Tips for making spoked wheels?

[altbob]

Does anyone have any tips for making a decent set of 1/2 diameter spoked wheels? I need them for my Bleriot project: Bleriot XI - heavily modified!

Thanks!

[KCStephens]

Check out Bob Martins thread here...

FG's Lanchester Armored Car

Should provide some real good information.

[Tex]

There are also some great tutorials in the download section / self help library. :-) You won't need to look far!
- Tex

[altbob]

Thanks guys! Sadly the links to the photos in the Lanchester Armored Car thread appear broken

[Xacto]

Originally Posted by altbob

Thanks guys! Sadly the links to the photos in the Lanchester Armored Car thread appear broken

Here: Spoke Wheels Tutorial

[lepercan]

Here y'go. PDF format . Doesn't give pics. If you like, PM me your snail mail and I'll print and mail to you.

One of the best-known techniques, of course, is that of Harry Woodman
(wwimodeler.com - wwimodeler Resources and Information. This website is for sale!). Woodman’s basic method is to string
monofilament spokes around a simple circular jig and through a tubular hub, and then to cement two halves
of a plastic rim/tire to the spokes andclamp the whole assembly in a vise to dry. For the card modeler, there
are two fundamental problems with this. Woodman’s plastic parts can be replacedwith paper: a simple
rolled tube for the hub and thin strips wrapped intosquat cylinders for the rimand tire. However, the
tensioned monofilament will easily distort and even tear a paper tube hub. More problematic is that in
Woodman’stechnique there is a gap between the front and rear spokes that must be closed by pinching the
two halves ofthe rim/tiretogetherand then keeping themclamped while the cement dries:
Rimsand tires made of paper will simply notstand up to this “brute force” approach.
To make this technique work for card modeling, we need to eliminate (or at least reduce as far as possible)
any need for paper parts to withstand or overcome tension in the monofilament. Wewon’t pass our spokes
through the tubular hub as Woodman does, but rather around it. Wewill hold themout fromthe center by
making a section of the hub thicker than the rest, which will create two ledges for the monofilament to catch
against:
It’s worth noting here that there are a variety of spoke patterns tobe found on early aircraft wheels.
Woodman actually devised two rather different techniques to replicate two different types of wheels. The
first, which we have been discussing, produces a radial pattern in which the spokes run straight fromthe hub
to equally-spaced locations around the rim.His second method (involvingstretched sprue) was for making a
cross-spoke type in which the spokes extend in pairs fromeither side of the hub, crossing other spokes and
making a star pattern. It is this type ofwheel that the technique presented here will replicate. It may not be
technically “correct” for all types of aircraft, but it certainly looks the part.
To solve the “gap” problem,we’ll run our monofilament from the front of the jig to the back of the hub and
vice-versa, sothat the spokes cross partway between the jig and the center ofthe wheel. The rimhalves will
be attached at this spot, where there is no gap to close:
The locationat which the spokes cross will be determinedby the inside diameter ofour jig, the thickness of
the jig at the inside edge and the length of the center portion of our hub. This all needs to be calculated in
advance, and a dedicated jig must be made for each different size of wheel. Thisarticle will feature the
construction of a 1/48th scale wheel with a rimdiameter of 7/16” and outside tire diameter of about 9/16”.
This should be acceptable for most earlyaircraft with 24” – 27” tires. The method will work in anyscale,
but remember that the jig thickness, hub length and jig diameter all need to be adjusted for the size wheel
you want to make.
A final word before we begin: these wheels are not particularly difficult to make, but they do require time
and patience. Be sure to read and understand the whole procedure before you begin. It’s easy to become
frustrated, but slow and careful workwill giveexcellentresults every time. Don’t get discouraged ifthe first
few you try don’t comeout very well (or at all) – it’s taken mefive years to master this process. The most
important thing is not to rush throughit; take your time and stay focused, and your model will have the
perfect finishing touch sooner than you think.

[SCEtoAUX]

Like Tex indicated there is a pdf tutorial titled Spoked Wheels by Alan G in Downloads (tab at upper right)> Papermodelers.com Self Help Library

Leif Ohlsson converted the spoked wheels tutorial by Mirco to a pdf and has it available for download in zip format in the following thread from 2011:
Another spoked wheels tutorial
Page 1 last post.
Perhaps between the two you will find what you need.

[Tex]

@SCEtoAUX:
Thanks a lot for bringing Leif's great tutorial up again; when I saw it, I wasn't able to download it, then I couldn't find it again ... but now, I've downloaded it!
THANKS!
- Tex

[RickTNRebel]

Some shielded cables, like the type that plugs into your tv or your electric guitar, has the braided shield made of very fine steel wire. If you separate the braid you can "work harden" this wire by stretching it. You can use it as wheel spokes or in your aircraft rigging. Braided hoses, like those used on real aircraft or race cars, also use a very fine steel wire that can be straightened and work hardened by stretching. I've seen model wire wheel spokes made out of "angel hair" pasta. The rims were cut from the cardboard tube that reynold's aluminum foil comes wrapped on...very strong.

[Leif Ohlsson]

I knew I had uploaded Mirco's tutorial to the downloads section, and I knew I had uploaded all similar tutorials I had come across at the time, but I didn't remember there were four of them in the downloads department. Here they are:

• Spoked wheels by Eric Goedkoop
• Spoked wheels by Norman Gorn
• Spoked wheels by Mirco
• Spoked wheels by Alan G.

The downloads section of the site is a good place - if you manage to find your way through it. The search term "spoked wheels" in the search option on the first page of the downloads section would have brought you all four.

- L.

PS. The braided wire tip was a good one. Of course, reading this, we have just this day, and this time of that same day, returned from a bicycle tour to the recycling center, where I dumped a bicycle basket full of them, getting tired of them taking up space at home. And me facing a rather daunting rigging task. Go figure...