Technical Harbor frieght english wheel lower anvils. Help please.

Hello all long time lurker here, I am building two reverse trike cycle cars both of them are almost completed I am at the point now I need to start making body panels. So I went and purchased a Harbor freight English wheel, the problem is I found out later they have stopped selling the lower anvils till the new manufacturer gets tooled up, Customer service estimates 3-4 months till they get them in again. Does any know where I can get a compatible anvil set at a decent price or even used set that will work on the Harbor English wheel.

 

The Yakima Wa store had a couple of extra sets in the back room when I bought mine. The add says store purchase only https://www.harborfreight.com/english-wheel-bottom-anvil-dies-set-of-6-68412.html
I bought the floor model that they had in stock and one of the employees and I disassembled it in the parking lot with the help of a fellow customer and stuck it in the trunk of my BMW. I saved a bunch of money on it though. I went in a couple of days later with the item number for the anvils and they dug them out of the back room.
There is some guy who has a set from HF listed on Ebay for 329.00 Talk about a scammer.
I'd call the Yakima store and see if they had them.

 

That's interesting. HF in the D/FW area hasn't had English wheels in stock in probably 18 months or longer.

 

I have seen rubber wheels used on the lower fitting


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Also made from Delrin


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All very interesting, looks like a quality improvement underway. Was checking out the display E wheel at the local Pittsfield store recently, much more rugged and better quality including the upper wheel and supplied anvil and bearings, than the ones I had seen there in the past. No lower anvil wheel sets displayed so this explains that.

E wheel in my future plans so I'll be keeping an eye on things for sure. I really hate to send $$ off shore but sometimes my fixed income tool allowance has me doing what I have to do or wait until I run out of time..........

Ed

 

Soft upper wheels allow you to curve a panel in only one direction on an English wheel. I can't say I have ever seen them on the bottom wheel. Delrin and softer lower wheels are usually found on bead rollers .

 

Google.

 

Check with Northern Tool. They have anvil sets but I'm not sure if they fit H/F.

 

I bought a set from Summit Racing. Haven’t used them yet but they look alright.

Ron

 

Thank you ill give the store a call and see if I can find a employee willing to ship to me.

 

northern tool is out of stock with a wai this is the same machine same manufacturer same problem.

 

of course this was the first place I tried, there are no sets available.

 

Maybe Eastwood? I think they make their wheels over seas, might even be coming out of the same factory.


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it looks like the axles are the same not sure but it may be worth a try, thank you.

 

I haven't checked to see if they have a set but if they do and can't ship them send me a PM and I'll pick them up. I think one spare set they did have came from the english wheel my buddy bought and didn't buy the anvils. Skilled as he is he can make his own though.

 

Thank you, I called the store they said there were none left.

 

Someone must have decided they needed them then. I bought my english wheel just about a year ago but they didn't have one on display for a long time.

 

I'm in the same boat, have the frame but only one lower wheel. I think HF was advertising the wheels for 50 or 60 bucks to dump them from their inventory a while back. Hard to believe HF still sells the frame, apparently with no warning that the wheels aren't available. Eastwood web catalog states thair wheels are 2" wide, 3.2" diameter, with 1/2" axle (don't know if that's the diameter, or the width of the square flats on the ends). If someone determines that the Eastwood wheels work, or finds another source, please let us know.

 

Re: my post #6

Just checked in again, the apparently upgraded frame still on display. Measured with my pocket tape, the lower anvil axle appears to be 3/4 " dia with 1/2" square ends to fit the yoke. Upper wheel and anvil bearings seemed to roll much smoother and without the slop the others had IIRC.

Asked the clerk why there were no anvil sets on the shelf, she said: "If there are none on the shelf we don't have any in stock and it will be at least 2 weeks until we do. We're waiting for a truck delivery which is running late, expecting a load of equipment from a new supplier including welders and such"

I'll be checking again in a month or so when I get the chance.

Ed

 

I ordered a set from eastwood, jegs or summit about a year ago. don't remember. have the shouldered axles and work fine.

 

could you check for sure please? old receipt or something? I am asking because you may have bought a set for the same Chinese machine branded differently? In which case they would not be available anymore.

 

Has anyone figured out if the Jegs lower anvils will fit the Harbor Freight English wheel (or any other suitable substitutes)?

 

Wondering about the Jeg's set as well. Pics look a little different, but the E wheel pictured is the same as the old H-F design that was changed a couple years ago, so I am hoping that they simply forgot to update the pictures.

 

Bought the uppers and lowers for mine off Ebay and they appear to be the same as the HF/Northern Tool ones. In all honesty they took more work to make usable than they were worth. I'm replacing them with Hoosier Profiles ones. I'm donating this set to a friend as they are trued and polished now and work quite well. I wouldn't plan on using that wheel out of the box. Personally, I think any upper wheel that is not hardened is probably doing a disservice to the operator. You'll spend more time taking marks out of it that it is worth. Lower wheels can get away without being hardened as they are typically on the back side of a panel and you can afford a few marks. There are plenty of good videos on how to do it.

In my opinion it is unfortunate that a lot of guys try to learn the "wheel" on one of these. A good wheel will just tell you what it wants. Even very skilled guys have to fight a marginal wheel to make it functional.

My homemade wheel-

 

A side note, HF wheels use I believe 23mm shafts if I remember correctly. I had to turn a custom top shaft to fit my .750 bores on the upper wheel as my frame was built for the HP wheels.

 

I had ordered the Summit set, but the first set came in all nicked and grooved. The replacement set was smoother, but black, didn't look finished or polished, just black iron. I sent those back as well.
I saw this thread was revived and hoped that someone had found a substitute.
I'll post-up if when I do find something.

 

I believe I got a Hf frame bought used with only one lower anvil.
The axles are .866 (22 mm) and anvils are 3" diameter with a .750 inch flats to mount in the saddles.
I bought a set of Jegs anvils not thinking about the axles. I received the anvils and they are 2" diameter and the axles may only be half inch (never measured)

So instead of being lazy I fired up the lathe and made a set of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 ,12 radius and a set of flat anvils from chunks of d2 tool steel. I heat treated them and now I just have to finish the axles.

 

Yeah...checked here, too. "No WAI..."

But price may differ...

 

we just purchased a HF English Wheel and wondered if anybody came across a way to get more anvils for them? Eastwood is out of stock. HF is out of stock still.