What makes a rim straightener automatic?

There are lot's of rim straighteners advertised as automatic, so one might think it is really common to find such equipment on the market.
However that's not the case. After 20 years in the trade I can say theres only very-very few to be found.
Why is that?
It is very hard to design one. Most of the rim straightener machines are based on the human eye, and provide only physical aid to restore concernity.
Most of the equipment advertised as automatic is very far from being one.
I don't know what you'd expect from an automatic machine, but in my imagination an automatic rim straightener would straighten a rim on it's own.
It is all right to mount the rim and unmount ( it is nice being human )but if I pay for an advanced machine I want her to do the job.

Why is that good for a business?
It is very simple, it cuts labour costs besides a computer is more accurate than a human.
Unlike a manual rim straightener, the Speedyround products require no technician to supervise the straightening process.
With other words once the rim is mounted the tech can do some other jobs,making even more revenue for the shop.
Let's say a tech earns 20Ł/h.
If a rim straightening process would take half an hour it means 10Ł in labour only.
And that' per rim.If you charge 50Ł for a repair it means that a tenner went straight for labour.
Make the long story short an automatic rim straighteners will restore concernity,roundness with a touch of a button without further human ineraction,plus theit'll leave a nice impression in your clients.
For more details:
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/automatic-wheel-repair-machines/

How to start a wheel repair business

We at Garagetoolz talk to new clients on a daily basis and we get a loads of calls from professionals who want to start this line of business as a new service.
In this post we tried to collect the right moves as we think, and as history has taught us.
Please note that there are different approaches and they can also be successful. This is only about how we did it, how we advised  those who asked us .

I'd start with the fact that for some reason you've come to the conclusion that wheel repair would be a good business for you.
The reasons behind that thought are,you coudn't find such services in your area or you've experienced a long waiting period on your rim repair ,or you outsource this kind of jobs  from your tyreshop,dealership..or something similar.
Anyways usually the huntch puts you into the right direction.
With other words if there was no need,you probably have never thought about starting the business in the first place.

So the first thing to do is to evaluate your area.
Wheel repair..just like tyreshops is territorial for walk in business as I'm sure you've already knew that.
Unless you provide something extraordinary like custom paint brush,or something like that ,your area of service will be let's say a 20-30mile radius.(for clients visiting you)
Of course if varys at the country side where it might be much bigger I'm talking about urban enviroment here.
So once you know your area, go around and visit the tyreshops, car dealerships, collision centers and ask them if they outsource wheel repair or just simply send the clients  with damaged rims out the door .With this you can enlarge your area with the only limit being   is how far you are willing to travel to find new clients.
Open accounts with them.
Accounts are the foundation of a busy wheel repair shop.
We all see how mobile rim repair units can be very handy here.
Some examples:
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/categories/mobile-rim-repair-units.html

But even without a rolling tyreshop you can collect the rims with a van,let's say twice a week, take them back to your shop..repair and  return the wheels  next time when you go on your weekly collect.

So the very basics are done, you know your area and hopefully have opened loads of new accounts.
The second phase is the marketing.This can go very far, so I will only cover the online opportunities not the conventional ones.(flyers,adverts in newspapers..etc)

Once you're reading this post we can say that you are at least a user on the internet.
Once discovered,there's nothing to stop you to use it for your advantage.
The internet marketing can be very effective for a relative low cost.
Don't forget experts say that online business growing rate is somewhere at 30% annualy.

1. Build a website. It is now easier as it sounds. You don't need a fancy one with flash movies and stuff like that.If you don't know somebody to do that,ask us..we will find the right person.
Get a nice simple one, with a clear message and with the chance to embedd videos for later.

2. Get your website registered on as many free listings as possible and on some professional ones which might cost some money.
Make sure that you register to localised software like Google Places,Pinterest,Yellow Pages..what have you.
Most people are using smartphones and those will show them your business whenever they are close.
It will just pop-up on their phones.
The ones I mentioned have free listings (when I'm writing this)..and also there are many more.Search for them.

Once these are done you'll have a good chance to have a nice growing business.
And don't forget to get the right equipment :
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/categories/rim-straighteners.html

As always it is ToolZ with a Z.

Which straightener would be the best for your business?
Rim straightener's 101

Rim straightening has a long tradition even if it's the first time you hear about that.
It started right at the moment when metal rims overtook from the wodden frames and spokes.
The good thing with steel, alloy and magwheels is that they can be repaired most of the times saving money for the client and opening a new business revenue for you.
We all know that in our tyreshops we mask out an existing problem sometimes because of the lack of certain equipment.
What I mean is the rim that wobbles badly on the balancer and needs 3-4 times the weight of an average wheel.
Now we know that is because the rim lost its roundness, became oval or has a dent somewhere.
Wouldn't it be nice to offer a service for your clients to handle these issues properly instead of just masking it?
Rim straighteners are designed exactly for such jobs and in this article I walk you through which one might be the best choice for you.

If you are just starting the business I suggest to start small.
First go around your area , get in touch with dealerships, tyreshops and see if they outsource these jobs or they handle it in-house.
Try to open accounts with those who outsource the jobs, explain the benefits to have a professional in the neighbourhood and start to build a work-relationship.

Once you get to the point you decide to start your rim straighteneing services you have to decide a couple of things:
-Will you be repairing structural damages only?
-Will you repair cosmetic damages and structural as weel?
-Will you weld the cracked rims?
-What is the smallest/biggest rim you'll have to repair?


Once you have made your decision it is time to choose the right machine.
Lets's see the questions step-by-step and learn how they effect our choice of machinery.

Structural damages only?
..means that you'll do rim straightening only you won't do curbrush damage,scratches..so basically face damage on the rim.
In this case you might have to enough to start with a simple hydraulic straightener even the one without a lathe.
Like these:
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/rim-straighteners/junior-rim-straightener-machine/

The Junior

Or this one:
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/konig-spinner/

The Spinner
The difference between them is that while the Junior is perfectly capable of straightening all rims from 10'to24' with it's hydraulic piston, the Spinner also can spin the rim with it's dedicated rim spinning motor.
With other words on the Junior you have to turn and spin the rim manually while the Spinner does that with the motor.
Also the spinner has the capability to accomodate the plug and play Polish kit:
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/wheel-polisher-and-cleaning-kit/

It fits like a charm to the Spinner, just plug and play.

The machines we discussed so far have no lathe.
We hear about the lathe quite often, but ...anyway I wasn't sure for the first time what that was..
So when we mantion the lathe in relation with a rim straightener that always means that adjustable blade which cuts anything comes to its way.
Let's see a picture:



I think it explains very well how it works.
Every rim straightener we'll discuss after this point will be equipped with one of this.
What is it used for:
Normally we use the lathe to cut the lip if that wobbles or if the surface is uneven.
I know of some professionals however who can reproduce the machine finished surface with this handy little tool.
Bottom line is, it is up to the user, but we recommend not to use it on the body of the rim, simply because we don't like the structure to be weakened.

So the next machine is the Sidecut.
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/rim-straightener-konig-sidecut/
We call it like that because of the way its lathe is built
As it shows on the picture the lathe dolly slides on rails paralel with the body of the straightener.
This machine works form 10' up to 24'.
Has a "narrow" body so it fits better into mobile units if needed.
Very popular machine, resonable priced,and have a V-belt drive.
V-belt drive means that the power of the electric motor is delivered to the spindle/flange via a V-belt.


Next one is the Spinner Plus model.
http://www.garagetoolz.co.uk/konig-spinner-plus-rim-straightener/

As its name shows it is a better equipped version of the Spinner with the extra equipment being the lathe.
This machine has a lathe which is called a 'turning lathe' .The reason for that is unlike the previous models on which the lathe was sliding on rails , the Spinner Plus offers a lean-in lathe.
Let me explain it with a picture:

This makes the lathe able to reach the face of the rims.
The Spinner plus also works up to 24' and the polish kit is available for this model.

With the next machine we enter the highest class of the all rounders.
Allow me to introduce the Jumbo rim straighteners: