I have used Qcad for years, Linux but there is a Windozz version and been very happy. I am now searching for something that works on a chromebook ?

I've relatively recently discovered this;

Drawing Board App Features

..it's about £16 to buy the full package, but one can trial it for free.. ..I have no commercial interest in this product, I simply wanted a CAD package that can generate technical drawings in a way that I can get my head around in hours rather than days..

Don't be put off by the fact that it calls itself an "App" – I think they are somewhat underselling it.. Although it's not mentioned in "Features" linked to above, one can switch between absolute, relative, or polar coordinates in the same drawing, which I guess is what you will need for drawing your crossings out..

Spokes with qcad.

First download and install QCAD professional trial from here. Probably the Windows 64 bit version or otherwise to suit your computer. It's the full Pro version of qcad but it only works in 15 minute bursts. It can be fully enabled by paying a fee, or downgraded to the Free Community Edition by following the instructions further down the same page:

QCAD Community Edition

If you are looking for the free open source QCAD Community Edition, you can download the trial version for your platform (see above) and then remove the QCAD Professional add-on running in trial mode (click Remove in the Trial widget and follow on screen instructions).

I think the Pro version is worth the money, but the Community edition is plenty powerful.

A qcad icon should appear on your desktop, or be found by typing qcad so windows can find it. Start QCAD.

A screen like this should open:

On the left hand side is a block of buttons, each opening a type of drawing tool, lines, circles, rectangles etc. Hovering the cursor over a button should display a short description.Start by drawing the wheel circles. Click on the circle button

And all the circle drawing buttons appear

The first three are the most common: draw a circle by pulling a radius with the mouse; draw a circle by typing a radius; and draw a circle by typing a diameter. Choose the diameter tool and a menu ringed in red will appear. These settings will draw a 50 unit diameter, full circle (0 degrees), positioned on screen from the circles centre. The circle is moved into position by the mouse and clicked. When drawing it helps to use snaps, which are shown in the green ring. Auto snaps to the nearest object. On an empty screen only grid points are available, more complicated drawings can snap to the end or mid point of a line etc

Plonk the circle anywhere convenient, then change the diameter to draw two more circles for the hub and outer wheel. Mine are 40 and 10 units in diameter:

Spokes will have to be tomorrow. The cat is demanding food with menaces!

Happy to answer questions.

Dave

Gearotic would be ideal for a clockmaker like yourself, but unfortunately it is $120 USD.

Martin.

The plus side of CAD is it allows you to play around with spoke designs to get something that looks appealing without having to cover your nice bit of brass with a load of unwanted scribed lines. More so once you start to want to do more decorative work with non radial, tapered or curved spokes.

Once you have settled on the design then you can either use the CAD to give you line and arc positions that can be marked out on the metal or just print and stick a template onto the work. It will also give you co-ordinates if you want to drill out all the internal corners and then mill between them with no marking out or template.

Please forgive the apparent digression, but now seems a good place to reference this : **LINK**

http://www.clickspringprojects.com/wheel-crossing-jig.html

… creating a CAD template of JMW’s jig would be a very good start, Chris

MichaelG.

But beware that computer printers do not necessarily print out accurately and when gluing, the paper can change size and shape as well.

Good, means you've 'clicked' so the rest should follow. Sorry if patronising but I'll show all the steps in case any are new.

Last post left QCAD with 3 circles as the hub and rim of a wheel.

Next button to know is Reset/Idle under 'File'. It goes back up a level. Press it to get back to civilization:

To draw a spoke we need a Line Tool, top right:

Pressing it shows them in the left-pane:

The first four are common cases. The first, draw a line between any two points is most used. Draw a line connecting the two inner circles.

It's a construction line to be deleted later. (Construction lines are often put on a Layer. Simple drawings can happily be done on one layer, but more are great for complicated work. Drawing a wheel template is simple, layers not needed.)

Next press the parallel line button (Red & Black lines like an H):

It makes parallel copies of a selected line, distance set in a dialogue:

Use it to create parallels either side of the construction line.

The construction can be deleted leaving a single crude spoke. Next rotate and copy around the wheel. This is done with a modification tool, selected by pressing the red pencil button.

Press the rotate button, top right. It rotates and optionally copies selected objects around a point, here the wheel centre. More than one line is selected by clicking with the Shift key down.

The rotate dialogue:

Do multiple copies, say 5. Also set the Angle (a) to 360/5 & press OK

OK but not pretty. The spokes can be rounded with another mod tool:

Spoke ends can be rounded to a set radius:

Tidying up can be done with the Mod delete tools. The easiest is only in the Pro Version – 'Break Out Segment' deletes a line between two lines, making it straightforward to clean up the spoke. Worth paying for.

I rotated straight spokes and tidied up after. Better to draw one spoke correctly first and to copy the others from it. Once a single spoke has been drawn any reasonable number may be coped and equally spaced around the hub.

Hope it makes sense?

Dave

Without wishing to hijack the post but at £15 I could be very tempted to have a punt on the Drawing Board App. It appears to offer all that I would want in a 2D system. Does anyone else have any practical experience using the system or perhaps other relevant observations?