ring, or would you prefer it to
be powder coated?

3. We are open to ideas of any and all items you would like in the pre-fabed dept. Weld on tabs gussets and so on from plain Jane to fancy spider webs and such

Thanks
Chip
 
a: I think 24 is perfect for a 15" wheel.
b: No way in hell I'd want allen or flush mount ANYTHING. First time you drag that bolt across a rock and get a burr sticking in the hole, you're gonna have one helluva time getting that bolt out.
c: I like nutcerts.
d: offer the options.

Be sure to put an anti-coning ring on the inner ring..

I think many of the beadlock rings are laser-cut, IIRC.
 
Ahhh yes the anti coning ring. I have not seen one up close, or a good picture for that matter. Is this weded in or ?? Demensions?

Was planning on being able to offer different versions, but trying to keep cost down as much as possible. At this point we don't have the funds to stock a large amount of inventory.

We are going to try to cut these with a CnC plasma. We will see how that works out.
 
The one I saw Chip (anti-coning) was just a ring welded in there to give it a L or T shape for strength. What I "cannot" figure out is how to make that piece unless you find a pipe in that size and simply cut out a 1" chunk out of it? (Then make sure they fit together/for welding)

What I wondering about is why the center hole "has" to be a circle? Seems like a Square, Triangle, Octogon, etc with straight edges would be easier to then make a coning edge for strength?

Assuming it is centered/even...would it even effect tire balance? Not that is might matter on these kind of rims?

Sam
 
upnover said:
A friend of mine and I are thinking about going into the 4X4 production of different things, one of them being weld on bead lock kits.
A few questions:
I assume most kits are drilled for the 32 holes using a drill index. Any idea of where to get one, and what would be the cost. It would need to be able to go anywhere from 16" to 21" for the variety of sizes.
Again, I am assuming that you do need a indexing head to be able to make all of the rings interchangeable.
2. What is most preferred
a. drilled holes?
b. tapered holes for flush mounted Allen bolts?
c. Nutserts or use nylock nuts?
d. Would you prefer bare steel for outer ring, or would you prefer it to
be powder coated?
3. We are open to ideas of any and all items you would like in the pre-fabed dept. Weld on tabs gussets and so on from plain Jane to fancy spider webs and such
Thanks
Chip
Click to expand...

Almost all of the DIY rings are cnc plasma'd as well as the bolt holes. Actually milling/drilling them would kill your profit. Most people want a bare ring as well. Depending on how thick your outer rings are and the width of them...anti-coning rings might or might not be needed...I've seen a steel strap used and also glued on plastic. I think they're as much gimmicky as they are worthwhile though, esp with a 1/4" 32bolt lock. And I agree with rich on the 24 bolt ring. It saves time/money on everyone's part.

If you've got a good steel supplier and a cnc table, go for it. Fab hard parts are selling like crazy anymore...
 
A first look

We played around with programming and design today This is what we come up with. The "beadlocks" are not to scale, just working on some design and working out the the kinks. Very close to making a usable beadlock.
Yeah I know one is a little too much bling, and no where near realistic for actual usage. But, we have found we can do plain Jane, or give it a bling factor.
 

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that flame one is pretty sweet, despite being useless for a crawler.

Duane
 
Yeah, like I said, not practical, but just seeing what is possible. Basically we can put into a bead lock what anyone would want, within the parameters
 
Id like to got some like the orange one to protect the bolts on my 12 bolts. would it be possible to get some????????
 
One item that keeps comming up is the anti coning ring. From what I have researched, and from the pictures I have seen, It is a thin piece or 1/8" flat stock, that is rolled into a circle and welded to the inside ring to where it clears the bead lock bolts, and is inside or the outer edge. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

My biggest question is how thick should it be? My thinking is it has to be thinner than the actual bead thickness of the tire. This way it will not make contact until the bead is properly sealed between the inner and outer ring. What worries me is that it will not allow enough pinch for the bead to seal, if the tire has a thiner bead on it. Opinions welcome

The set I have been running for several years has no coning ring. They seal great. Upon removal I did notice the ring was coned. Not really visible on the wheel installed, but when removed it was not flat. How important is this to you, the consumer?

Another thought was to truely make these our own. What do you think about 33 or 34 holes for the 15 inch wheel?
16, 17, 20 or bigger, could have more bolts as well.
 
Why make more holes than 32? I can see wanting to make them "yours" but why reinvent the wheel....literally. As far as the anit coning ring. They are a must. They actually help to keep the bead locked.
This is a explaniation of what RockCity has on his website about the beadlocks he makes.
The anti-coning ring keeps the inside lip of the lock ring from caving in when the bolts are tightened, increasing the "clamping" force and ensuring you have a quality product. Most other kits do not offer this anti-coning ring and if they do, you pay extra for it. These kits are LASER CUT from 1/4" thick steel and offer 32 holes per wheel for 3/8" bolts to clamp the tire on to the wheel.
Click to expand...
 
Slighty off topic, so bear with me.

When making the bead lock outer rings would there be be any disadvantage to making the outer rings in halves instead of a full circle ring? The reason I am asking is that if there were no problem in doing it that way you could cut a lot more outer rings from a sheet of steel than you could from cutting out full circles. Saving money in the amount of steel needed to make X amount of rings. Bad idea or not ?

Back on topic. Nice looking work, Chip.

<><Fish
 
jeepercreature said:
Why make more holes than 32? I can see wanting to make them "yours" but why reinvent the wheel....literally. As far as the anti coning ring. They are a must. They actually help to keep the bead locked.
This is a explaniation of what RockCity has on his website about the beadlocks he makes.
Click to expand...

Well, the wheel has been re-invented many times, and, I am sure it will be many more. As I said, trying to make this our own, a signature so to speak. Don't know yet if we will. To be seen.

Without the anti coning ring they will work, but we want to give the customer what they want. This is why I ask here, in the 4X4 community for thoughts and ideas
 
upnover said:
Well, the wheel has been re-invented many times, and, I am sure it will be many more. As I said, trying to make this our own, a signature so to speak. Don't know yet if we will. To be seen.
Without the anti coning ring they will work, but we want to give the customer what they want. This is why I ask here, in the 4X4 community for thoughts and ideas
Click to expand...
The set I had did not have the anit coning ring and 2 of the 4 leaked. I added the anit-coning ring and the leaking stopped. It could have been the bead was not set but I got them reset a few times and they still leaked...Just my 02 cents

The ring is not that big of a deal. Maybe $2.00 worth of material if that?
 
upnover said:
Well, the wheel has been re-invented many times, and, I am sure it will be many more. As I said, trying to make this our own, a signature so to speak. Don't know yet if we will. To be seen.
Without the anti coning ring they will work, but we want to give the customer what they want. This is why I ask here, in the 4X4 community for thoughts and ideas
Click to expand...


TO be honest I dont know if many more will fit. The ones I have are already very very tight with a wrench. Maybe taking a few away would be better. I like the idea of flush mounting them but like someone side. If they were beat up on rocks they would be hard to get out.
 
upnover,

What kind of price are you looking at getting for a set with no design? total of 8 rings and 4 anitconing? and all 128 nuts, washer and bolts?

Also, what is the thickness of the rings?
 
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