profiling EM wheels to P4

[Philip Hall]

The Fohrmann devices seem very interesting but expensive. To reduce the back of a wheel all that you really need to do, without a lathe, is to rub the wheel on a flat piece of medium abrasive paper bonded to a flat piece of wood.

Philip

[Tim V]

The wheels in the Fohran pictures appear to have metal centres. If only there was a larger range of metal centred wheels in P4....

[Terry Bendall]

The method of holding the wheel rims is described in the latest MRJ

The method shown on age 307 of MRJ 219 is a standard way of holding work for special jobs. In effect is is a split collett and I have used the same method for other lathe operations.

I don't think either of the tools in there would hold a rim such that it could be re-profiled with a form tool.

No it would not, since it is the rim that is being held but for the job that Chris Pendlenton is describing it is an ideal way of holding the wheel for boring out the hole.

In Scalefour News 166 and 167 I described a way of making a wheel form tool and using it to make wheels from scratch and this worked successfully. Forming the rim, shown in picture 58 of S4 News 167 is easy when making wheels from scratch since you have a bar to hold in the chuck To hold an existing wheel for re-profiling, you need a mandrel similer to the one shown in drwing 25 on page 14 of S4 News 161. I have used this method to re-profile some OO wheels and it works, as long as you are sensible and take light cuts.

Terry Bendall

[Hardwicke]

Following on from all your advice and reading some of the articles by Chris Pendlenton in the present MRJ, I reprofiled a wheel today. It was a 00 wheel I think but has worked out quite well.

small reprofiled IMG_5976.jpg (63.44 KiB) Viewed 6823 times

An original is on the left for comparison.

[Terry Bendall]

It was a 00 wheel I think but has worked out quite well.

It certainly looks OK from the picture but the proof of course will be when it is tried out in the track

Terry Bendall

[billbedford]

It was a 00 wheel I think but has worked out quite well.

It certainly looks OK from the picture but the proof of course will be when it is tried out in the track

Terry Bendall

…and, of course, getting the whole set the same size.

[Armchair Modeller]

Maybe he's building a monocycle?

[Horsetan]

I haven't said I agree with Martin.....

Never the twain shall meet

[Hardwicke]

I've done a few more wheels and only really mucked one up by destroying the spokes. They are presently flat but I might be able to twist them back. I have a neat little light that I picked up last week. LED white and clips onto suitable surfaces on the lathe. I have a load of PC wheels, some EM, some 00, some P4. They were sold under the misapprehension that they were all P4 from what the labels said. I might reprofile them unless someone wants to contact me about them as they are.

[Hardwicke]

And the coach wheel has dropped off it's plastic centre. Oh well. I've not even managed to thin it down much. Job for later...