I want to build and english wheel and have been searching the net for parts. I need the opinions of guys that have used this stuff. What wheels are best for the budget? Is the cheap stuff even worth considering? If I buy the better stuff, what dies would you recommend to get started? Thanks
i have a MetalAce english wheel and have been happy with it. you can buy them all done , or just the parts. here is their website: http://www.englishwheels.net/ a friend has the harbor freight one and it took a lot of work to make it right
Hey, Several ways to go with this- The Chinese **** sold thorugh "Horrable Fright" are , well $70-$80 bucks worth of anvils. Soft steel, typical Chi-Com ****, but usable, barely! www.tinmantech.com sells/sold blanks that needed to be finished & finished anvils. An outfit called Imperial Wheels was selling anvils of a good quality, some time back. You could turn your own from some good steel. A highly crowned wheel and a flat wheel won't see much use. It's only a very small area of the anvil, that actually makes contact with the metal when wheeling, that does the stretching. The rest of the anvil's profile is just for clearance. Swqankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
I vote for making your own. It don't get any cheaper and you might even enjoy the process. Added bonus - your choice of steel.
I guess you're right. Personally I know 5 or 6 guys with lathes at their homes. Another dozen with them at their shops. Then again one could even sign up for a machining cl*** at the local vo-tech or community college. Liek most things in life - you can look for excuses or go out and get it done. For some that means BUYING for others it means getting dirty. Your choice - what doesn't fly is the excuse of not knowing anyone - there's always a way IF that's what one wants to do. I realize of course not everyone wants to "waste time" making chips. - that's ok too. To each their own.
This would be my vote as well. There is a lot of good information regarding English wheel construction on several web sites. Try: www.metalshapers.org and www.metalmeet.com
settle down there sport, i didn't say anything about "waste time" or anything like that, all i said is that if he doesn't know anyone with a lathe(which is a possibility) then buying is probably the best for him. Also yes he could take cl***es at a community college and spend 3 months learning how to make his own anvils but at the same time he would be spending 4-500$ for the cl***es/books to learn how to do it when he could have spen that money on anvils from hoosier. Granted after the cl***es he would know how to use a lathe pretty decently but he would still be in the same situation.
I buy all my wheels and anvils from Hoosier. The price isn't really all that bad when you see what you are getting, and the quality of his stuff is top notch. I actually have a lathe over here, and after using CNC made anvils on my english wheel I wouldn't even consider trying to turn up a set of my own anymore. A set of anvils are alot more work to make than many people think, and it's also worth noting that the surface finish on your upper wheel and anvils is the actual finish that is being imprinted on your work, so you want the best quality surface you can get. If the money is an issue, you might consider picking up a half set of anvils to get you started, and then add others later on as your skills develop. Ken
I agree Hoosier makes some excellent uppers and lowers. For a production type wheel go to imperialwheelingmachines.com. Kerry makes a supberb frame.
I have two lathes and I bought Hoosier wheels. I build alot of my own stuff but not that time. Joe at Hoosier has a very high quality standard. He heat treats the anvils and turns them down with ceramic inserts. No way I could match the quality. One more option is you can use roller bearings. The bearings that go in pillow block bearings have a crown ground into them. Then you could get a big bearing for the top. The bearings are hard and would last a long time. You are limited on the radius available. It could get you started at least. Jeff
I agree with Ken, a few high quality anvils with flats, even just two would be a great start. Depending on what you plan to make, a nearly flat anvil and one of the next two up with more clearance and slightly smaller flats would be a great choice. Get 3" wide anvils and upper wheel. You might ask people which anvils they use the most. The very high clearance, small flat anvils, that are nearly spherical are rarely needed. A good hard upper wheel, and you are good to go. Anvil releases are not required unless you are in a hurry, they drive the price up, and give more opportunity for slop on a cheap machine. If you get an english wheel with constant radius anvils (no flats) you may never know why you are not getting the results you want. I had a student buy some nice looking anvils that had no flats on ebay after taking a cl*** or two from me. He built a heavy duty english wheel. He decided to get rid of the english wheel after a while. I traded my old truck to him, then realized that he may have been discouraged by the wheel he had built. The constant radius anvils are unforgiving and do a very poor job of smoothing low crown panels. Just like a hammer with a very small face. I am in the process of making flats on the anvils so I can p*** the wheel along in good conscience. Nothing worse than trying to start out on a tool that is not made right. It is hard enough to learn how to smooth or shape metal with an english wheel. No need to make it any more difficult than it has to be. John www.ghiaspecialties.com
Thanks for all the responses. I don't have a lathe and hate to bug a friend to spend that much time to make them for me. So I should be able to start with a few dies and buy more as I get better. Thanks
Are the cast hoosier upper wheels any good? I plan on building patch panels for my model a and 34 Ford coupe. Which anvils should I start with?
I'd vouch for any of the upper wheels and anvils out of Hoosier. You'll have a choice of diameters and widths for your upper wheel; choosing the most suitable one for you will be determined by the frame size and by the type of panels you intend to be working on. For choosing the right anvils, I'd go with this general rule: For making automotive panels get 3" diameter anvils, for making motorcycle stuff go for 2" diameter anvils that allow the formation of tighter compound curves. Anvils usually come in sets of six, starting with 1 flat anvil with no crown at all, followed by the other 5 which each have an increasingly higher amount of crown machined into them. Buy a full set if you can, or alternately, I think you can also request a "high" or "low" half set, each of which is a half set of anvils starting at the high or low end of a standard set. Note that this is second hand info, you can get the real deal by sending an e-mail to Hoosier to make sure this information is current and accurate. I have found them to be _very_ flexible and easy to deal with, and they will often be happy to knock off a special order that is tailored specifically to your needs. Before you do anything though, I'd suggest jioning Metalmeet.com and doing some searches on english wheels, anvils, upper wheels, and frames. An afternoon of reviewing the resulting hits on those topics will leave you with a much better idea of where to go from there. Good luck with your project Duke. Ken
I have a high rockwell rating cast iron upper wheel on one of my english wheels. It is a lot harder than you would think. I got it from Kerry Pinkerton at www.wheelingmachines.com I believe it is a Hoosier wheel. Maybe Kerry will chime in? The cast iron wheel will not accept as much abuse as the hardened ones, but is still useful. Just don't jam sheet metal between the wheels under high pressure, go over welds etc. John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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