WHEELS · GRAČANICA · 40 KM
Wheel service for Gračanica
The longest run of all the towns around us, which is why the trip is planned ahead and the work organised into a single visit.
A town of workshops and its vehicles
Gračanica lives on manufacturing and the trades, which means delivery vehicles moving constantly between production halls, storerooms and customers. Loading against a kerb, tight yard entrances and a heavily laden rear axle wear wheels differently from calm city driving and leave their marks on the flanges.
A rim like that passes over two machines here: first the press, where the barrel gets its circle back, then the welder wherever metal is missing or a crack has opened. The welded area is afterwards levelled with the grinder until the line of the edge matches the rest of the wheel again.
Because of the distance it makes most sense to bring everything at once. Several barrels, a full set or rims from more than one vehicle are worked through in sequence, so the forty kilometre run happens once instead of three times and you know in advance when it will all be ready.
Agreeing the 40 kilometre trip first
The workshop is at 3. tuzlanske brigade 128 in Tuzla, roughly 40 kilometres from Gračanica, so a call to +387 61 570 429 is the first step. A time is agreed and you are told what to bring, which means the work can start as soon as you pull up outside.
What gets done for vehicles from Gračanica
The same sequence for delivery vans and private cars: the barrel back into its circle, the crack closed with weld.
Welding and crack repair
Cracks, breaks, holes in the bead seat and missing chunks of metal. The area is welded through its full thickness and machined back to the wheel's original line.
More on thisStraightening buckled wheels
A wheel that hops, shakes the steering or has gone oval after a pothole is pressed back into a true circle in small stages, with the metal checked as it goes.
More on thisWhy the longer drive pays off
No wasted journeys
When it is agreed beforehand, the rims move from one stage to the next without a pause. The long drive comes down to one trip out and one trip back.
Alloy and steel together
A mixed set is no obstacle. Alloy barrels and steel wheels are worked on in the same shop, each by its own method and in its own order.
Several wheels in one trip
Because the drive is long, it pays to bring every suspect rim at once. All of them go over the gauge in rotation, and only what really deviates gets straightened.
Questions from Gračanica
Is it worth driving wheels from Gračanica to Tuzla?
If several pieces come at once the trip pays off, because straightening and welding happen in the same place and on one visit. Call +387 61 570 429 before you leave, describe the damage and agree a time, and the rims go into work as soon as you arrive.
Do you repair larger wheels of 20 inches and up?
Big barrels are handled, as are small diameters from thirteen inches. With low profile tyres, flange damage is more common because the tyre absorbs so little of the impact, so the flange often has to be built up by welding before it is dressed.
How should I pack wheels for the drive to the workshop?
The main thing is that the barrels do not knock against each other on the way. Stand them upright or separate them with a cloth, and if the tyres are still fitted, make sure they are wedged firmly. Dirt does not need removing, cleaning is part of the preparation.
Do you paint wheels or refinish them on a lathe?
No. The work here is purely on shape and metal: straightening on the press and welding, plus dressing the seam. Painting, polishing and lathe refinishing are not offered, so for the looks of the wheel you need a different address.
How do I know whether the wheel is worth the trip?
Send photos before you drive the forty-odd kilometres. A picture shows whether the damage belongs on the press, at the welder, or nowhere near the workshop. The last word falls in the workshop once the tyre is off, but most of the doubt is settled by message beforehand.
Routes into Tuzla
Alongside Gračanica, the approaches from Tuzla, Lukavac, Živinice, Srebrenik and Banovići are each described on a page of their own.
Call first, then make the trip
A short conversation on the phone tells you when to set off and what to bring with you.