Design and Build an English Wheel

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Design and Build an English Wheel http://www.instructables.com/id/Design-and-Build-an-English-Wheel/?...

1 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

An english wheel is a classic hand-powered shop tool for making

two-dimensional curves in sheet metal. Its used for making aircraft skins, car

body parts, suits of armor and other applications where a smooth surface on the

sheet is desired, something extremely difficult to achieve with a hammer. It is

also very useful for planishing; smoothing dimpled or bumpy sheet metal after

hammering.

An english wheel seemed like an excellent tool to build. I read up on the theory

of operation to get an idea of how it worked, looked at some pictures of wheels

on the internet, and I set forth to design and build it. The whole process only

took two weeks, start to finish.

It works by stretching the small strip of material that comes in contact with both

wheels as it is passed repeatedly between them. This stretching results in the

material developing a curvature after many repeated passes. Rolling in

different directions and angled results in different effects. You can see the

results of my first test sheet, and all I had to go by was what I picked up from a

couple of videos I saw on Youtube.

This instructable will be a rough-over of how to do most of the work, highlighting

some insights I picked up along the way. You can scale the design ideas to

make a benchtop model or a larger floorstanding version. The only thing that

changes is the size of the "C" shape body, and the length of the adjustment

screw, to accommodate larger work pieces.

Step 1: Design

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Design and Build an English Wheel by mattthegamer463 (/member/mattthegamer463/ )

Collection I Made it!

Download (/id/Design-and-Build-an-English-Wheel/?download=pdf ) 7 Steps

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2 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

The design is quite simple. The two wheels run against each other and the

material is worked between them, with weight from the top one pressing down

and pressure applied by the screw mechanism pressing the bottom one up, the

sheet metal between is slowly thinned and curved.

I've made drawings of all the complex parts for the project. The ones not shown

are just simple cut lengths of a standard size material (square tube, rod, etc) so

a 2D drawing wouldn't be of any more help than just a written length. The PDF

attached to this step is the design for the overall machine, showing the main

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3 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

lengths and their arrangement. I uploaded it as a PDF because the numbers

and details are invisible as an image. The screw in red is just to show how it

passes up through the bottom to allow adjustment.

I didn't have the material or lathe capability to make a 8" diameter disk for use

as the top anvil, so I recommend purchasing one online or at Harbor Freight. A

gigantic bearing would suffice, if you can find/get one. The bottom anvil is a

curved bearing from a pillow block, these are perfect for this application

because they are hardened and also run perfectly smooth and straight even if

they are mounted off-center.

A bit about tools: Without welding, a mill or lathe, this project will be every

difficult. Keep in mind that is project is designed for someone with access to

machine tools. They don't need to be fancy, but they are virtually required to

complete this project.

The following list correlates to the drawings below, and the quantities of each

part you will need to make, and what material to make them out of.

Guide rings (2) - 3/4" steel platePipe end cap (2) - 1/8" steel plateLower anvil holder base (1) - 1/4" steel plateGusset (4) - 1/8" steel plateClamp/mounting bracket (4) - 3/16" steel angleTop anvil mounts (1) - 1/8" steel plateThreaded rod guide (1) - 3/4" steel plateLower anvil holder side (2) - 1/4" steel plateGuide rod plate (1) - 1/4" steel plateLower anvil pin (1) - 1/2" steel rodAnvil holder guide housing (1) 2" steel square tubeTwo bushings for the top and bottom anvils. These will depend on what youare using for anvils. They just need to be adapted for the holders.

In addition to these, you will also need to cut the following lengths of material:

9-1/2" length of 3/4" diameter threaded rod4" length of 1-1/4" diameter steel pipe2" length 1/2" solid rod24", 26.75" and 26" lengths of 2" square tube, 1/8" thick wall

Hardware:

5x 3-1/2" long 1/2" bolts5x 1/2" nuts5x 1/2" lock washers9x 1/2" washers4x 8-32 1/2" flat head screws

frame.pdf (/files/orig/FZH/8663/GZKG36UF/FZH8663GZKG36UF.pdf)8 KB

Step 2: Lower Anvil and Holder

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4 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

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5 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

The lower anvil in my project is a pillow block bearing, which has a curved outer

edge perfect for this application. The anvil is held on a pin which is placed on a

U-shaped holder made of 1/4" steel plate. This holder is welded to a 4" long

steel pipe. The other end is connected to another small plate with a rod welded

to the bottom of it. This rod, along with the two guide rings at the top, allow this

entire assembly to move up and down inside the guide housing when the

handle is turned.

At the bottom of the guide housing there is the threaded rod guide. This plate

with a 3/4" threaded hole in it is the only part that holds the adjustment rod.

The adjustment rod presses directly against the guide rod that is connected to

the moving assembly.

Step 3: Top Anvil Mounts

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6 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

The top anvil is attached to the frame with two pieces made from 1/8" plate.

The anvil I purchased came with bearings that required a 3/4" rod, so I turned a

bushing to allow me to use the 1/2" bolts that I had. I put washers between the

mounts and the anvil. When welding the mounts to the end of the frame, I took

the wheel off and bolted the bushing in place so that they would be correctly

spaced and lined up.

Step 4: The Frame

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ZACJA8C/F6OMEE1GZACJA8C.LARGE.jpg)

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7 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

This step is just welding all the tube segments, mounting pieces, and gussets

together. You can use your preferred welding style, I used MIG since I am best

with it. The bottom tube length needs holes drilled through it for the 1/2" bolts

that hold the mounting brackets on. You can see them in the picture below.

What you can't see is the other 1" hole drilled through the bottom tube beneath

the lower anvil guide housing at the bottom right corner of the frame. This is a

hole for the 3/4" threaded rod to pass through from the handle to the anvil

holder that it has to move.

In order for everything to line up it is important that the frame is welded straight.

If the cuts on the ends of the square tubes are not straight, then the tubes

should be clamped and tacked in place at the correct angle and the gap filled

with weld. Using a carpenter's square is a definite must. It is also important

that the correct tube ends are placed against the correct tube sides or else the

two wheels won't line up.

If there is an issue with alignment, one way to iron out any inaccuracies is to

weld the three main tube lengths, then mock everything up and find the right

place to put the anvil holder guide housing below the top anvil, and tack it in

place. Remove everything that you mocked up and complete the remaining

welds and gusset welds.

Pipe end caps cover the top-left and bottom-right pipe openings. I left the

bottom-left opening uncapped since it will be facing the table, and the top anvil

holder covers the top-right pipe opening. The gussets are welded into the

inside of each of the four corners to increase rigidity in the frame.

The mounting brackets are drilled with a 1/2" hole to match the holes through

the bottom of the frame.

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8 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

Step 5: Paint and Assembly

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9 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

Since this whole project is made of steel, its a good idea to paint it so it doesn't

rust. You'll want to clean the welds using a wire brush to get the soot and scale

off, and grind off the splatter if you care how it looks. Getting rid of sharp edges

on the welds and cuts is definitely a good idea.

Assembly is pretty self-explanatory. Be sure to use lock washers for the

mounting brackets otherwise they might come loose, and this thing is pretty

top-heavy. Once the lower anvil holder assembly is in place the guide rings can

be screwed into place with the 8-32 screws.

Step 6: Operation

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10 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

How to use: simply hold the material and push it back and forth between the

rollers. You can push down on the sheet while you roll to control how quickly the

process goes, but the bends in the material will be smoother if you take your

time. Please keep in mind when looking at the pictures below that I have never

used one of these machines before, I had no clue what I was doing! I was

totally winging it but it turned out pretty good for a first time, I feel.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FRX/0FJ2/GZACJA8L/FRX0FJ2GZACJA8L.LARGE.jpg)

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11 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

Step 7: Complete!

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(http://cdn.instructables.com/FWG/SSEA/GZACJVUH/FWGSSEAGZACJVUH.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FID/VG7B/GZAD1HVN/FIDVG7BGZAD1HVN.LARGE.jpg)




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12 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

We have a Please be positive and const

Add Images Make Comment

(/member/Giesterfarher/)

1 year ago Reply

(/member/StretchCT/)

1 year ago Reply

(/member/TheFullMetalAlchemist/)

2 years ago Reply

(/member/iminthebathroom/)

2 years ago Reply

(/member/abstracted/)

2 years ago Reply

My machine is designed to be clamped down (instead of bolted) since I need tobe able to move it around and off of the workbench. If you want to bolt yoursdown, simply drill some additional holes in the mounting brackets to bolt to thetable with.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please let me know.

Giesterfarher

I made one very similar to this several years ago for forming motorcycle fueltanks. I went a slightly different direction though, and put the adjustmentscrew on the large anvil on top, and put the small anvil in a V-block in thebottom leg. This allowed me to get inside the fuel tank shell and smooth outthe hammer marks and die stretch marks that are impossible with the normalEnglish wheel design. This also makes repeatable tension settings a breeze,since I put gradations on the adjuster wheel and the frame body. . .

StretchCT (/member/StretchCT/ )

thanks for this, its next on my to do list now

TheFullMetalAlchemist (/member/TheFullMetalAlchemis t/)

I like that lower anvil, would be great for doing skinny bike fenders, mine are atad too wide.

iminthebathroom (/member/iminthebathroom/)

excellent

abstracted (/member/abstracted/)

a great top anvil "donor" might be a wheel frm scaffolding. not to critiquetoooooo much, but your top anvil braces seem a tad weak, but awesome. iwanna make a replica of a vintage brass deep sea diving helmet....this might

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13 of 18 18/03/2015 10:45 AM

Design and Build an English Wheel

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