I was thinking of buying one of these. Does anyone have experience with them? Are they harder to use than they look?
Thanks
Hard to use ? Well, it's like anything else, it takes time.
You can't buy an english wheel, and expect to start making body panels with it, because it is just one of a series of tools you'll need for panel making. Ask yourself what kind of parts you want to make first. If you want to make large panels, then the English wheel is what you need. If you plan on making small parts, then a planishing hammer may be more up your alley.
I do a lot of metal work, and built an English wheel about 6 years ago. I have only used it once when I built my car.
I hear they will beat the sh!t out of your fingers if you arent careful......lol
Pugsy has one, I would imagine
Hmm, if I managed to use Pugsy's and I still have all my fingers its safe to say only a few brain cells are needed. Its a great tool and would be a lot of fun to have, but there not cheap and they take up a lot of room.
i have to laugh, i recall an episode of that show that poseur jesse james had where he went make some part on an english wheel, he was under the assumption he could throw a piece of metal in and a perfect part would just happen, well it didnt work out at all and he ended up looking like a fool, again.
Princess Auto sells one but I think there's is actually called an "Engrish Wheel" (for obvious reasons).
Yeah, no different than a piece of overcooked spaghetti. Not my intention to hi-jack your thread beachcat, but I ended up building my own. It's a beast but there's absolutely no flex in the frame when rolling even the most hammered sheet of steel.
Here's what went into fabricating the wheel.
Two 1/2" steel plate C's were ordered from the local steel supplier who laser cut them using the CAD drawings I provided. This is what the unit looked like after welding the 4"x1/2"TK web around the perimeter.
I wanted to minimize it's footprint, yet ensure that it would remain vertically solid so we used rear tractor hub. Once the centre of gravity was determined(with the additional weight of the adjuster and anvil weights taken into account) a flange was created. As for a comfortable wheeling height, I'm 6'2", a lower roller from my tipping machine was clamped temporarily into place then the frame was positioned so that when wheeling, the imaginary sheet was around the level of my sternum. The vertical heavy-wall pipe was then cut to length and welded into place.
About the base... I get the "Ohh chit that thing will tip over" reaction from just about anyone who sees it ...until they use the wheel. When rolling material the wheel doesn't budge. It's so solid in fact that when I'm using it the machine develops it's own harmonic frequency which I use to tell me when the part I'm making is 'done'. However, when I do need to move it in any direction I'm able to slowly 'walk' it.
To get an idea of the lower anvil location and alignment some remnants of 4"x4" box tubing were clamped between the plates. This wasn't the final setting...as it was kinda difficult to set the pieces in place without a 3rd hand. The next step was to create the upper adjuster utilizing an Acme thread.
Unit all assembled with the upper and lower anvils trued with each other.
I've been using the machine regularly and I'm extremely happy with the results. With the particular acme thread used, the pressure adjustment is very sensitive...but since I haven't used any other machines I've gotten used to it and don't mind.
Ohh...and if you're not paying attention they'll give you instant blood blisters under your nails! At least that's what they tell me...
__________________
Nick M.
A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.
i have to laugh, i recall an episode of that show that poseur jesse james had where he went make some part on an english wheel, he was under the assumption he could throw a piece of metal in and a perfect part would just happen, well it didnt work out at all and he ended up looking like a fool, again.
Yeah, but I bet you wish you had his fabricating skills !
Get down to the next meet in the spring and you can get an idea if you need a wheel or not. Learn how to twist some metal.
Edit: Forgot to mention, if you're going to build a wheel, don't look at something at Princess Auto and copy the size. The frame needs to be real stiff.
i have to laugh, i recall an episode of that show that poseur jesse james had where he went make some part on an english wheel, he was under the assumption he could throw a piece of metal in and a perfect part would just happen, well it didnt work out at all and he ended up looking like a fool, again.
Yeah, but I bet you wish you had his fabricating skills !
im quite sure my fab skills far exceed posuer james there, if you mean exploiting my family name and bolting some parts on, well hes got me beat then
-- Edited by fatstax on Saturday 27th of October 2012 07:10:29 PM
Get down to the next meet in the spring and you can get an idea if you need a wheel or not. Learn how to twist some metal.
Edit: Forgot to mention, if you're going to build a wheel, don't look at something at Princess Auto and copy the size. The frame needs to be real stiff.