Harbor Freight English Wheel.. can it be fixed?

got it pretty well aligned, but never even painted it back, sold it, when I need one again, I'll buy a decent one or build one with quality parts.

 

I've seen more out than not. They can work ok, but I prefer something better quality, and I'm willing to pay for it.

 

ya i bought a built one form a metal shaper in town that didnt use it he wanted the dents got it for 200 but do not know whos anvils they are and for 200.00 could not go wrong..

im glad i did not go harbor freight way..

 

It flexes and wheel is offset ,For a guy building a peice here or there its fine ,Like patch panels,

 

love the HF haters club! try buying a cheap wheel in australia, we dont get the option!

 

This is my thinking on mine. Yes it flexes and the quick release is junk so i made it solid. I made this ( pix) using it to help shape things. I can turn a 20gauge panel into a patatoe chip with it so maybe some talent and practice helps to. If i did it for a living i would have a better one. Ray

 

I too was excited to follow this post as I also need one but only to do a couple of small panels for patches and dont want to spend a ton of money on a tool Ill use so in-frequently.

So the gist of the whole post was it wasnt worth the time and effort to make it usable from what I gather?

 

It would be interesting to see how many of the above members actually bought or built an English wheel of any kind. As for the price of an EW from averytools.com, They are listed at $1650.00 for the floor model and $1350.00 for the bench model, plus S/H, of course. Not quiet in the same ballpark as Harbor Freight's.

 

From http://www.jamesriser.com/Machinery/EnglishWheel/Finally.html

 

i am doing the top brace
mine is going to be rectangle tubing and will go up higherwith a 45* out to the wheel
i have made the lower anvle repairs that i found in some articals after i was done
for as much as i use this it works good enough
mine was on sale for $199.00 and had a 20% cupon also
mine was also one of the better fit ones that i have seen

I do prefer better made tools
Polishing the dies realy helps

 

In my opinion if your time is worth anything step up to a better model. I've seen some that are significantly better that are sub $1k. I found myself ready to cut the whole thing apart and totally rebuild it. I was going to spend a lot of time as well as materials.

 

thank you zman.....

 

If you have the funds get one from Kerry Pinkerton, 'Imperial' english wheels are about as good as you can get. He makes them in his own shop and is about as passionate a metal shaper as you can get. The might be the best available.

 

i added a 2x3 rectangle tube to the top and back,improved rigidity dramatically.
the product wasnt from HF but from our cheap-er-consumer friendly Princess Auto
very similar.wheels were worth the 300 i spent on the machine.alignment wasnt bad,hate the quick release.will be doing away with that..