Good progress with the wheels. I thought I'd show some of my machining operations as I was using a faceplate for the first time. Any comments from the experts would be post appreciated. My idea was to build the whole assembly on a disc of aluminium which could be moved between the faceplate and the mill rotary table without moving any parts. This way I would (hopefully) maintain concentricity.
The outer rim was made from four strips of brass pinned and glued together:
![rim frame.jpg rim frame.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Mounted on the faceplate I machined the outer diameter:
![machining outer rim.jpg machining outer rim.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Then the inner diameter:
![machining inner rim.jpg machining inner rim.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Because of the size of the rim I couldn't figure out how to machine the tyre groove on the OD, so I transferred to the rotary table and slowly milled the groove:
![milling tyre groove.jpg milling tyre groove.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
I also drilled the holed for the axles with the same setup. Then on the bench I could assemble the axles and the hub:
![fitting spokes.jpg fitting spokes.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
I was disappointed to realise that when I machined the tyre groove most of the pins I had put in to hold it all together had been nearly machined away and the whole assembly looked a bit flimsy. So I decided to add a brass tyre at the bottom of the groove and screw that in place. That seemed to work well, but it did reduce the depth of the groove from 8mm to 6 mm. Fortunately I already had the neoprene square section for the tyres and with a bit if experimenting found I could mill 2mm off the thickness – disaster averted. So here is one of the finished wheels. Not sure how to bond the neoprene tyre to the rim though. Any suggestions?
![finished wheel.jpg finished wheel.jpg](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Bob