The Toymakers Achilles (w)heel

[Sir Stinkalot]

Well I must be one of the latest recruits into the toy making world. This has come about partly because of the purchase of some excellent secondhand toy making books earlier last year and secondarily the fact that I have three nephews who I can experiment on. So far it has been quite enjoyable being able to complete a project quickly with minimal cost as I get to use up scraps ..... also enjoying designing on the fly.

This leads to the question …… Wheels????

It would seem that they are the bug in each toy makers side. What is the secret to a good supply of wheels?

I have found a few suppliers who sell the standard timber wheels, but I am also looking for some plastic wheels to replace some broken wheels on a train set ….

So I guess I am asking fellow toy makers to spill the beans on wheel suppliers.

Cheers Stinky.

[Chipman]

wheels...no problem!

Just depends on Way you want....

Carbitool make a cutter to use in the drill press...makes it easy.

Want something cheaper... use a hole saw, you can even use a large bit or forstner to bore out the centre on one side.

Some cut them out rough on a bandsaw or scroll saw (safer) and then use a jig to round them up on a disk sander.

You can turn them up on a lathe if you have one.

One way to clean up/sand your wheels is to cut the head off a 1/4 inch (6mm) bolt and then mount it in a drill press and put the wheel blanks on the threaded part with nut and washer and spin them up and sand them.

Some import wheels from overseas see aussie's posts http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=86481

Could try hobby stores

Also www.timbercon.com.au (http://www.timbercon.com.au)


Cheers,

Chipman

[bsrlee]

Plastic train wheels are going to be more trouble than timber wheels. There are a few sources of plastic or plastic/rubber road vehicle wheels - Hobbyco in Sydney sell plastic ones in a variety of sizes, Jaycar have some in the experimenter's stuff and any large model store that sells 'Tamiya' models can get both the radio control car wheels and the experimenter's wheel sets.

If you want to get 'steam train' type spoked wheels, then you could try 'Walthers' in the US - they have a large but slightly used unfriendly web site & are good for mail order. If you want to DIY you could make an RTV silicon mold of either the repaired, broken wheel or the opposite wheel, then pour a replacement wheel using polyurethane. Note that the cost of this as a one-off will be more than a new toy train, but you can make dozens to hundreds with this system - Barnes Products are the biggest RTV & Polyurethane suppliers in small kits, or you could try your local fiberglass suppliers.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Thanks for the replies guys .....

I guess there is no easy supply of wheels.

I have the hole saw set and they do quite a good job .... I tend to mount on the lathe to finish them off. The forstner bit on the side is a great idea and something I will do next time .... previously I tried to turn it out when on the lathe however each wheel was slightly different. I like this method as it is possible to use any timber for the wheels to match the rest of the toy.

I have seen the dedicated wheel cutters but have reports saying that they are dangerous to use (I think the cutter in question may have been incorrectly sharpened). Again it is good that you can pick the timber however they are a little pricey especially if you want various wheel sizes.

I am not after anything fancy (like the spoked wheels) but if I was ready made would be the way to go. I will look into the casting as it may be an alternative.

It still seems that there are limited choices available for ready made wheels ...... but then again perhaps demand isn't all that high. At least there are a few options for DIY.

Cheers!

[Chipman]

When you are using a forstner bit to cut a pocket into the side of the wheel, always cut the pocket in your wood before you cut the wheel out with a hole saw. It helps to get everything centred.
I sometimes make extra wide wheels like you would find on a formula one race car and they look really good done that way.

For sanding your wheels to finish them off, you will find it a lot easier if you mount them on a bolt (mandrel) as I said in an earlier post. If you you have a chuck on your lathe, you can always mount the bolt (mandrel) that way.

With your lathe, you could make a wooden jam chuck so you can mount the wheel and turn the sides and include an offset for the inside of the wheel (gives clearance between the wheel and the vehicle body)

As for the wheel cutters, yes they can be dangerous and I certainly would not let any of my students near them (OH&S would have a fit) Some drill presses are fitted with a plastic guard which makes them safe to use) I still have a slight problem with them in that it cuts a depression on both sides of the wheel and this means you have to have a spacer or an axle with a shoulder on the inside to get an offset.

I usually use a screw to hold my wheels on and to make things spin well, I fit a steel sleeve in the centre to act like a bearing.

Worth looking here http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=75465 (there is a pdf showing how to mount the wheel)

and searching elsewhere on these forums

Cheers,

Chipman

[AUSSIE]

http://www.craftamerica.com/toy_wheels.htm

http://www.alwayshobbies.com/Store/Wheeled-Toys/Wooden-Wheels

[AUSSIE]

here (http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/product_category.htm)is another one
Aussie
and another here (http://www.woodenclassicwheels.com/)