#1
|
|||
|
|||
English Wheel after shaping with hammer
Hi:
I'm a novice making my first set of parts for an inner wheel well on a micro car. I divided it into four sections which have about a 3" radius that is consistent along the diameter of the wheel wells , which is about 2 feet. Now that the pieces pretty much fit they are still bumpy from hammering. I have an English wheel (Harbor Freight) which has allowed to get the pieces smoother but they are not super smooth. My question is how to get them smoother without losing the shape I took many hours to achieve? I've attached some pictures, and suggestions would be appreciated. smoother.jpg rougher.jpg thanks shawn
__________________
Shawn |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
You appear to be off to a good start.
Generally speaking, wheel until completely smooth. If you find that you are losing the shape in the wheeling process, you can either wheel more in the areas where more shape is needed, or put more shape in it and expect it the come back a bit. Don't worry about going back and forth a few times. What methods are you using to shape the part? Just a bag? Tuck shrink? Stump? What thickness of material are you using? As with learning any new skill, practice is the key. Like riding a bicycle, it is difficult until is isn't.
__________________
Jacob Hunsinger Shrinking using a stump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HAFndATFo4&t=7s Making a reverse using a stump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PlF1BoMCQI Circular Truss E-Wheel http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=15419 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
The wheel is not magical and therefore cannot suddenly make a part smooth by just running it back and forth in the machine. You have to wheel specifically the areas that need smoothing - and the wheel stretches as it planishes so you have to plan ahead for that when making your rough shapes. There are other machines that planish without any stretching but not the wheel.
__________________
Kent http://www.tinmantech.com "All it takes is a little practical experience to blow the he!! out of a perfectly good theory." --- Lloyd Rosenquist, charter member AWS, 1919. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
thanks for the advice. I'm using 20 gauge steel, a shot bag a "stump" and a variety of hammers and slappers that I made.
hammer.jpg stump hammers and slappers.jpg Shawn
__________________
Shawn |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Hi,
Think of the English wheel as a rolling hamer. An Ewheel can stretch material in a fast way, if you use high pressure. With the harbor freight model, it is hard to get that kind of pressure due to frame flex. As you wheel, you will find that it will change the shape a little. But, it will be very little, you can re-form with a hammer and wheel again and so on and so on... It may sound like a long drawn out process, but you will find in time that it goes quick, it just takes practice. Cheers and good luck with your project. Bill
__________________
Bill Tromblay "A sign of a good machinist, is one who can fix his F$@& Ups" My mentor and friend, Gil Zietz Micro Metric Machine. |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Shawn nice work on your home brew tools!
You will get there, it is not something you learn in a week, it takes years to get real good. The best education is to observe closely how the panel is changing shape with each step of the process. Go slow and check often the fit of the panel to the buck or pattern. Steve
__________________
Steve Hamilton Hamilton Classics Auto Restoration & Metalshaping |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
You made those tools? Nice!
__________________
Jacob Hunsinger Shrinking using a stump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HAFndATFo4&t=7s Making a reverse using a stump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PlF1BoMCQI Circular Truss E-Wheel http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=15419 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
I'm able to get close on the final shape, then when I wheel a bit more I seem to lose it somewhere else. It appears like I have "overshaped" parts of it and the only way i can think to get back is to hammer it. I've heard of other shrinking methods like a stainless steel wheel you put on a grinder but i don't have one of those.
So i had a couple of thoughts: Use a bigger diameter wheel (i've been using a 3" as that is my approximate radius of the tightest part) to flatten the areas and then reshape and then trim the pieces if they get bigger. Just do tiny wheelings in a cross hatch pattern to work specific areas. Any suggestions would be appreciated, i think i'm approaching the "frustrated" stage that everyone probably goes through. thanks Shawn
__________________
Shawn |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Shawn, are you wheeling off the edge? If you are, you are releasing the stretch that was created by blocking and wheeling. Shape is constrained by the surrounding metal but that metal is under stress and if you wheel across the boundary, it stretches quite easily.
On stiffer machines, you can wrap a piece of masking tape around the edges. You will 'feel' the tape when it hits the rollers and stop before you go over the edge.
__________________
Kerry Pinkerton |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
thanks! I will try the tape as I find I go off the edge a lot.
I also have a fair amount of excess metal that is distorting my read of the panel. I'll cut off the excess metal to the edge of the tape and see if that helps me get where i want to be. Shawn
__________________
Shawn |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|