Dad "unlimited" class wheels

[Carl Fedders]

I'm looking to make or modify my "dad" car wheels and can't seem to find advice other than purchasing some pre-made wheels.

Despite it being an unlimited class, I'd still like to make and not buy my wheels. Our rules are fairly open - so I could even make my own from scratch.

So, what is the best way to go about this without access to a professional lathe? Plexiglass disk? Make BSA wheels super-thin (and if I do this, best way to do it?) Some other material found at Home depot? No, I do not have a 3D printer. I would consider bearings if I still made the actual wheel and the bearings were not too expensive.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Carl

 

[TRE]

good luck with that..you will need a lathe or you will end up with a out of round mess

 

[B_Regal Racing]

I agree. Without a lathe, I do not see how you ever make a wheel and be competitive.

 

[bracketracer]

I'm going to echo what the two other guys said, you really need an accurate way to cut a wheel if you're going to make your own or mod a stock wheel and have it be highly competitive. Sure, you'll find guys that claim they "chucked 'em up in the drill press and used a wood rasp/metal file/sandpaper/hacksaw/sharp end of grandpa's broken wrench/etc to cut them and BEAT EVERYONE BY A MILE!" but they likely didn't have a very competitive field to beat. Now if your group isn't very competitive, then you could try that route.

What kind of tools do you have access to?

 

[Vitamin K]

The tutorial I've seen for making razors out of BSA wheels involves chucking them into a drill press and using a chisel braced on a block of wood to do the coarse cutting of the tread down. Then put the wheel on a Derby Worx wheel shaver and use the edge-truing blade to thin the wheel out further, and then use the tread-truing blade to get the wheel back to round.

Involves a LOT of manual labor though, using that shaver. Might work, though.

 

[Carl Fedders]

This is my first year with a Tiger scout, so I'm not sure of the level of competition. But I can tell you this is the first year of the dad unlimited class, so I'm guessing it won't be too extreme yet. I was mainly trying to do my best to actually build something and not just make it a battle of the $$. Figured there was someone that took stock wheels and somehow cut them down to thin disks or something like that.

I have mostly hand tools - drills, angle grinder, scroll saw, table saw. Normal handyman stuff without true workshop equipment.

Are there any designs using plexiglass or some other material?

 

[Carl Fedders]

The tutorial I've seen for making razors out of BSA wheels involves chucking them into a drill press and using a chisel braced on a block of wood to do the coarse cutting of the tread down. Then put the wheel on a Derby Worx wheel shaver and use the edge-truing blade to thin the wheel out further, and then use the tread-truing blade to get the wheel back to round.

Involves a LOT of manual labor though, using that shaver. Might work, though.

OK, that sounds like a starting point.

 

[TRE]

I am sure one of the dads will buy some wheels

 

[Vitamin K]

OK, that sounds like a starting point.

Here is the original posting on that topic, though the images are broken (thanks Photobucket).

I will note that this does require the use of a Pro Wheel Shaver. If you don't already own one, you may just want to spend the money on an already-cut set of wheels.

 

[Jimmy & his 2 Kids]

this is what someone showed me when I mentioned cutting BSA wheels if the "open" class for adults woulds allow it... Pre-cut BSA wheels by Jewkes.
http://www.derbydudes.com/The-Edge-HoleShots-1-HS.htm
wheels page with others...
http://www.derbydudes.com/The-Edge-Wheels_c6.htm

Investment will be the same if you buy the cutter then spend a whole weekend on it. Get a couple dads doing the same as you by looking here and they spend a couple bucks... if you try your own and they buy wheels and set the cars up properly it'll all be over but the crying.
I love building and modifying myself so I certainly respect your intentions and intended path and its more fun. So you just need to search the ol' ticker for what you want to accomplish. Then go that route.
Then let us all know how it turned out and GET PICS! We love pics.

Blessings,
Jimmy

 

[GravityX]

I understand the idea of wanting to do this on your own but let's not be fool-hearty. Like TRE said the other dads will likely be purchasing wheels for this unlimited class. Do yourself the favor and spend a little money on wheels and spend your time getting the car ready and not fabricating wheels. Time will go by fast enough, spend it wisely, you'll quickly run out of it before you realize it.

 

[bracketracer]

I will add that if you chose to buy a set of professionally made wheels, you could use them every year until your scout ages out....so that's only like $10 a year.

 

[Vitamin K]

One thing missing in the responses here might be gauging Carl's intent in what he wants to do?

Is it more important to Carl that he have the best possible build for the money? Or is he really out to have an experience trying to make his own wheels?

If the former, definitely buy some vendor wheels, Carl. Easier, cheaper and much better performance.

If you just want the fun of trying to roll your own (I empathize, really) then I feel the only way you're going to end up with anything roll-worthy would be to attempt some method of shaving down the treads of a set of BSA wheels. I wouldn't attempt to work material from scratch without a lathe.

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

I hate to break this to you but you have some really fast racers in your back yard. Zeeb Zob, Quadad, E3 Pwd and a host of other league racers. If you run into one of them you'll really be shaking your head. If being competitive this year is a goal for your Dad's Outlaw race, save yourself the headache and buy the vendor wheels.

Hey, better yet, I have a hand wheel shaver that I will sell you!

 

[quadad]

Carl, what kind of track will you be racing on ? If it's a clean, well setup aluminum track, I would suggest investing in a used, but still local race competitive, bearing wheels and bearings. If it's a junk, wooden track, make your own and build something to survive the stop section.