Manufacturing Web-Spoked Wheel Inserts

[Doddy]

Short of producing a male/female die and pressing thin brass discs into shape I am devoid of ideas - any thoughts?




Many thanks in advance

Robert

[John Candy]

Perhaps have a pattern machined and use to cast in resin or whitemetal?

You could make a pattern from plastic card.

I am assuming you intend to overlay onto a disc wheel?

John.

[cabbage]

When I was building Rosebud my Krokodil. I used the brass wheel etchings from Mike Williams to turn LNWR wheels into H section spokes. These I stuck onto a few layers of plasticard and cut out the gaps between the brass with a knife... The sandwiches were then glued into the machined cavities of the wheels.

The end result was a 2mm thick wheel back and a 6mm thick insert.

Regards

Ralph

[Peaky 556]

Doddy, if they are non-structural then get a model created then print them.
If structural then use your print to make a mould for casting in resin.
Regards,

[IanT]

Maybe try your original idea of a male/female die but using 3D printed dies...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3IyodZSA70

Regards,

IanT

[MikeWilliams]

Maybe I'm just being dense today but I'm not sure what you mean by a web-spoked wheel.  Are the spokes T section?  A bit like the webs around the crankpin on some GWR loco wheels?

Mike

[Doddy]

To be honest Mike, I don't know what the correct term for the shape is.

In the picture below the outer side of the wheel insert has curved spokes and the inner sides where the gap is, is more of a set of straight or flat spokes



I think I might have to write a letter or two to Kawasaki and Nankai for help with this one.

Thanks

Robert

[Traininvain]

If I'm understanding what you're aiming to do, then one rough and ready way if you don't need too many wheels and have a lathe and mill to hand may be to fabricate some webbed inserts/overlays as follows:

- machine a length of brass round in the lathe to the diameter of the webbed piece to be inserted between the wheel tyres
- drill the centre of the round to take the axle
- remove brass round from lathe and mill one of more grooves (as many and as wide as required) across the centre line of the machined and drilled end. The grooves will hold brass flat of suitable size to simulate the pressed bits
- put the round back in the lathe and part off as thin as you can
- repeat as required
- to finish the inserts, fix short lengths of brass flat into the grooves with glue or solder

A bit long winded but just a thought