How $3,300 Rims Are Made

These are wire wheels handcrafted for classic sport cars , hot rods and low riders .

They use up to 84 handset metal spokes arranged in geometric patterns to support the weight of a vehicle each made to order wheel can take up to 12 hours to build and a set can cost over $3300 .

Torino wire wheels .

And England focuses on rims for European luxury classics from Ferraris to Aston Martins .

It generally takes 1 to 2 years of training to become a wheel builder at Torino .

But as director Will Tompkins admits most people are unable to learn well enough at all .

The building process starts by cutting the wheel's frame from an aluminum alloy tube using a liquid called Bana .

The wheel is then spun on a lay which smooths and squares , any rough edges left by the saw next , a 200 ton press squeezes a specially designed plug into one end of the frame to begin shaping the wheel .

This plug begins forming the wheels overall size and structure to make sure the initial press was done correctly .

Workers placed the frame in one of their clamshell tools if the frame fits correctly they can begin pressing its other end but shaping the wheel doesn't end there to perfect the inside of the rim .

It's mounted on a computer controlled metal spinning machine .

The machine spins as fast as 1500 rotations per minute .

A combination of a lubricant 660 degrees of heat and a spinning roller helped form the wheels , interior walls .

The finishing touches are then done using an even bigger lay that slices away excess metal .

This lay is also computer controlled in order to achieve the correct thickness design and details of the rims walls .

Once the rim is fully shaped , it's sent here where a specially trained craftsperson spends two hours polishing the wheel .

They first sand the wheel by hand using multiple grinding wheels that vary in coarseness and refine its metal surface .

This is followed by a series of spinning grit mops that polish each wheel frame to a shiny finish .

Finally , it's time to add the spokes .

Craftspeople use a metal compass and marker to mark on the outside of the wheel where the spokes will go through .

This is done according to each wheel's particular design .

Once the holes are marked , a press is used to make dimples where each spoke will go .

Then the centerpiece or hub made in a similar process to the wheel is placed in the middle to make sure it lines up holes are drilled in several of the wheels dimples and the prem spokes are slid through each hole must be made at the perfect angle according to which row it's in .

Otherwise , the smokes will be bent by the weight of the car .

After the hub is aligned , the rest of the holes can be drilled .

The spokes are then cut to the correct length .

Finally , a press bends them to the right and they are put through a thread rolling machine .

Once the holes are deir , the spokes can be screwed into place .

Yeah , to make sure the wheel spin perfectly straight , the hub is placed on a truing stand .

This reveals how evenly the wheel and hub are alive to fix any issues .

Workers simply adjust how tight the spokes are fastened .

This makes sure the wheel runs perfectly true to the hub or within one millimeter in line .

Once these specifications are met , the wheels are ready for the road .