Steam Loco Spoked Wheel Making

[briggsmodels]

I gotta jump in here. I would (and have) made steam loco wheels by machining the tire with a back connected to a hub then drilling holes to make it mostly see thru, then 3D printing a wheel face. It does look good and Shapeways can make good looking parts if you know how to fool the printer...

Jeff B

[peteski]

I gotta jump in here. I would (and have) made steam loco wheels by machining the tire with a back connected to a hub then drilling holes to make it mostly see thru, then 3D printing a wheel face. It does look good and Shapeways can make good looking parts if you know how to fool the printer...

Jeff B

You mean the way Kato (and several other manufacturers) make their spoked wheels in N Scale? 

[mmagliaro]

You know, that's a darn good idea, too (among all the other ones in here).
I could turn the tread,flange on the outside of a solid brass rod, after boring the center, pushing in
a drillrod axle, and if I chucked it on the axle and turned the tread and flange, then I also automatically
have my perfect centerhole for where the hub goes. 

Machining out "most" of the interior around the hub, down to a thin sheet remaining as the back, might
be tricky in a mill without that rotary table, however.  But with a rotary, it would be easy beans.
I could be left with perhaps a .010" thick back,just enough to keep everything in alignment.

Then, carefully drill and file away almost all of it except an "X"... still left there to keep things in alignment.
Now solder in spokes right over the 4 "X" parts so they would be completely hidden.  It wouldn't be
"mostly" see-through.  It would be completely see-through.

More to ponder.

[mmagliaro]

Time to get back to this.

Making the hubs...
I am not sure yet, but I'm liking the idea of soldering the hub to a really thin brass plate that is soldered to
the back of the wheel, and then just carefully cutting out most of the plate, leaving just an "X".  The
legs of the X would be covered by spokes.

And no... no shapeways for me.  This is an adventure.  I want to make it all myself.

So... on to the hubs...  ( and remember, I have a mill, but not a lathe, so I have to improvise some of these
things... ha ha )

[Chris333]

That looks 0-6-0h so good 

[Cajonpassfan]

 

[mmagliaro]

Moving right along... another baby step: making the threaded crankpin bosses, and making some sort of jig to actually
hold the axle and wheel tire concentric while inserting spokes. 

Be aware, I am still not at all sure this is all going to work.  But I'm holding the tolerances very tight, and trying to work
out a way of putting it together so that it will be true on the axle.    I *think* it will work... we'll find out some time.











I should point out that I did succeed in making these "zero tolerance" as near as I can possibly tell.  These parts
"just" fit over the axle and the brass jig, and there is not one bit of wiggle whatsoever.  I just keep knocking off another thousandth and then another on the mill, until the wheel would just go onto that lip.

[Chris333]

Max,
Where did you get the thin HSS steel to make the bit for flanges?  I'm thinking about cutting a sand dome profile into one and seeing if that works...

Thanks
Chris

[mmagliaro]

Max,
Where did you get the thin HSS steel to make the bit for flanges?  I'm thinking about cutting a sand dome profile into one and seeing if that works...

Thanks
Chris

Chris,
I bought a set of "tool blanks" from Micro-Mark years ago. There are 4 in the set 1/8x1/8, 3/16x3/16, and 1/4x1/4
I don't think they sell them quite like that anymore, but they still have them.
They have a set of 3 angles blanks for their fly cutter,
http://www.micromark.com/set-of-3-extra-tool-blanks-for-82768,8205.html

but it doesn't say how big they are. 

littlemachineshop also sells lots of tool blanks as separates in a variety of sizes:

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4323&category=


From online metals:
https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=19076&step=4&showunits=inches&id=157&top_cat=0
I got 18" of hardened tool steel that is 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick.   Sometimes I just cut an inch or two off that
and then shape one corner.  That stuff is VERY hard.  The only thing that will cut it is a diamond cutoff wheel in
a Dremel.  Normal mortal drill bits or cutters are useless against its powers (which means it makes a great
cutting tool once you tough it out and shape it).
 It is D-2 grade.

[Chris333]

Thanks for links.

I was thinking more like 1/2" wide and 1/16" thick. It would be crazy cutting out a profile shape in 1/2" thick square stock.

[mmagliaro]

Thanks for links.

I was thinking more like 1/2" wide and 1/16" thick. It would be crazy cutting out a profile shape in 1/2" thick square stock.

Oh... I KNOW!   (were you just feeding me a straight line there?) 

[Chris333]

Haha that is exactly what I want to do!

[u18b]

Dang!

Wow.

[mmagliaro]

Tanks, Ron!

And now... the moment we've all been waiting for... the SPOKES.

After more careful observation of the prototype, I can see that there are 13 spokes in these wheels, not 12
as we originally thought.  The other observation I made from prototype photos is that the counterweights
are large and come out almost to center hub.   They are not identical on all 3 drivers.  The rear counterweights
are the largest, coming right out to the hub.  The center drivers come into the center a little less, and
the front drivers a little less than that.

So, I made a scale drawing, and some jigs, and here we go...
















Now, start building the wheel...








So... how good is this "wheel skeleton" ?





yay....

Puttin' in the spokes...






Yes... I know everyone is nervous about the acid-based flux.  I did boil the entire assembly in baking soda solution
in a ceramic cup when it was done.  I am going to try the alternate flux on the next wheel.   We'll see what happens
if 6 months, or 6 years, go by and somehow this flux is still in there causing trouble.  I have to say, though, that I
kind of doubt it.









... and just to remind myself of how insane this is...




Now, the counterweight is the last piece of the puzzle...
















Now... I just have to make 5 more 

[Kisatchie]

Tanks, Ron!

And now... the moment we've all been waiting for... the SPOKES.

[Lots of photos]

Now... I just have to make 5 more 

Max, you're crazier than an outhouse rat...


Hmm... Kiz heard that
line on Mystery Science
Theater years ago...