1/2 Scale 1860 Six-Pounder Cannon

[6270Productions]

I posted this on another thread - http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php?topic=3330.15 and was asked for more information.

I was advised to start another thread, so here it is.

Don1966 asked me to post more information on the construction of my wheels.

The wheels are made from Red Oak lumber with ball bearings.  The spokes are one-piece and the Nave (hub) and Felloes (wheel) are laminated.  The steel tire is 1/4" thick and 2" wide.  The wheels are 29 1/4" in diameter and weigh 30 pounds each.  They have a 5 degree dish.  In other words the spokes are at 5 degrees to the center line of the axel.  Both ends of the spokes are tenoned into the Nave and Felloes.  The tire is bolted to the wheel with 1/4" bolts.  Both the tire and the reinforcement bands around the Nave were "shrink fit" using hot steel.  This made the wheel so tight you can actually bounce it like a basketball.

Close-up of the Nave with bearing installed


Cutting the outside radius of the Felloes on the bandsaw using a shop built jig


Cutting the inside radius of the Felloes on the bandsaw using a curved fence


Drilling the mortise in the Nave with the woodworkers version of an indexing head(?) (I think that is what you call it.)


Drilling the mortise in the Felloes


Shaping the tenon on the spoke for the Felloes end


Cutting a 5 degree tenon on the Nave end of the spoke.  After some cuts on the tablesaw, there was minimal hand work involved.


A few clamps.  There was no attempt to create any type of "joint" between the individual Felloes, as I knew that the tire would hold them together - both from the shrink fit and the bolts.


Repeat.  There are fourteen spokes per wheel with two per Felloe.  Of course, that makes seven Felloes per wheel.  That can make for some difficult math, but my CAD program with full-size drawings makes it easy enough.


Installing the hot tire onto the wheel.  I painted the wheels before the trip to the machine shop in order to make it easier to clean them and repaint them later.  Sometimes machine shops (read Blacksmith Shops) can be a little dirty.     As the hot tire shrunk to the wheel, it actually pushed the paint from between the Felloes.




Drilling for the bolts to attach the tire to the wheel.  I knew that it would be near impossible to drill the holes in either the tire or the wheel for this operation and expect them to line up.  I believe the only way to do this is to install the tire on the wheel and then bolt them together.  Concrete blocks work, when you can't get your table at just the right height.


Looks easy, huh?   
I know this is more woodworking than metal work, but it is pretty difficult to find any information about the construction of wooden wheels on the internet.  I think most of the Wheelwrights don't have computers.  Some might not even have electricity.

Thanks for looking.

[Don1966]

That's a very interesting process and I appreciate you showing it. My interest in these wheel are for my own reasons. I grew up on a farm and my dad had an old wagon with these wheels on it. I am looking at recreating the wagon some day. I notice that you didn't place any bands on the ends of the naves. I remember that the naves on our wagon were made of many parts placed together and banded. These parts were made of hardwood.
It is interesting to see work of this kind as our ancestors use to make them with primitive tools and the craftsmanship was remarkable.
You have done a beautiful job of recreating it.
Thanks for posting.

Don

[6270Productions]

That's a very interesting process and I appreciate you showing it. My interest in these wheel are for my own reasons. I grew up on a farm and my dad had an old wagon with these wheels on it. I am looking at recreating the wagon some day. I notice that you didn't place any bands on the ends of the naves. I remember that the naves on our wagon were made of many parts placed together and banded. These parts were made of hardwood.
It is interesting to see work of this kind as our ancestors use to make them with primitive tools and the craftsmanship was remarkable.
You have done a beautiful job of recreating it.
Thanks for posting.

Don

Actually, there are bands on the Naves - two on the outside of the spokes and two on the inside.  They are rather hard to see in two of the photos and not present on the other photos.  They are also heat shrunk to the Naves with additional screws into the wood.  The screws are probably not completely "authentic", but it was the best I could do.

Another angle showing the Nave bands.



Original wheels would most likely been made from White Oak.  White Oak is a very good wood for outside use, as it is very resistant to decay - not so much for Red Oak.  Of course, this piece does NOT sit outside so decay is not much of a problem.

Thanks for the interest. 

[Don1966]

Thanks for the added photo, I see the band. The wheels on our wagon had screws to secure the bands on the naves also. I also knew they were heated an placed on the wheels while hot. I was at a blacksmith shop with my dad when I was little and remember seeing how they placed the rim on the wheels. They would quench it in water after placing it on the wheel.

Regards Don

[kvom]

Learned a new word today - felloe.  Not sure when I'll use it in a sentence again,   

[6270Productions]

Learned a new word today - felloe.  Not sure when I'll use it in a sentence again,   

Hey, there big fellow it is easy enough to use it with the other spelling.   

How about Nave?

[kvom]

Nave?  Been to many, many, cathedrals.

[6270Productions]

Nave?  Been to many, many, cathedrals.

Thanks for that!
I have been a few churches myself, but did not realize that was the proper word for that area.
I, too, learned something today.  Thanks.

[Ian S C]

I have a (I/10th scale I think), 9 pounder, also on a Congreve Trail, mine has a Limber as well.  I must do some work on it, it was damaged in action/ an earthquake 3 1/2 years ago.
    Saw one on the web, full size, fires spuds, fired by a can of hair spray, ignited by a BBQ lighter.
                                         

[ShopShoe]

 6270Productions,

Thanks for posting that. I like wood as well as metal. Looks like you have a veery nice and spacious wood shop. I also liked seeing the wheel-building process.

I remember seeing wooden wheels on my grandparents' farm in the 1950s and 1960s with the tires coming off.   My Dad explained that when he was young whenever a wood-wheeled wagon or implement was to be used, it would be pushed into the pond for a week to swell the wood and hold the tire on.

--ShopShoe

[Arbalest]

Interesting stuff on the wheel building, great pictures and a nice workshop! 

[6270Productions]

Thanks for the comments on the shop.
I understand this is more of a metal working kind of forum, but I am a woodworker that has invested considerable money and most of my adult life in woodworking so that is what I do.  I am trying to learn some about metal working and did buy my LeBlond lathe to work on the cannon.  I doubt it will go much further than that other than the common tools used with wood and metal (grinder, sanders, drill press, etc).  I don't think woodworking and metal working will fit together very well in the same room/shop. Metal doesn't like sawdust and wood doesn't like oil.
I make some rather odd things from wood (safe, padlock, marble machine, time machine, etc).  I am thinking about a radial aircraft engine from wood just as soon as I can get some information on how the dang things work!  It shouldn't be too difficult, right?