mcdougalkickwheelplan8x11.pdf

7/23/2019 mcdougalkickwheelplan8x11.pdf

1/14

THE BIG

C R E E K

P O TT E RY W H EE L

T h i s w heel design

grew

out of

the

need fo r

sim;>le, c o m p a c t , st ur dy,

p r a c t i c a l p o t t e r s

w heel

that could be easily m a d e

with

sim ple tools by

p eo pl e w ith

no

previous

building

experience; easily

moved

th e

flywheel

a c ts a s

c a s t e r when th e w he el is

t ip pe d to th e fro nt),

a nd w hic h c ou ld

be di sassem bl ed into

com pact

package for moving o r st or age.

T h e i ns tr uc ti on s have been m ad e

a s

com plete

a s

p os sib le , fo r th e

p e r s o n with l i t t le building know-how. If yo u have any

suggestions

fo r

im proving

the

plans

o r th e i ns tr uc ti on s, p le as e le t

us know.

COPYRIGHT

1974

B r u c e A . M ~ o u g a l B ig C r e ek P o tt e ry , Davenport, C alifornia 95017

M ay not be reproduced without wr i t t en

per m i ssi on.


2/14

There are two

main parts to a

momentum

wheel:

the frame

and

the

shaft /head/f lywheel assembly. The

frame

is

pretty

standardized

in this plan,

but

there are a number of

ways

to approach making

the flywheel assembly. Each

of these

will

be

covered in detail

below.

THE FRAME:

The frame is constructed of 2x6

lumber ,

except for the seat and

table

top, which are 2x10 or larger. All o f t he 2x6 pieces are exactly 30

inches long, or are

cut

from 30 inch pieces. (See drawing.

t i s impo rt an t t hat the cuts be made as

accurately

and

as

square

as

possible.

They

are

best cut

on a

radial

arm or

table

saw,

bu t

they

may

be

cut

by hand

i

care is

used.

you use

a Ski ll type hand-held

electric saw, you

can

insure

a

true

cut

by holding

a carpenter 's.

square against

the board

and bracing the saw against

that,

or clamp

a

p iece of wood

as

a

guide. The notches

are

to accomodate

other

pieces of

2x6

as

nearly as possible, so be sure to use the size of

your own

lumber

to

measure

f or th e no tc he s 2x6

lumber

is not cut

to 2 x6 . t

is

usua lly somewhere around 11 2 x 5

1 /2 mor e o r

less , depending

on the mill

where it was cut, how

much

it

shrinks

in drying,

etc . , so be

aware

of

this.)

To

cut the

end

notches,

you

can saw in from

the

end

and

then from the

side. To

cut the center

notches , cu t

in from the side at both ends of the notch

and then cut

along

the lengthwise line

with

a wood chisel. Holding the flat

side

toward the center of the

board,

cut a long t he l in e on both

sides,

then

repeat,

a little deeper each t ime, unt il t he

piece

breaks

out.

Clean

up

th e rough

spots

with

a

file

or

knife.

The

who le job

of

assembly

is made easier and

more accura te

if some

clamps are

available.

A

couple

of large C clamps and a

pair of

furniture clamps are a big help.

These

are not

absolutely

necessary,

but may be rented i

you

do not have or can not borrow them. In any

case,

check

and recheck for

accuracy

and

squareness

before

cutting,

drilling,

or

bolting fast.

FIRST:

Assemble

4

corners:

On fou r p la in pieces, mark

spots

4

in from each end

and

in

the

c en te r, 3 /4

from

the

side. (See Drawing.)

With a

1

diameter

wood drill,

drill holes

at these

points

3/8

deep

(or

just

enough

to

countersink the head of

one

of the lag bolt s and a

washer.)

Then d ri ll 3 /8

holes through the

centers

of these on through

the board. Line

up the hole

side

o f this bo ar d with

the

edge

of

another

board as

accurately as

you can (clamp them if

possible)

and

dril l on

through another

3/4 or so

into

the

edge

of

the second

boa rd so you can

s tar t the lag

bolts. These holes need

to be as s tr aigh t as

possible

so

the

bol ts w ill go straight in, but not too deep or the bolts

will

not hold

well.

Put

a

washer on each bolt, tap

it

with

a

hammer

to

seat it, and

2


3/14

screw it in

tight.

Make all

four

corners

the

s a m ~ way.

The only

holes

that

are countersunk are the ones for lag

bolts.

Carriage bolts do not

require

it .)

A

socket

wrench will

help to seat these.

SECOND:

Assemble

sides:

Decide which side of the wheel is to be open.

for access. For normal throwing, with the r ig ht s id e

to a

window,

the

left side should

be open; but

the r ig ht s id e works as well. Or

you

can

close

both sides, in which case you need

another

30

piece,

and you will

need

to climb

into the wheel over the top. Mark location of bolt

holes on

outside

face

of

all corners, top and

bottom, on

all

four corner pieces.

Use tem ;>late

see drawing) o r mea su re carefully. Make

sure

the

rela-

tionship of the parts is as

shown

see drawing). For th e

closed

side,

clamp

full pieces

flush

with top and bottom of two corners to m ake a

square, on the inside of the

angle, tight

into the corners . Check t o see

that

all faces are

flush and all angles

exactly square.

Drill

holes

all the

way

through

both

boards.

Put 3/8 carriage

bolt s through each

hole

from

t he out side . Do not countersink;

the

square part just under

the

head of

the

bolt is

designed to

anchor

i tself in the wood. Use a washer

under

the

nut

on

the inside. Tighten

one

nut

at each

corner.

Check

the square

aga in , th en ti gh ten other

nut.

If

you

can t get

i t square, t ry to

make all

the corners off

by

the

same amount

to minimize the error Repeat for

the other side. This side is to have an opening, so

be

sure to locate th e

7

tab le su pport stub in

the

front of the

top, and

the

4 seat

suppo rt s tub

in

th e

back. See

plan.)

you

think

you might want to

change

th e sid e

that is

open,

take off the top boa rd f rom

the

c lo sed s ide

and

use

it

here

to locate

the

holes so

that

it will fit on either

side.

Drill the

stubs

from

these holes

and they should

be interchangeable

too.

TmRD:

Assemble

front

and back: Front and

back

bottom are notched

down

in

center,

and top

front is

notched

up

in

center.

Check

square

on

each

jo in t and

come as close as

you

can.

Furni ture

clamps

help

here

for long reach.

FOURTH: Install

bottom bearing brace: T urn

frame

upside down

and

square whole frame

opening

before putt ing bottom

brace

in . Clamps

across the diagonal make

th is p ossi ble . Countersink

and install 2 lag

bolts

at

each end of bottom

brace 1/4 in

f rom ea ch sid e,

3/4

from

ends.

FIFTH: Install top bearing brace: Attach

top block)

bearing to end

of 12

top bearing brace,

using lag bolts. Be

sure not to

dril l too deep

to

star t the

lag bolts, because th e end

grain

of the

wood

does

not

hold as

well as

across

th e g ra in . 3/4

should be

plenty. Check the total length

with

bearing in place;

it

should be

13

1/2

from

end to center of hole.

If is m ore,

cut off

end to

make

i t 3 1/2 . Look at the

bearing:

if it is

the

kind

that

comes with a keeper or lock

for the

shaft,

i t will

have one

side smooth and on the o th er s id e there will be an eccentric no t having

the same center)

projection

from the inner race a round the hole. This

when

combined

with

the

separate ring

t ha t c omes

with it

provides

a way

3


4/14

of locking

the

sha ft t o

th e

bearing.

The

interlocking

eccentric

parts

are

turned against one another unt il they are tight.

th en th e

ring

is s ec ure d

to the shaft with th e set screw

in

its

side.

Install the top bearing brace

with

th is s id e

down. Attach the brace

to

the frame in

the

notch

on the

front top. leaving

1/2 overhang in f ront (or thi ckness

of

your wood.

if no t

1/2 ). Use two lag

bolts

countersunk down

into front top cross

member.

The overhang

is for

extra

bracing leverage under

the

table

top.

SIXTH:

Install bottom bearing: The bottom bearing is a

thrust

bearing.

or

one which is designed to mount on the

end of

a

shaft.

t

will

have

a

metal housing or mount ing. with holes

for bolts. There is a 7 piece

of

2x6 that goes between the bot tom bearing

and

t he bot tom bearing brace.

t is a good

idea

to

drill holes

through

this b lock to

match th e holes

in

th e

bearing

before

you

locate th e bearing in. place. The

bearing

goes in

the middle of

this r s r

block.

The

bottom bearing

may be

located by

measurIng in from a ll

sides

and locat ing exactly below the top bearing.

Or. it may be done by

levell ing the frame

on

a

flat surface and

locating

the

bottom

bearing

by

using

a

vert ica l leve l

on

th e

shaft

with

both

bearings

in

place. moving the bottom one around until

the level

reads true ,from

all sides. Either

way

seems to wo rk

OK.

Attach bottom bearing right

t hrough the r s r

block

in to t he bott om bearing brace with

lag

bolts.

You

should no t need

washers

unles s bea ring housing is

less

than 1/2 thick.

SEVENTH: Install

f lywheel and shaft

assembly: (See instructions

for

flywheel.

following).

This

insta lla tion can

be

tricky. s o get some

help

if

you

can. And be

careful

of your ungers through all this: i the flywheel

slips you can get

pinched badly. The main

idea

is

to

roll the flywheel

i nto the frame and

balance

i t on the bearing . Then s lid e th e sha ft through

the top

bearing.

through

the keeper.

and i nto t he flywpeel

sleeve.

you

can get

i t to

go on

through into

the bottom

bearing.

that s

fme. Then the

problem is to line up the

holes

in the sleeve

with

th e liole in the shaft and

slip in

th e bolt or pin into pos it ion.

the

hole

is

not

in

th e center.

it

may only fit in one

position.

You may want to

ra ise

the flywheel to do

this. and

it

can be pried up

with

two people using the two

foot res t p ieces

of

2x6

a s l ever s. Then ease th e flywheel

back down

and get

the

projecting

end of the shaft in to the bearing. The shaft

should

not project more than

1 from th e

sleeve.

or it will rest on the b lock under

the

bearing and

prevent the

bearing

from moving freely. The sha ft can be cut of f i f t hi s

is

a

problem. or

a

hole

drilled under the bea ring .

The sleeve should

now

r st

on

the top of the bearing. which supports the weight o f th e

flywheel:

th e shaft

carr ies

none

of

th e weight.

you

c an t p ry

the

flywheel up.

or

you are working alone.

work

th e shaft i nto t he bot tom bearing a

little

(not

much)

then

t ighten the

keeper

under the top bearing so it can t Slip

up and out. then turn

the frame on its side

and work it horizontally.

Reset

top keeper after it is righted again. to prevent shaf t

from

slipping

out of bottom bearing when

u sing

flywheel as

a

caster

or

when

tipping

wheel

over to c le an under it .

While

it

is

on

its side. you

can counter-

balance the wheel

if you

want to .

by

watching which side quickly swings

to th e

top and adding

weight to that side.

t

has to be of f quite

a bit

to

be noticed . however . so it may be better to wait

and

see how i t works .

4


5/14

E[GHTH:

Install s ea t: S tandard loca tion of seat is 2 overhang in

from

the side brace. To find

the proper seat

position for you; place seat in

standard

l ocat ion, then sit on seat with

legs

well

forward

so

reaching

down

is

comfortable and

does not cut into

legs

(see drawing

of location

of parts.)

The

shaft

should

fal l between

the

center of your

knees

(not

the front

of

knee.)

Move

seat

to this location

and

mark

it. Seat

is

held

in place

by

two lag bo lts in to back cross brace

(see

top

view

drawing

showing

location

of bolts.

NINTH: Install the table

top:

The standard table to p is 2x10

installed

flush

with the

front face of the

corner

braces.

you

want

a wider top,

sit on

the

seat in

throwing

position and

check

for leg room. you have

2 to spare, you could use a

2x12,

but don t ove rhang the f ront f ace

or

you will not be able to

roll

the wheel

around when it is

tipped

to

its front.

The

table is fastened with two lag

bolts

1/3 of

the

way in from each side

on the front cross

support,

and

one

lag bolt

on

each side into s ide support

and s tub.

There

is

also

a

carr iage

bol t through the bearing support

near

the

edge

of the

table

to

brace

the

bearing. (See

t op v iew drawing showing

location of

bolts.

TENTH:

Install

footrests:

Check where footrests will be

comfortable

for you by putting them

in,

blocking them

up, and trying

them out.

The

s tanda rd i s the height

of

a 2x6

from

the

bottom

side pieces, but this is

low for many people. You r knee s should

be

about level

with the

top of

the wheelhead, with your legs

projecting pretty

much

straight forward.

your legs are down too

much

or up

too much, i t will

be very uncomfort-

able for working. Better down than up,

however.

Remember that

the

height

of

the wheelhead can

be

adjusted

by

cutting

of f

the shaft. Attach

footrest with lagbolts in

each

end and

side.

With wheel head

installed,

wheel should

be complete.

Po S. Height

of

flywheel: the standard

height

of

the

flywheel is too

low,

it

can be raised in

one

of two ways:

1.

Plan

ahead:

Make the

sleeve longer from the beginning,

with

extra

inches

on the bottom to raise the

wheel

to

where

you want it.

2.

After

the

fact:

The

flywheel

can

be

raised

after

the wheel is

built

by drilling a new

hole

through

the

shaft at a higher point to match the

holes

in

the

sleeve, and simply

raising the flywheel to the new location.

Doing t his take s

the weight of the flywheel

off

the

bearing

and

hangs i t

on the shaft, so a

keeper

or lock must be put

on

the bot tom

of the shaft

at the bearing. Also, it

will

be necessary

to

relocate the footrests, as

in

installation instructions

in

10

above.

you pl an to

change

the heigh t

of the f lywhee l, or remove it, you should seal

the opening

a round the

s le eve a t the top with

paint

or tape or something, so that water

will

not

run in and

rust the

sh aft to th e slee ve.

5


6/14

2. THE FLYWHEEL SHAFT

The shaft is a piece of 1 diameter cold

rolled

steel. Another material,

if

you

can

find

it,

what they

call

dimensioned

shaft mate ria l, is

a little

more expensive, bu t has been ground to a specific diameter with a

better

chance of

f it ting the

bearings exactly. This

is

not

rea lly cr it ica l .

The

length works

ou t

to

33 on the standard wheel,

but

since you

may

want

to

adjust the height

of

the wheelhead to suit yourself,

t

may be better to

get

three

feet of

shaft and cut t

down after

the

wheel is

assembled.

The

flywheel assembly can be made in several ways. These will be

covered

in

turn,

with the easiest first:

A.

Plywood base: The first

approach has three

advantages:

t can

be

taken apart

from

the shaf t and packs flat; it does not require

reinforcing

in th e concrete; and

it

can

be made lighter

without sacrificing

momentum

than

either

of the other kinds. This

flywheel

requires an 8

piece

of

steel

tubing

with an in sid e

diameter 1.

D. of

1

or a

t ight s lid ing

fi t

on

t he sha ft . This

is

securely

welded through a hole

in

a steel plate

so

that

2 stick

out one side and 6

out

the

other.

We

use

a

12 square

of 1 / 4

plate, but th e exact size and thickness

is

not important. The welding

must be done

so

that

the

shaft

will still

slide through

the

tubing, and so

that

the plate is exactly at

right

angles to the

shaft

with the

shaft

in the

tube.

This is critical,

because th e pla te support s

the flywheel,

and the

shaft

goes through the

tubing;

and they w ill not rotate t rue and le ve l if

they

are not accurately

made. t is

best

to have

these made by

a shop

th at h as an

arc welder,

and one th at can ch eck them

on

a

lathe

before

the

final

welding. Have a

hole

drilled through

each

corner of the

plate

to take

a

3/8

bolt, and

a

1/4

hole

through

both

the

tubing

and th e shaft

on

the 2 extension, allowing the

shaft

to extend about 3/4 beyond

the

end

of

the tubing.

The 1 /

4 hole

is

for

a bolt or pin to

ancho r t he shaft

to

the

sleev e, so

they

must line up with one another.

The

next

thing you need is a

piece of

3 /4 plywood,

cut in

a

30

circle.

The best tool f or this is a sabre saw, or keyhole saw. Use a piece of

str ing

or

wire

to make

a 15 length tied

to

a pencil, and scr ibe a circle

from

a short nail in th e middle.

~ s should

give

you

a

pretty

good

30

circle.

Cut slightly on t he out side of the

line,

and

clean

it

up

with

a

rasp

or

sandpaper or

a plane. In a

pinch you

can even cut

it

with a

hand

saw,

cutting

off more and

more

corners

with

straight

cut s until you get

pretty

close

to the circle,

then f in ish

up with a

file, etc. Using

the

cen ter m ark as a center,

drill

a hole in the exact

center the

size of the

tubing welded

to the

plate. This

will

be about 1 1/4 , and you can make

it bigger with

a file or

rasp.

A

rasp

is

like

a

file, but has

coarse teeth

for chipping,

while

a

file

has

sha rp r idges. Put the lo ng end of

the

tubing through

the

hole,

mark and

drill holes in the plywood

to

match

th e hole s in

the

corners of t he p la te . Identify one corner the hole

tha t matches it th e plate

will

fit

in

only one

position.

6


7/14

A

piece of 1/8

Masonite

is

cut to

go

a round the edge

of

the plywood

as

a

form to

contain

the concrete.

The

width of

the

masonite de termines

the

thickness

of

t he conc re te , and so controls the

weight of

the

flywheel.

A rough

estimate

of the weigh t can

be figured

as

follows:

3 Strip: 150 Lb.

(heavy);

2 1/2 Strip: 120 Lb. (medium); 2 Strip: 8 Lb. (light).

These

are

estimates,

and will

vary somewhat. The length

of

the masonite

will

be just an inch or so

under

eight

feet. The

extra

piece from an e ight foot

strip

can be used

to

reinforce the

joint,

as it tends to spring out

somewhat.

Make sure

when you

are attaching

the

strip that

the

plywood

rests

firmly

on

a

l eve l sur face .

It

is

e asy f or the strip to creep

up or down as you

nail it, and if i t does not end up

flush

all

around the surface will be off,

the thickness uneven , and

the

weight

distrii. nted

irregularly . Put

it

on

with

short

nails every couple

of

inches

Work

frorn one end

to th e

other,

or

from

th e

center

t oward the ends,

but

not

from

the ends in.

you

can t

get

masonite,

sheet

metal

will

do,

or l inoleum, oranything

strong

and flexible. Be sure to cut the

strip

a s a ccur ate ly a s possible.

Attach the

steel

p late to the

underside

of the plywood, with the lo ng end

of

the

tubing

through the center

hole.

the

weld makes

a

lump,

you

may

have to

file th e

corner of

the

hole so

the

plate will lie

flat

agains t the

plywood. Use 3/8 x 2 1/2 machine bol ts with long t hreads ( less than

1 unthreaded) and le t the ends project up

into

the fo rm whe re they will

act as anchors

in the

concrete. Use washers against

the

wood, and lock

washers under

th e nu ts

on

the

plywood side.

Locate

a

p lace tha t is out of the way where you won t trip over

i t

and

the

dog won t walk through it ,

and

se t

the

form up

securely

on

blocks

tall

enough

to clear

t he bot tom

sleeve. Get

it

as level as you can,

but

i t

doesn t

have to be

perfect. Fill

the form

with

concrete.

you

don t

usually

mix concrete, you can get ready-mix in

bags

from

a

lumber

yard

or building materials company. This has t he cement , sand, and gravel

all mixed

up

and you just add water and

s t

it up. Mix it

thoroughly

in

a tub

or wheelbarrow

with a

hoe or

shovel

or trowel

(not your hands).

Don t make

it

too wet.

it s crumbly, it s

too dry. i t h angs

together

l ike s lu sh , it s

OK,

and if

it

gets runny so

it

won t stand up, it s

too

thin

(but will

probably set anyway

and be just fine.) Make

sure

you

get

enough. It s better

to

have some left over

than

have almost enough.

Tamp

it carefully

with a

stick or t rowel , e spec ia ll y

a round the edge s

and

th e sha ft. Don t get any in the tube. Work it

level

and smooth with a

s tr ai gh t s ti ck l ai d

across

the form

on

edge and

worked back

and

forth in

a sawing motion. Get i t as smooth

as

you can, then

leave

it for a

few

days

to cure.

After i t

sets, cover

it

with

plastic

or wet

rags to

keep it

from

drying out while

i t

cures.

A

few days of th is makes it stronger.

AA.

Alternative to

A

above: This a lte rna tive

reduces th e to ta l weight

of the flywheel without equally reducing t he momentum

it

will maintain.

The

theory

being

that

the

c en te r 1 /2 of the

f lywheel does

not contribute

as much

to the

momentum,

or

swing

of

the

wheel as

does the

outer

1/2

7


8/14

pound for pound. By

reducing

the

weight in the middle , th e

total

weight

is

reduced, bu t the momentum

is

not

reduced

proportionally.

To

do

this,

th e form

is

p repa red as above, but

plywood

circles are cut to

fill

in

the

center of

the

form. How

large

these are, and how

many

thicknesses,

depends on how milch you want to l ighten th e total wheel. For example:

a

15

circle

of

plywood

in the

middle

will

leave

a 7

1/2 ring

of

concrete

around the edge. And being 1/2 the

radius

of

th e larger circle,

the

smaller one

accounts

for exactly 1/4 of

the

total volume/area/weight.)

The 15

circles

are

cut of plywood to match

the

thickness

of

concrete

desired

3

pieces

of

3/4

equals 2 1 /

4 ) and the edge ring mus t match

their

thickness

p lu s the

t hi ckness of

the

large

base circle.

The

large

center hole

is

cu t in

each

of them and they are

stacked

on

the

long end

of the tube on th e i ns ide o f the form.

Instead

of using the

machine

bolt

to attach the

steel

plate,

use

carr iage bolts, with the heads on the top

of the plywood circles and the nut use a lock washer) on the bottom.

Be

very

careful

filling and levell ing the cement, so there

isn

It a bump

where t he concre te meets the plywood.

Also,

be sure

the

plywood

circles

fit

snugly

together before th e bolt s

are

put

in.

they

do

not,

t he p la te could be

twisted or

the surface thrown

off.

t

is also

possible to put in f ewer circles th an the

full thickness

of

the

concrete.

This would reduce the weigh t somewhat, but the

top

surface would

be entirely

concrete. th e

concr ete i s

too

thin,

it

may break,

however.

B. Reinforced

concrete without plywood:

This

method requires

more

materials, but

makes

a

flywheel that is a ll concre te .

you are making

several wheels,

this

gives

you the option of using the same plywood form

aga in and

again,

without

having

to leave

the

plywood

in

the

wheel.

This

also allows you t o compensa te

a

little i the

plate

and shaft are not at

exactly right angles.

The

plate ends up in

the

concrete, and

a

slight

unevenness

has little effect. See cutaway and set-up

drawings,

both

marked B.)

Put four machine bolts th rough

from

the bottom of the steel plate.

These

need to

be threaded

their

whole

length to a ll ow the

nut

to be

tightened

against

a lock

washer on

the top

side.

Tighten securely.

Put a short

right-angle bend

about

1 from

each end in four

pieces

of

3 /

8

reinforcing

rod

about 25 long. This wil l g ive a long

D

shape

with both ends turned

down.

Arrange these in

a

tic

-tac -toe

pattern

with

the

crossing points th e bolt s s ti ck ing up. Wire or weld the rods

and

the

bolts together at these

points.

Any

kind

of wire will

do. Another

piece of rod

about

eight

feet

long

can

be bent

in a circle

and wired

to

th e

ends of

each of the cross rods to form

a

ring

just

i ns ide the

form all

around.

This can

be 1/4

rod

o r le ss .

All

of

this metal

work

should

be up

off

th e p la te ,

yet

clear the top of the form. The

form is put

together as

in A above,

excep t i n

this

case,

th e

plate

goes on th e i ns ide

8


9/14

of the

form,

nc i the short end of the tube goes through the hole. The

thickness

of th e

finished wheel

is figured from

the top

o f th e plywood

to

the edge of the ring.

Befor e pou ring t he c on cr ete , it

is

necessary

to m ake a p la ce f or the form

to

r es t securely, and be exactly

level.

t is also

necessary

to provide an

overhead support

for

the

top

of th e sh aft

above the

form.

With th e

form in

place

and exactly level, t he p la te

is

put

in place

and the shaft inserted in

the tube from

t he top .

The shaft is then leve l led ver tica lly in

severa l

directions

to insure it is exactly vertical (and square with th e fo rm ).

Fasten the

shaft

at

the

top to hold that position,

and pour

the

concrete

as

described

above. The plate

may not be exactly flat if the

weld

is off, but

the

flywheel will

be

t rue anyway. Be sure to tamp the

concrete ca refully

a round a ll the

reinforcing, but

not so

hard

that you

throw

t he a lignmen t

off.

Cure

as above, and after a

few

days

remove

flywheel

fr om form

by

pulling off the

masonite

and releasing plywood. You will probably

not

be

able to salvage

the

masonite s tr ip, so

cut

a fresh

piece

for each

casting.

C.

Other

solutions: The procedu res de sc r ibed in A and B above have

actually

been used to

build wheels

at

Big

Creek, and they

work.

There

re a number of

other

alternatives that h ave b een

described,

or

that

come to

mind

a s poss ib i li ti e s, which may

be

of interest:

One

a lt er na tiv e is to make the shaft go directly through

the

concrete,

and not make use of the sliding tube.

It

can be welded d irect ly to the

steel plate, i you know

where you

want

th e

flywheel

mounted on the

shaft. The po sitio n cannot be changed, and the flywheel is an awkward

thing

to pack

i

you

d isman tl e the wheel, but for a permanent job,

it

can

be

very s at isf ac to ry . Our o rig in al reason

for

the

sleeve

was

for

adjus ting the

f lywheel up

and down for d if fe rent people. or a n in di-

vidual

building

a wheel

for him

Iherself, the

initial

dimensioning

is

l ikely to

be

final,

and if carefully done the f i rst t ime, never

need

to

be changed . you

want

to

do it th is

way,

figure

out where the top of

the

flywheel

should go for your

comfortable

use,

subtract

the

thickness

of the concrete (and the plywood, i you re

building

A),

a nd have

the

plate welded there. Everything else

goes the

same, except you m 1st

use the bear ing keepe r flock on th e bottom bearing to

hold

the sh aft in

place

vertically.

In

thi s ver sion , you

can

make th e

flywheel

lower by

cutting off th e bottom of t he sha ft,

but

do it before you cut the top to

locate

the wheelhead, or th e wheelhead w ill end up too

low

Another

alternative

is not

to

have a plate welded on,

bu t to

dril l holes

in the shaft in the re of

the

concrete

a nd push

s ome reinfor ci ng rod s

or

curtain

rods

through the

h oles to anchor in the concrete. (Reinforcing

rods over 3/8

have

a

pattern

which grips the concrete,

1/4 rods don't)

Another alternative,

which

should work, but

which

has

not

been used to

my

knowlege, would be to use two

pieces

of

1

pipe, and two

1

pipe

9


10/14

10

f langes (used for

attaching

pipe

to

flat surfaces) bolted

through

the plywood

circle

base. This

would not be

quite

as s tr ong a s the steel

plate,

but wou ld

have

the

advan tage of no t requiring any welding a t all. f

the

shaft turned

out

to be

not

exactly a t right angles

to

the

base,

shim

cut from

tin

can

slipped under the

flange

on the low side should

level

it. The 1 shaft should

fit well inside the 1 pipe.

f

it

is

not

tight fit, the opening can be made

smaller

by

cutt ing the

pipe

with pipe

cutter ,

which pinches th e

end

in

little; or, by

placing the

end of

th e pipe on solid

surface

and tapping on

th e corner of the open

end

with hammer. Working around th e outside with

increasing

force,

you can

actually

forge th e

opening

smaller . Getting it

red

hot

makes t hi s easier,

bu t it can

be done cold. Another solution to

loose fit

is to drill

and tap

(cut threads

in) one

side

o f th e

pipe, and drill

partway into

the

sh aft, then use

bolt

to lock th e

pipe

to the shaft. The

f ac t th at it

is

little of f to one side will no t affect anything.

D. Wheel Head: The wheel

head

is usually from 9

to

12

in

diameter,

and has sleeve

which

slips down over

th e

top of the shaft, locking in

place

with

set

screw threaded

through

the

sleeve. Commercial heads

are

cast ,

usually in aluminum,

and

turned true and smooth

on

lathe.

These

heads are available fr om cer amic

supply outlets

or d ir ec t f rom

number

of

manuf ac tu re rs . R obert

Brent deal er s s el l t he ir 12

head

for

about

20.

Several

are

advertised in Ceramics Monthly.

Make sure

th e

head

you

get has

1

diameter hole to fit on your shaft.

i t is

smaller ,

you

will

have to have i t

bored

out, or

the

end of

th e sha ft

turned

to

fit.

t is possible to make or have made

wheel

heads

in

variety

of

styles:

Sometimes

things

designed for

o ther u se s can be adapted.

sanding

disc from an

e lec t ri c sander ,

or

something

on

t ha t o rde r.

The

hole

wil l p robably be

smaller

size.

Check scrap

meta l ya rds and too l shops.

s tee l p la te

cut

in

circle

can be welded

to

piece of 1 tubing, very

much like th e

plate

for the flywheel , excep t the sleeve

is on

one

side.

It n eed s

to

be

exactly true

and have

se t

screw in the

tubing to lock it

on

t he sha ft .

Some

heads

are

made with dish-like depressi0ns, and by wrapping

strip of

sheet

metal or linoleum around th e h ead and f il li ng

with plaster,

plaster head is made. These

usually

lift

out, and several can be inter

changed

i f desi red . Plaster heads c an

be

made for f la t wheelheads

too,

using

the

same system. These

are

then

stuck to the

head with

s oft c la y

for use, or

pins are

put

on the wheelhead before

cast ing to key the

bats

in place

(see bats, below).

Wooden wheel heads are

preferred

by some people. These c an be made

by

mounting

pipe flange or

some

kind of mounting

p la te t o

piece of

hardwood,

and with

th e

shaft in

place,

turning the

head on

lathe.

t

takes

little

practice

to use

wood

wheel head, not

to

get it too

wet:

if

it

is

saturated, th e clay will

not stick

to i t


11/14

E.

Bats: you plan to

use

b ats fo r throwing, the

most

effective system

is

to have the wheelhead fit ted

with

pins, and the bats

drilled

with holes to

fit securely over

the

pins.

This

eliminates

the

need to

use

a doughnut of

clay

on t he wheel

head

to se.cure the bats (unless your use i s inf requent,

in which

case this works f in e.) The best bats we have

found

are made from

1/4 tempered masonite,

smooth

on

both

sides.

These are cut on

a band

saw,

and

can

be the s ame d iamet er

as

your

wheel

head,

or

larger .

-Holes

are

dril led

in the bats to correspond ex actly to th e pins

and

pin location

used. They

are

sealed with paint

or

varnish

or

some sealer

to inh ib it the

absorbing

of

wat er f rom

the

clay which causes

warping.

The p in s can be bolts threaded

thrqugh

t apped holes in the wheel he ad

from below

to a

height

to

match the t hi ckness o f th e

bat

(a

little less) ,

and

locked in place with

nuts from underneath. They can be cylindrical

headed

bolt s (usua lly

with

hexagonal

holes in the

top to

take

an allen wrench)

se t i n hole s from the to p

and

secured

from

underneath with a

bolt

or thumb

screw. These

may need

to be

filed down

so th ey don t project above the

surface

of the

bat.

In

some

cases,

such as

wooden wheel

heads, the

pins

can be

metal

pins se t in holes in

the

wheel head.

The p ins

are usually located

on

the

center

line across th e wheel h ead, an

equal

distance

in

from each side. This

system

a llows th e

bats

to fit in

ei ther

dir ection . Another way

is

to have

a center

pin

to hold

the

bat

and

one edge p in

to

keep it from turning. The only problem

with

this is how

one

gets the pin in the

center.

For wheels w ith p in s permanently in place,

i t

is n ec es sa ry to

always

use a b at; b ut

this does not p revent

cutt ing pots

and

lifting

them of f without

removing

th e b at.

Parts

List:

You

will

need

the

following:

19 Pieces h,lmber 2x6x30

2

2 x 1 x 3 6

Piece plywood 3/4

x

30 square

(or round)

Strip

masonite

8 feet long . Width

to

be worked out.

Piece

1

steel

shaft

long.

Steel

plate

1/4 x 12x12

more

or

less .

Piece 1

T u b i I ~ g

8 long welded

to

plate.

Block bearing (top) 1

Thrust

or

end bearing (bottom)

38

Lag

bolts

3

/8

x 3

1/2

(Also

washers

nuts

33

Carriage

bolts 3/8 x 3

1/2

as

required

for b o l t ~

4

Machine

bolts

(long thread)

3/8 x 2

1/2

Wheel Head

Cement o r r eady -mix

Other

materials a s r equi red (reinforc ing rod,

etc)

Total cost

may

run as high as using new materia ls, depending on

prices. Tt i s impor ta nt to

shop at ound

compare prices on hardware.

]


12/14

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