Thread: A question on tools for making wheels

i have made those sort of tractor tread wheels in two halves, grooves one way on one half and the other way on the second

regards david

get a cheapish scraper and re-profile it so it can cut the angle you want

tread you describe is usually cut in two tyres (on a tablesaw) and stuck together

actually that's how you could make your wheel
make it in two parts with the 1st or outside half cut with a forstner and the inner having the dish

You can use a hollowing tool to do the undercut hub.

I made my own miniature hollowing tools out of a bit of bent square steel.

I has photos somewhere but can't find them.

Look a bit like this.

G'Day Greg, In the Model Section of the forum is a set of threads on wheel making....
Sorry I'm not a lathe person, but have done the tractor wheels in 2 halves on the table saw with dado blade set....
In the past year some of the toymakers have posted thread on how they've made there tractor style wheels which you search on in "advanced search"...Cheers, crowie

Wheel Making

I use a forstner bit in the tail stock of my lathe to create the recessed hub look. The knob on the end of an axle peg gives the effect of the central hub.

Look forward to seeing the end product these will fit,As said elsewhere I would go for THIS it helps as the cutting edge is in line with the shaft making it more controllable.

Can you not hold the wheel without the tail stock support as that also would make it easier to access the wheel. Only novices point of view

I have not tried this yet and can't until tomorrow. However, I bought a set of Suttons Hole saws a couple of weeks ago - the Carpenter version. What I will attempt is using 3 different sizes with the holesaws. I will cut out the small one first and put it aside (yellow in the picture). The medium holesaw cut timber is discarded (which is the gap between the yellow and red). The large timber cut out becomes the tyre (black in the picture). A second large cut out is made from a separate piece of timber - no other cuts are made to it. The tread will be cut at 45 degree angles on both the large pieces and they are glued together. The small piece first cut (yellow) is glued into rim. A piece of dowel through the wheel will ensure it is centred properly. That way I have my straight edges. After I make the first one I will post the pictures.

001.JPG

Greg, seeing as you have the lathe you only need to remove the wood from the hole to the finished depth and shape possibly using a forstner bit, and then mount it on a spigot machined on a face plate.(Not quite the size of this one)

7_Mandrel.jpg

After machining the spigot, fit the wheel on and using a screw and disc, clamp it in place. Make sure the back face of the faceplate is machined flat so the wheel will sit firmly against it. Undercut the corner where the spigot meets the back face so the bore of the wheel does not hang up there.

6_Hub.jpg

Thanks Dallas.
I have a different concept in mind. I cut out a very rough version of it today and photographed the stages. I will get a post together later and post it on here under Making a Wheel in the toy making forum

Hi Greg,
How many are you looking at doing? Is it going to be an ongoing size?
Kryn

Hi

I have just finished my take of a jig to make the tracks. So far it's only a 3D model made in Sketch up.

tyre_track_jig.PNG tyre_track_jig_2.PNG

I know, it look a bit like a camera.

You can find the model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mod...7-38e27995801f

Later on there will be a free plan on my website: playground-dk

Ole

WOODEN WHEEL. This is what I have come up with for making the wooden wheel I needed.
The first photo is of the real wheel from a dump truck.


Photo 2 are the tools - Sutton Tools 9 Piece Multi-Purpose Carpenter Holesaw TCT Set.


Photo 3 shows the quick change over set up. Once the drill has been placed in the Drill Press you only need to press the button shown to release the holesaw and slip another one on. In my case I had to move the Drill Press table to get the holesaw off the drill as I have a small Ozito Drill Press and I don't have the space to remove it. This explains why one of the proposed cuts is first marked so I can realign it later. Once I save up enough to buy the Bosch Drill Press this won't need to be done.


I first cut out a complete wheel with a 92mm holesaw and put the wheel aside.


Photo 4 shows the marking of the wheel size with the 92mm holesaw.
I then swapped over to a 54mm holesaw and cut half way through the timber with it.


Photo 5 shows the removal of what will be the hub with a 32mm holesaw. It also shows the other two cuts I have made.


Photo 6 are the cut out pieces. At this stage I clean up the wheels on the lathe and disc sander. Although I haven't done it yet, the tread can be cut into the 2 wheels at this time using a band saw set to the desired angle. Both pieces need to be cut at opposing angles so the tread will form a V shape when the wheel is glued together.


Photo 7 shows the full wheel centred by a mandrel. It can be glued together at this time. When the glue has set (I use Bondcrete for strength) the wheel can be put back on the lathe for shaping the tyre and sanding to a smooth finish.
001.JPG1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg6.jpg

This method gives me straight deep edges around the hub that I could not achieve using a lathe tool.

Dallas, unfortunately I don't have the tools with my lathe to use that method. I will get some one day if I am going to use them a lot.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Hi Greg,
How many are you looking at doing? Is it going to be an ongoing size?
Kryn

I will be making a lot of wheels at various sizes depending on the model or toy I am building at the time. I think it will be slow process until I get all my templates sorted out for use on a router.