HF English Wheel

But is the $1300 price worth the extra?

John

JR North wrote:

watch the wrap....

2 by 4 by 1/4 frame sounds pretty stout, but for a 28 inch throat it is not enough. 2 x 4 x 1/4 tubing is good for an 18 or 20 inch throat. If you have ever used a good English wheel you won't like that one. The issue is stiffness, not strength.

That said, if you mostly wheel aluminum you probably won't notice.

I have done a ton of work on ewheel frames, including computer models and field measurements of frame stiffess. A good ewheel frame will deflect about 0.001 inch for 10 pounds of force. That one will come out to a stiffness of 3 pounds per 0.001 inch, pretty loose.

Richard

Larry Jaques wrote:

You can buy the set of rolling dies and the heavy anvil seperately for about $110.

If the salvage yards near you are as bountiful as they are here, you can purchase the steel extrusions needed to build a more robust replica of the frame for less than $20.

If you are on this e-mail list, than the odds are good that you have the requisite skills to build a better one at half the price.

And look at all the fun you'll have doing it!

Go for it!

Larry Jaques wrote:

The rolling wheels are at:

've picked up an old C-throat nibbler (I believe) that I've been saving to make a wheel out of. This is the cheapest I've seen the rolling parts for. Maybe it's time. Respectfully, Ron Moore

Don't know - is it tubular ? or solid.

If solid, I to am surprised in the thin looking steel on the upper wheel. The force is divided between two plates, but even still...

Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot"s Medal. NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.

JR North wrote:

By the way, on the metalmeet forum, people who have bought one say that it is not really 1/4 inch wall, more like 3/16. That would of course make it even looser and less useful.

Richard

Richard Fergus> 2 by 4 by 1/4 frame sounds pretty stout, but for a 28 inch throat it is

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 05:15:15 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Richard Ferguson quickly quoth:

But for the $1,000 price differential, how hard would it be to slap on a couple extra 3/16" plates and beef the hell out of it? $5-10 for the plate, a stick or two of weld, and Richard is your parent's sibling. I mean you're my uncle. Or something like that.

Not all of us are rich sculptors, y'know. ;)

-- History is often stranger than fiction. Fiction has to be plausible. History is what happens when people don't follow the script. --pyotr filipivich, RCM

You are right, you could beef up the frame, but my experience is that welding distorts things. The alignment of the ewheel would probably be off when you were done. You would also need to add material to all four sides of the tubing to keep the lateral stiffness balanced with the stiffness in the vertical axis. At that point, you might as well build you own frame.

The best thing to do is probably buy the HF Ewheel, keep the wheels and the adjuster, and throw away the frame. You could build a new frame for it with bigger tubing, 3 x 5 x 1/4 would probably be in the ballpark for a 28" throat.

I have built a couple of ewheels from scratch, it is not that hard. Since I don't have a lathe, I bought the wheels. All you need is a welder and a grinder.

Richard

Larry Jaques wrote:

Rats. Not in the stores. Took the plunge and ordered off the web. Only $11.95 shipping to Seattle. I'll report soon on the stiffness issue. I'm not sure you can compare a straight and curved section of tube directly. JR Dweller in the cellar

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:10:25 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Richard Ferguson quickly quoth:

Nah, buy the HF Ewheel, sell it on eBay for $600, then buy all your parts for a larger wheel and assemble it yourself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately, the term "Homo Sapiens" is a goal, not a description. ----

No, because the Eastwood one doesn't inspire confidence either.

If the HF one shows up in the UK (MachienMart?) then sign me straight up for one of those and an afternoon with the welder. Even if they just sell the wheels for it, I'll make my own frame.