Wobbly wheels

I’m learning how to machine wheels. I’d prefer to not ruin good wheels as I learn. I think using rejects for practice makes sense.

Once I get a process that’s repeatable, I’ll need to work with better wheels. But I don’t need good wheels to learn what doesn’t work…

Mojo makes a good point, if you start with wobbly wheels you won’t know exactly whether or not your making progress. I understand starting out with them just to get a feel for it, but you might want to use wheels that don’t have as much wobble when you do get a feel for how to cut wheels.  I don’t cut my own wheels, and other racers will have way more experience than I do in this subject, but if it were me I’d look for wheels that have problems other than wobbling.  Examples would be wheels with bore scratches, hub scratches, too much runout, or wheels with bores that are way too big in diameter to race. 

Hope that helps, T-Bone

Hangtime, I think you have a good plan. First you need to learn what tooling, spindle speeds, and feed speeds and what it sounds like to get clean cuts. Might as well use junk wheels for that. Also the cutting tools u use make a huge difference. I suggest going straight to polished carbide or diamond. High speed steel works fine when sharp but it don't take long to start getting dull and affecting the cuts. Even when "dull" it is still sharp and will cut but you won't get the good quality and repeatable cuts. If you find that you end up at different places on the dial to get to the same verified result then your tooling is dull (assuming nothing else moved).

Good luck!

Scott

Thanks Scott. Yes, sharp tools and rigid setup make a big difference. It’s a challenge to hold wheels securely for cutting without introducing some small amount of deflection or distortion. Still working the kinks out, but my wheels are getting better.

Thanks turbo. I just placed an order. I have been getting a good finish using 1/64 radius, but reducing cutting pressure sounds like a good move.