Post by Southgate on Jun 9, 2009 2:40:30 GMT -5
I needed a bunch of sheaves for my crane, and at the time didn't have a lathe. So here's what I did, it works for me!
I started with an Athearn wheelset, with the metal axle and plastic wheels. (any of the sets with the 3/32 metal axle will do, Roundhouse, etc)
Grind one end of the axle flat, so that there is no longer any point on it. You can do this on a bench grinder, with a dremel, or even use a file.
Put one of the wheels on the flat end of axle and chuck it in a variable speed dremel or a drill. If using a dremel, make sure it is not running at high speed. They can do 16,000-25,000 RPM, way too fast for this. On the other hand, A regular hand drill will be slow, but it's better to be on the safe side here. A drill press could also be used at it's higher speeds.
The above picture was taken after the wheel had been "turned down" but you can see where this is going. (Safety goggles on) with the wheel turning, You can use a sharp exacto blade to shave down the width of the wheel, working toward the flange.
Hold the blade at about a 90 degree angle to the wheel as you work it down.
That yeilds on half of a pulley sheave. Now use a file to take it down a little more, and this roughs up the flat surface to better accept superglue.
Make a whole bunch of these, and after filing them use an exacto blade to scrape any plastic fuzz off the surfaces of the flat, especially toward the outer edges. If some of the halves get filed crooked, you may have to discard them.
Now, you can start supergluing halves together using an axle as a guide get the glue evenly spread on one surface.
After the glue dries i had to use a needle file to clean up some of the glue in the U of the sheaves.
When the sheaves are acceptable, drive the axle out of the center and push a piece of K&S 3/32 aluminum tube into it, and cut the tube off even with the flanges. You need to round the end of the tubing a bit with a file to get it to insert into the hole. The one on the left is how it should look for ya;
here's a look at an original wheel on an axle with a custom made sheave. These sheaves scale out to about 9 inches, pretty handy for some of the uses on model cranes and other places
There are a total of 12 of these sheaves used in the reeving on my crane, 6 in each of these blocks, 2 stacks of 3 sheaves. this is an early picture before a modification was made, as I'll explain shortly.
I had to install plates between the sheave to keep the cables (braided fishing line) from getting all crossed up between the sheaves, above.
Then there's one in this truck's little crane:
I hope someone finds this technique handy. As I said in the beginning, it works for me! Dan
I started with an Athearn wheelset, with the metal axle and plastic wheels. (any of the sets with the 3/32 metal axle will do, Roundhouse, etc)
Grind one end of the axle flat, so that there is no longer any point on it. You can do this on a bench grinder, with a dremel, or even use a file.
Put one of the wheels on the flat end of axle and chuck it in a variable speed dremel or a drill. If using a dremel, make sure it is not running at high speed. They can do 16,000-25,000 RPM, way too fast for this. On the other hand, A regular hand drill will be slow, but it's better to be on the safe side here. A drill press could also be used at it's higher speeds.
The above picture was taken after the wheel had been "turned down" but you can see where this is going. (Safety goggles on) with the wheel turning, You can use a sharp exacto blade to shave down the width of the wheel, working toward the flange.
Hold the blade at about a 90 degree angle to the wheel as you work it down.
That yeilds on half of a pulley sheave. Now use a file to take it down a little more, and this roughs up the flat surface to better accept superglue.
Make a whole bunch of these, and after filing them use an exacto blade to scrape any plastic fuzz off the surfaces of the flat, especially toward the outer edges. If some of the halves get filed crooked, you may have to discard them.
Now, you can start supergluing halves together using an axle as a guide get the glue evenly spread on one surface.
After the glue dries i had to use a needle file to clean up some of the glue in the U of the sheaves.
When the sheaves are acceptable, drive the axle out of the center and push a piece of K&S 3/32 aluminum tube into it, and cut the tube off even with the flanges. You need to round the end of the tubing a bit with a file to get it to insert into the hole. The one on the left is how it should look for ya;
here's a look at an original wheel on an axle with a custom made sheave. These sheaves scale out to about 9 inches, pretty handy for some of the uses on model cranes and other places
There are a total of 12 of these sheaves used in the reeving on my crane, 6 in each of these blocks, 2 stacks of 3 sheaves. this is an early picture before a modification was made, as I'll explain shortly.
I had to install plates between the sheave to keep the cables (braided fishing line) from getting all crossed up between the sheaves, above.
Then there's one in this truck's little crane:
I hope someone finds this technique handy. As I said in the beginning, it works for me! Dan