Subject: Re: forming sheet aluminum

From: Lee McGee <lmcgee>
Date: 23 Apr 1996 22:47:23 GMT

The machine is called an "English Wheel".  You can probably find
information on the Web about them.

You can also bang it up with a ballpeen hammer and a shot bag; think of
it as first trying to destroy the workpiece (to stretch the aluminum into
shape you want), and then carefully tap it back smooth using a dolly
or any other appropriate surface of your own devising.

-- 
    Lee McGee        [email-masked]               |                  
    (415)933-2403   FAX (415)933-5748     GRUMMAN     _|_   
                                          AA-5B  ____/___\____ 
    "When I fly, I feel an isolation      ___________[=o=]___________
     extreme and radiant"                 TIGER    e/  o  \e 
	- Peter Garrison

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From: [email-masked] (Bruce Winterbon)
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 96 21:14:57 GMT

Years ago, I read that builders of one-off racing cars used some device 
consisting of a pair of powered wheels pressing together to form sheet 
aluminum into fenders and other body bits. The wheels were turning, presumably 
under the control of the operator, and the sheet was rotated around and sent 
back and forth between the wheels until it had the desired shape.

Does anyone actually know anything about this process, and how one would 
construct the pair of wheels to do the job?

TIA

Bruce Winterbon
(96 April: note slight change of address)
[email-masked]
http://intranet.ca/~bwinterb

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From: [email-masked] (robert a barker)
Date: 24 Apr 1996 21:29:58 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>http://intranet.ca/~bwinterb

 If you can find a copy of "SPORT AVIATION" Jan 1996 there is an 
excellent article on page 63 that really describes the process very well.

Good Luck

Bob Barker

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From: [email-masked] (Chris Kantarjiev)
Date: 24 Apr 1996 23:05:41 GMT

Name:        Eastwood Company
Address:     580 Lancaster Avenue
             Box 296
             Malvern, PA 19355
Phone:       (800) 345-1178

The Eastwood Company will sell you an English wheel, as well as
books that describe using them. A couple grand, if I recall.

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From: [email-masked] (Lughaid)
Date: 26 Apr 1996 02:34:58 -0400

Sounds like an English Wheel, Bruce. Lindsay has some plans for building
one. Check out his catalog of Metal books. Also has a good video of a
really Wizard Sheetmetal Guy at work.

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From: [email-masked] (Robert Grauman)
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 21:26:31 mountain

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Bruce Winterbon) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (Bruce Winterbon)
>Subject: forming sheet aluminum
>Date: Tue, 23 Apr 96 21:14:57 GMT

>aluminum into fenders and other body bits.
<snip>

I recently purchased "The English Wheel Book", by David L. Anderson from
Lindsay.  He gives very thorough information for the construction of at least 
three different sizes of English wheels, but not too much on the actual use of 
an English wheel.  My friend Bob the welder is welding up the frames for two, 
(one for me, one for him) and I am machining the wheels.  By the way, one 
wheel of the pair is flat, and one has a radius turned on the face.  The 
wheels are not powered, and from my limited experience with English wheels, I 
think powered wheels would be very difficult to use.  I recently watched a 
technician make a replacement fuel tank for a motorcycle from the 1920s 
on an English wheel.

				RJG

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From: [email-masked] (Secure1245)
Date: 27 Apr 1996 03:45:33 -0400

Seeing some writing in an antique auto mag and some experience in
stretching and shrinking various metals I can add a very little. The
English wheel art can be mastered in a very short time if you have the
metal to play with. You use diferent pressures, lengths and, directions of
the pull through and combos thereof. Judging these amounts depending on
the metal type, thickness, amount of curvature,ect., is the skill. Getting
used to your tools tension to amount of deformity per metal type ect. BTW
the wheels were a hard rubber if I recall in the material I read.  Have
fun keep us posted on the progress. 

ESC/C Robert **-_- /\/\/\ __Consultants

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From: Bill Kish <[email-masked]>
Date: 29 Apr 1996 12:44:35 GMT

[email-masked] (Robert Grauman) wrote:
>...My friend Bob the welder is welding up the frames for two, 
>(one for me, one for him) and I am machining the wheels.  
>...

 I recently had the opportunity to try out several types of wheeling
machines, both homemade and commercially manufactured. In both cases,
the best operation was obtained from machines with *really* rigid frames. 
One design that I saw repeated several times was to construct the frame
out of box section steel with braces, and then sheathe both sides of 
the frame in 1/4" steel plate cut to a "C" shape. Polish the wheels 
to a mirror shine! Are you putting the adjusting wheel on the top 
or bottom? I found a bottom (foot operated) adjustment much easier to use.

			-BK

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From: [email-masked] (Robert Grauman)
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 19:06:06 mountain

In article <[email-masked]> Bill Kish <[email-masked]> writes:
>From: Bill Kish <[email-masked]>
>Subject: Re: forming sheet aluminum
>Date: 29 Apr 1996 12:44:35 GMT

>                        -BK
We understand the requirement for a rigid frame.  The author of the plans we 
are using, has, we believe, designed a rigid frame.  We are adding material to 
make it stronger.  I have polished the wheels to a mirror finish.  Brings out 
the magpie in every one that looks at them, so I think they're polished 
enough.  The adjustment is on the bottom wheel, and we have made it with 
six spokes, and you could probably adjust it with you knee, I think, maybe.
Thanks for your remarks.  They are most helpful.

				RJG