Anyone built one of these? I'm not a fabricator, or a body man. so I can't justify tying up the big bucks for one. ( not to mention being both broke, & cheap!!) I would like to have one to play with. Saw an article on the net about making one, using some kind of a tractor bearing for a top wheel, & a Ford rear wheel bearing for the bottom. These would both be flat surfaces. I thought the bottom needed to be rounded. If building one is too much hassle, anyone know where I could pick up an inexpensive, light duty one? Being broke is no disgrace...... just inconvient!!
i seen a pair of vice grips (c clamp style w/swivel heads on the ends)that you use for welding turned into a "smoother" of sorts...grind the swivel heads to a compound curve and pinch the panel moderatley and move them around ...smoothing as you go...retighten and go again...thanks john kelly @metalshapers
I built the wheel below out of scraps and drops, I have more money in welding wire and rattlecan paint than I do in materials. The upper wheel was a belt idler off of a large cat excavator, the lower anvils(4ea.) where gear blanks from a dumpster dive at a gear making shop, and the rest was drops and scrap from a fab shop. It works pretty good, but some day I will build a larger one with a stiffer frame. You can find all of the best info on e-wheels and metalshaping in general at: metalmeet.com metalshapers.org
for the upper wheel you can also use a large rigid catser available through graingers and cut off the rubber. are you set on an english wheel? because i built a planishing hammer for roughly $75, there's a post of it somewhere on here
Read to your heart's content... http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/cfdirectory.cgi?categoryid=9990091247057 http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/cforums.cgi?forumid=109061855423990 .
My first planishing hammer cost me all of $18. I have $0 in materials on my e-wheel ................. but over $350 in wheels (6" Custom Die upper and a set of 9 2x3" Hoosier Pattern anvils). Casters do work for uppers, and I have a couple of anvils made from 2" wide, 3.25" diameter casters. Build a stiff frame - no 2" square tube frames (unless you have a ton of it to work with), please. My frame is 1x3" 16ga - stacked into a 3x5 and welded together. Tons of info here too:http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=49 Tim D.
I just built one myself. Just finished it a few weeks ago. Im having fun trying to figure out how to use it and how to make things turn out the way I want them to. There is defantly a learning curve to it thats for sure. I have had some success. To get too your question I probably have $500 bucks into mine but it a big one with a 9 inch upper wheel and 5 3 inch lower wheels all tool steel and all hardened since I work at a machine shop I built evey thing myself. Im sure you could do it cheaper but since Ive wanted one for such a long time I decided to do it up right. When it comes to my tools for my shop I try to get the best I can aford (which isnt much these days) or build. At work its always go faster cut this corner or that but when Im home I can take my time and enjoy myself and do things right the way I want them.
The small one talked about with the Ford axle bearing as a wheel is off the Rodder's Roundtable site. The plans are posted there along with pictures. The top wheel is a Ford 9" axle bearing and the small one is an agricultural bearing available at Tractor Supply. I built one so I could get the feel of shaping metal with an english wheel. It's amazing what this little wheel can do and for a few bucks and a little time you are shaping metal. Frank
Pm Littleman or Hemirambler, they both built their own. They will be able to steer you in the right direction as far as wheels etc.
Dont forget the archives, metalshapes built a kickass one- check here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1095402
'just spent two or three minutes using the search function and found a ton of great info, picks and links one I didn't find right away was the jig saw frame converted to a wheel anybody keep a link? here's a basic plan for a small and simple unit though
I have an English wheel I built myself. I probably have $500-600 in it. Unless you are building door skins, deck lids, or top inserts you would probably get more use out of a planishing hammer and a shot bag. I probably have less than $100 in my planishing hammer. If I had to pick one I would pick a planishing hammer, but they both have their place and best function.
I built mine for just under two thousand, but one this size would cost you over $6,000 from Fournier. Kinda over kill, but it was fun to make.
Overall height,62". 4" x 4" x 1/4" frame,internally reinforced. Main frame bolts to base. Disassembles easily for transport. I've got less than $150 in it,for double locking casters,and bearings, plus a bunch of time.100% of the material was scrounged. Details here: http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/communityalbums.cgi?action=openalbum&albumid=9970156377963
This one for Joe Sulpy has a 48" throat.I think the horizontal arms are 4"x4"x1/4",the vertical column is 6"x10"x1/4",the diagonal bracing is 2"x2" The adjuster uses a Acme screw with bronze nut. Upper and lower yokes can be turned 360 degrees. Foot wheel is a foam covered steering wheel.Tool box holds anvils and different upper wheels. Total cost was well under $1000,and some time.
If you are going to build an English wheel, ask yourself several questions about what you planning to do with it first. If you are planning to do simple shaping, then almost any upper/lower wheels/anvils could be used. Your upper and lower wheels/anvils, as long as the upper is flat and the lowers have the radii that you will need, could be made out of almost anything. If you are going to plannish welds, then you'll need hardened wheels (which have been heat treated to somewhere in the range of 50-62 Rockwell). Personally, I wouldn't buy a wheel that wasn't hardened. For what extra you get, the cost isn't that much more. If you are going to wheel aluminum, the frame wouldn’t need to be as strong as if you were wheeling stainless steel. English wheel construction can be very involved and controversial, as it is almost the same as which is better Chevy vs. Ford. What I mean be this is should the be frame stiff or flexible, upper or lower adjuster, anvil quick release, anvils (with flats or true radius), throat depth, where to put the casters and the list goes on. After you get your wheel built and start to use it, there are a couple of schools of thought here too. Some only use the wheel to stretch, using wheeling patterns to put shape into a panel. Others will create their shape in a shot bag, stretching and creating tuck shrinks, and use the wheel to planish. Whichever way you decide to learn, that is okay. Remember there are many ways to do some of the same things. There are several great resources on the internet with info on English wheels: http://www.metalshapers.org/ www.metalmeet.com There are also some good video’s on how to use an English wheel. www.metalcrafttools.com http://www.covell.biz/ http://www.fournierenterprises.com/ http://www.tinmantech.com/
hi les, i`ve missed your wheel til now, how big is that belt idler ? is it hard ? looks like a better upper than a caster. gary
Hi Gary, The upper is about 7"x3". I'm not sure how hard the upper wheel is, but I run welds through it after I have nocked down the high spots, never dented or nicked it yet. I usually don't wheel over mig welds, no problem with tig or gas welds. The lowers are hard, I had trouble cutting them with carbide on my smaller lathe, ended up spin grinding the radius on them.
Larry, The roadster project is a dead horse, kind of a shame to let it die, but it served its purpose as a learning tool the first few years of metalmeet and metalshapers. I have the wireform out behind the garage, and still have all the drawing data. I don't know if the rest of the project is still at Randy's or if its all history now. I may take a crack at it again after I get some of my old iron on the road.
I believe that most commercial English wheels (like those sold by Ron Covell and others) are made by MetalAce. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) I have their 22" throat job. It's a nice size. I can set it up in a vise, and then put it in the corner when I don't need it. (I'm short on space.) Their bigger floor wheel is 44". I would actually recommend something in between. A benchtop 30" would probably be ideal. Take a look at their website for inspiration. You could make one pretty cheaply on your own. http://www.englishwheels.net/index.html The diagram that Paul posted is also great, and fordcragar's post is worth reading several times. I would add that there is an older English gentleman named (I believe) John Glover who made some great, thorough, although slow-paced, videos on how to properly use the English wheel. Good luck, overthehillracer, you'll love moving metal with an English wheel. --Matt
What DueceRails said. If you build or buy one you'll find yourself looking for sheetmetal to shape. It turns almost into a sickness or obsession, once you learn one thing you want to try something else. Along with the small one off the Rodder's Roundtable , I've got all of the components for a large wheel, minus the frame. I've just got to find time to build it. I've got visions of a small T style roadster body as my ultimate goal but at the pace I'm going they will be burying me in it. Frank
Matt, I just had to comment on this last sentence. John Glover's video's are available through MetalCraft Tools, and are very good. Just be well rested when viewing them.<lol>
Once again I find myself saying that I thought John Glover's videos weren't as sleep inducing as Ron Covell's ................ maybe that's just me. Want the ultimate in sleep inducement? Order the video instruction set for Alibre Design (a 3d modeling program I'm learning to use)! 42 minutes is my record so far - can't take any more than that. If you are good at scrounging parts, the Rodder's Roundtable design will whet your appetite, but probably leave you yearning for more. Well, actually, it might do you fine for quite a while. I got ruined when I used an actual, good-quality english wheel ..................... totally blew my little bench top away! You might also find that a larger wheel made from scrounged parts isn't much harder to do. I think a 30" benchtop might be a bit big for most benches Mine was intended to be a 26", but my plans changed at the last minute and some design compromises cut it down to 20" ................. still works for what I'm doing. Try any of the above options, you just might end up liking metalshaping! Tim D.
A freind of mine let me borrow the John glover tapes the first one It only took a half hour and I was out. But they are very informative he also wrote a book and I think there may be plans for an englsh wheel in there. Alot of the english wheels you see for sale are based on a design of his from the 70s or 80s. Mine is based on his design that I got from a freind.
Thanks. The link you put up wont work now, since I made one more Post on it. Here is the new one that should work. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1600067#post1600067
Buy the best 3" wide upper wheel you can afford. Buy one good lower anvil with a slight bit of crown to it #2 ? maybe. Make the simplest frame possible... a rectangle. Very simple to make an adjustable truss above the upper rail for pressure adjustment. If you like to shape first with a mallet and shot bag as I do, you are all set for smoothing a lot of different panels without a huge outlay of cash. As far as lower anvils go, choose quality over quantity. You can buy more later. And you can make a fancier wheel later if you like using it. Good places to get e-wheel parts: www.metalcrafttools.com and www.wheelingmachines.com There is nothing like seeing lumps turn into shiny metal without all the noise of a planishing hammer. Picture of my traveling wheel attached. John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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