How To: English Wheel Building, On A Budget!
This project cost me a total of $230.
I started with many different sized tubing, you can use whatever size you can acquire. Everything is 1/4" to 3/8" wall. I had very rough plans, only knowing some specifics that I wanted. Like a 36" throat, and a certain wheel height for ease of use. Other than that, I jst went with it.
In this first picture, I have placed the upper bar, and have the upper brace cut.
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/MyWheelSide.jpg.gif
This is roughly where I wanted things...
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/MyWheelFront.jpg
I took measurements there, and got it standing.
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/M...-Stand.jpg.gif
Then braced it so that it could hold it's own weight, and added the upper wheel.
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/U...eelMounted.gif
Now, the upper wheel took a bit of creativity. Rather than goign out and spending over $200 on a nice upper wheel, I opted to go the cheaper, yet still nice, route. I bought a 2.125x6.25 bearing (metric), and machined an axle. The hole in the center was just over 1 5/8", so I started with a chunk of 1 3/4" round stock, and made myself an axle.
[If you do not have a lathe, this could be tricky, and a proper upper wheel may be the cheaper route.]
Here is the wheel and axle, along with the mounting bracketry.
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/UpperWheelLeft.jpg
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/UpperWheelRight.jpg
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/U...elTopRight.jpg
The wheel fits snugly over the axle, but I further insure that it will stay in place with a hard tar-like epoxy. It has not yet moved.
This is how it is attatched to the frame [note: there are now nuts on top of those bolts for added security]
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/WheelMount.gif
I got a bit creative on the lower adjuster as well. I used a tow-hitch adapter and 2" tube in the center. I also used 1" Acme thread, and nuts for this.
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/Internals.jpg
http://www.twistedminis.com/EWheel/WeldBottom.jpg