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Thread: Gatling Gun Project

  1. #1

    Gatling Gun Project

    I had a guy come buy. He is building a Gatling Gun, 1/3 scale. He asked me to build the spoked wheels for him. I figured it would be a cool project to be part of. He supplied me with some Walnut parts. He gave me 16 segments cut on a CNC for the two, 8 segment wheels. He also gave me 40 blanks for the spokes. These had the centers drilled on the ends and a 1 1/2" radius cut on one end that would meet with the brass turned hub.

    I started by drilling dowel holes in the end of the segments to form the rim. I used a nylon band clamp to hold it together and put it in a jig that was just a compass to draw two concentric circles on the octagon.

    After the circles were drawn I used a band saw to cut out the inside circle. Then I glued up the rim.









    I got my spoke blanks turned by my turning guy. He did a nice job. Does all his work by hand lathe, no duplicate. This would have been a good job for a duplicator though.





    After the rim was dry I made a jig to sand the inside diameter with my RoboSander Drum, a flush sanding drum. The picture shows the rim in the finished condition. I didn't take a picture of the actual operation:thumbdown: When I did it the outside was still and octagon and I was able to put a few screws in it to attach the rim to the ID circle jig.



    Then I made a jig to round the outside. This was a circle made from MDF with another larger circle underneath as a base/platform. The smaller upper circle fit snugly inside the rim and I was able to mount it on my edge sander and spin it around until I got the right size. I used a 60 grit belt. I didn't even cut the OD with the bandsaw, just sanded it down.



    Then I needed to make the jigs for cutting the angles on the spokes that would go on the hub side. I needed 11 1/4º angles on both sides so I made a jig to cut one side at 11 1/4º and the other at 22 1/2º because I will be referencing it off of the first angle.

    I used poplar blanks for adjusting the jig





    My first try the parts weren't wide enough.

    Last edited by Leo Graywacz; 09-05-2009 at 1:09 AM.

  2. #2
    Here is what I got after 6 tries :wallbash: I threw in a spoke for effect



    After all the testing it was time for the real thing. The test pcs were about .002" wider than the real spokes, so they would end up a bit wider because of the way the jig is referenced. I ran the 16 spokes and as I expected they were to snug, but that is much better than to loose.





    To adjust the spokes for the tightness I put some blue masking tape on the jig and ran all 16 through to shave them down. Still a bit to snug, I couldn't get the last two to fall in place. So I put another layer of blue tape on and ran 8 of the 16 spokes again. Still to tight. So I continued to run 1 spoke at a time and shave off a bit until the fell into place. I had to shave 3 more. The second wheel only needed to have 8 shaved before it fell into place.

    Put blue tape here






    It's a Wheel !!




    Still have more to do. I need to make the round portion of the spokes taper to an oval as it goes out towards the rim of the wheel. I need to drill the holes in the rim for the dowels that go in the end of the spokes. Glue it up and sand it down. Then put a clearcoat on it and put the brass hub on it, drill the holes through the hub into the spokes and bolt them up.
    Last edited by Leo Graywacz; 09-04-2009 at 11:43 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Baltimore, Md
    Posts
    1,785
    Ok that's just plain cool.
    "The element of competition has never worried me, because from the start, I suppose I realized wood contains so much inspiration and beauty and rhythm that if used properly it would result in an individual and unique object." - James Krenov


    What you do speaks so loud, I cannot hear what you say. -R. W. Emerson

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Plano, Texas
    Posts
    174
    You must have the patience of Job. 11 1/4 degrees! I'm lucky when I find 90 and 45.

    Extremely cool. I hope he lets you test fire it.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Central Ky.
    Posts
    153
    Leo, WAAY COOL! Is it going to be a working model or not? Beutiful work. If you can get pics when its all finished I'd really like to see them, Craig

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Monroe, MI
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    11,896
    Incredible!


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    KC, MO
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    2,041
    Leo -

    Add me to the 'stunned' list......just beautiful work tremendous skill. NICE!!!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Craig T. Smith View Post
    Leo, WAAY COOL! Is it going to be a working model or not? Beutiful work. If you can get pics when its all finished I'd really like to see them, Craig
    Working model, yes. I hope that I get to see the finished project too.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Atlanta , Ga.
    Posts
    3,970
    An excellent piece and as stated you should be credited with patience on top of skill. I don't believe I have ever seen a Gattlin' Gun with walnut wheels but.. in the world of make believe they sure look good.
    Sarge..

    Woodworkers' Guild of Georgia
    Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

  10. #10
    Or a shiney brass hub or have the wheel banded with brass instead of steel. But it is going to look sweet.

  11. #11
    Few more pics with a real camera instead of my crappy cell phone:


    Center of wheel - Spoke intersection:


    I put a 8" radius on the end of the spoke so it would fit without a gap:


    Picture of the wheel w/a birch background:


    The brass hub that will go into the center of the wheel, all custom milled, even the nuts and bolts were milled.

  12. #12
    Leo, that is the type of work that shows me what is possible but how far I have to go. That is really amazing! Thanks for sharing with us.
    Have answers, need the right questions

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Harvey, Michigan
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    20,801
    Leo - very impressive work! I am awed by the precision! Looking forward to seeing the finished wheels as well as the completed project!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    110
    Wow...that is way beyond what I could accomplish!

  15. #15
    I have some more pics. The work is almost complete. I have only to sand a few things, put the finish on and drill the hub holes.

    Today I worked on drilling the spoke indexing dowel holes and ovaling the lengths of the spokes.
    I also put the hub on, which was a challenge in itself. But as usual, there is a trick to
    everything and I figured it out.

    Here is the rim. My client gave me a full scale drawing of the octagon with
    the circles drawn in. It had an x and y axis line. I had to draw the 8 intersecting lines to
    get the 16 holes for the dowels.


    Here is a close up showing how the holes line up with my centerlines.
    The photo was enhanced because of shadows.


    Here is my Stanley #59 doweling jig that I used to drill the 17/64" holes
    for the 1/4" dowels.


    This is the jig I made to start the ovaling process. The dowel was .550" in diameter and I needed
    to get the skinny side to .410" I routed a slot in some birch that was .480" deep and made a shim
    that was .070 thick. I clamped the spoke with my Jorgenson clamp and used my sander with 100
    grit paper. I sanded it flush with the birch. Then I removed the spoke, put the shim in the end
    of the jig and clamped the spoke back in with the sanded side down. Then I sanded flush to the
    birch again. Result .410" thick, usually within about .003". I am just as surprised as you.


    After the jig I needed to do some hand shaping. And by hand shaping I mean
    with an electric RO sander. This is how I got rid of the flats and made them
    more ovalish. Finished off by hand sanding with 150 grit to get rid of the lathe
    sanding lines.
    Here is a crappy picture from my camera phone.
    Last edited by Leo Graywacz; 09-13-2009 at 4:37 PM.

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