Turningwoodenspokesonalathe.

Piecesofash(1by2)werecuttolength(~11long)and thentheangleswerecutonaregulartablesawwithajigasper pictureonright.Apieceofsteelwasputonthebottomofapiece ofplatetorunintheguideandangleironwasattachedto producetheproperanglefor12spokestocometogetheratthe hub(15oontwosidesofthespoke).Abracketcomesoverthetop andcanbetightenedwithabolttoholdthepiecerigid.After cuttingall12spokes,itisimportanttochecktomakesurethey willmeetcorrectly(evenly)onthehub.Ileftsomeplaysothat whentheywereassembledepoxycouldbeusedtoaddstrength andholdthejointstogether. Onpictureonright,thespokeontheleftshowswhatitwould looklikeafterhavingthetapercutintoit.Next,theroughpiece wascuttobeapproximatelysquareatthenontaperedendand thecentresweremarkedtobemountedonthelathe.Thesecond spokefromtheleftisanexampleofwhataspokewouldlooklike afterbeingsquared.Thetwospokesareexamplesatlaterstages ofcompletion. Thelatheforroundingthespokeswasset upsomewhatlikeacrudemetallathein thatwayswerebuiltoutofchanneliron andacarriagewasbuiltthatrunsalongit beingpropelledbyanallthreadrodthat hasahandcrankontheendofit.The carriageisthesamechannelironwith smallerpiecesofchannelironboltedtoit andacatchonthebottomtokeepthe carriageagainsttheways.Anutis fastenedtothecarriageandtheallthread rodisrunthroughitwithabearingonthe endoftheways.Becausetherewasa

handcrankputontheendoftheallthreadrod,whenitisturneditfeedsthecarriagealongtheways. Anelectricmotorwithasawblademountedonamandrelontheendoftheshaftismountedtothe carriage(safetyguardsareremovedforclarity).Thesawbladeisoffsetsuchthatwhenitisnearthe tailstockendofthelathe,itwillnottouchthetailstockbutwillgettotheendofthewoodspoke.Itis importantthatthebladeturnsinthedirectionthatitcomesdownontheadvancingside(clockwisein photographbelow)topreventthepiecefromsplintering.IwilltrytouploadavideoofthisontoYou Tube(searchforRetiredHoodliftertoseealistofmyvideos).

Makesureboththesawbladeandthewoodpiececan turnfreely.Thesawbladeshouldnothitthelatheever andshouldnottouchthewoodpieceuntiltheyare bothrunningandthecarriageisadvancedalongthe piece.Thewoodpieceshouldnottouchthesawblade untilbotharerunningandthecarriageisadvanced alongthepiece.Asthesawnearsthehubendofthe piece(acrudemarkcangivesomeindicationofwhen youareapproachingtheend),thesawandlatheshould beturnedoffandmeasuredmoreprecisely.Finally,the carriagecanberemovedfromthewaysandthepiece

canbesandeddowntocompletion.Thiscanbeseenasthirdspokeonthephotoabove.Afterstarting thelatheandthesawmotors,advancethecarriagealongthewaysslowlysothatthesawbladedoes notbouncetoomuchandthepiecebecomestoorough.Byusinga7sawbladeyougetanice taperedcurveforthespokewhereitjoinsatthehubasperthepictureabove. Therimendofthespokecanthenbeturneddownusingregularchiselswiththesmallnibthatfitinto therim.Thiscanbeseenasthefourthspokeonthephotoabove. Inordertomakespacefortheweldinthehubandfor rollingspokeintotherim,asmallcornermustbecutoff thespoke(outsideandinside)asperphotoattheright. Channel(1by)wasrolledtoapproximately22 diameterandweldedinsiderimasperpicturetorightand diagrambelow.Theboltsusedthroughtheplatesand spokesareAllenkeybolts(nicesmallheadslook somewhatlikerivets).Theplatewastappedtoreceive theboltssotheexcessboltcanbegroundflushwith theplatesoitwillmountflushwiththeplateonthe rearaxle. Allsurfacesexceptwherethespokeswereincontactwitheachother(atthehub)werecoatedwith epoxy(WestSystem105Epoxy&WestSystem207Hardener(3:1))andallowedtodry.Irecommend thatyoucompletelyassemblethewheeldrybeforeapplyingepoxywherespokesjointomakesureitall fitsproperly.Thediameteroftheassembledspokesbeforeepoxywasadded(onthehub)was1/16 largerthantheinnersurfaceoftherimtomakepreload.Whentakingwheelapartafterthisinspection, slackenslowlyandkeeptheboltthatdrawsitalltogethertightwiththehubsoitdoesnotflyapartand damageyouorthewheel.Finally,coatthesurfacesofthespokesthatareincontactwitheachother andreassemblethewheel.Thewheelwasassembledsimilarlytotheelegantdescriptionat www.modelt.org/regans%5fwheels%5web/.Useasmanyclampsasyouhavetoholdtheinsideand outsideplatetogether(withspokesinbetween)untiltheepoxyisdry.Afterepoxyisdryyoucandrill

outtheholesforth heAllenkeybolts(drilltheplateto1 b 13/64soitcanbetappedforcourse a d thread).

Finalprod duct: