hey guys

I'm thinking of making up a frame with a motor (washing machine with belt drive) to rotate a wheels for sanding.

just want to know if anyone has tried this before as i'm formulating designs but not overly sure how to design!

cheers

Mike

Too much time on your hands

lol ohdear

Point is i want to rotate the wheel so i can polish them without going pikey and jacking car up and using the engine to turn the wheels!

oh and very constructive guys, thanks

Go down halfords and ask for this stuff, its f**king quality. Its called elbow grease

Point is i want to rotate the wheel so i can polish them without going pikey and jacking car up and using the engine to turn the wheels!

oh and very constructive guys, thanks

how do you plan on polishing the sides of spokes etc?

Go down halfords and ask for this stuff, its f**king quality. Its called elbow grease

yet again, your constructiveness impresses me!

I don't have much time on my hands therefore what little time i do have i want to make use of it

Point is i want to rotate the wheel so i can polish them without going pikey and jacking car up and using the engine to turn the wheels!

oh and very constructive guys, thanks

how do you plan on polishing the sides of spokes etc?

don't really, got hockenheims (only polishing the lip and face) and BBS RZ's (only doing the lip)

i dunno, i think the hands on approach would always work better... if not, have you seen them little belt sanders you can get? my dads got one for the stairs too get the old paint off... graded sandpaper. winna :) making your own device would cost you more money than its worth lol

haha halfords sell elbow grease or if you realy have no time to do it yourself pay some1 elce to do it

i dunno, i think the hands on approach would always work better... if not, have you seen them little belt sanders you can get? my dads got one for the stairs too get the old paint off... graded sandpaper. winna :) making your own device would cost you more money than its worth lol

yeah i've got a delta sander, but just wanted to speed things up alittle! and the pads from B&Q just wear out too quick when using on metal!

making the frame isn't really the issue as i can get plenty steel, and welding done by a friend.

its just the powering that have me stumped!

originally i was going to use an old pottery wheel and power by foot but alas, can not find one!

I've though about this before, cos i can say from experience that doing it by hand is not fun and takes bloody ages. the only thing i can think of is a modified wheel balancing machine, but this would only be cost effective if you planned to do lots of wheels.

if you handy with a welder I'm sure you could knock up a frame and make your own wheel spinning machine, but i'd be very reluctant to use an electrically driven motor if you plan on wet sanding the wheel (the best way if your polishing)

Point is i want to rotate the wheel so i can polish them without going pikey and jacking car up and using the engine to turn the wheels!

oh and very constructive guys, thanks

how do you plan on polishing the sides of spokes etc?

only a moron or sadist would plan in diy polishing the spokes of their wheel. the idea is perfectly valid for flat faced wheels or just doing the outer rims

I've though about this before, cos i can say from experience that doing it by hand is not fun and takes bloody ages. the only thing i can think of is a modified wheel balancing machine, but this would only be cost effective if you planned to do lots of wheels.

if you handy with a welder I'm sure you could knock up a frame and make your own wheel spinning machine, but i'd be very reluctant to use an electrically driven motor if you plan on wet sanding the wheel (the best way if your polishing)

good point, any ideas on how to power it?

mod some bike pedals? :lol: :lol:

I've though about this before, cos i can say from experience that doing it by hand is not fun and takes bloody ages. the only thing i can think of is a modified wheel balancing machine, but this would only be cost effective if you planned to do lots of wheels.

if you handy with a welder I'm sure you could knock up a frame and make your own wheel spinning machine, but i'd be very reluctant to use an electrically driven motor if you plan on wet sanding the wheel (the best way if your polishing)

good point, any ideas on how to power it?

mod some bike pedals? :lol: :lol:

small 2 stroke engine from something like a chainsaw or maybe go the whole hog and use a v8, maybe top gear will lend you theirs!!

you'd be ok with an electric motor, so long as it was away from any source of water, so i guess it would need to be belt driven rather than direct drive.

I've though about this before, cos i can say from experience that doing it by hand is not fun and takes bloody ages. the only thing i can think of is a modified wheel balancing machine, but this would only be cost effective if you planned to do lots of wheels.

if you handy with a welder I'm sure you could knock up a frame and make your own wheel spinning machine, but i'd be very reluctant to use an electrically driven motor if you plan on wet sanding the wheel (the best way if your polishing)

good point, any ideas on how to power it?

mod some bike pedals? :lol: :lol:

small 2 stroke engine from something like a chainsaw or maybe go the whole hog and use a v8, maybe top gear will lend you theirs!!

you'd be ok with an electric motor, so long as it was away from any source of water, so i guess it would need to be belt driven rather than direct drive.

was thinking belt drive as direct would fook the motor up wouldn't it? (too much weight to try to spin up in a short time)

Sounds like a fun little project. I think the washing machine idea sounds good or an old treadmill maybe?

I've thought of the perfect bit of kit to butcher! an electric cement mixer, the motor will be powerfull enough and sufficiently waterproof, plus the frame will easilly take the weight of a wheel. all you'd need to do is remove the cement tub and fix an axle to it and you'd be away!

theres loads on ebay for not much cash

Edited 18 November, 200817 yr by g40jon

I've personally never had a problem just jacking the car up and sticking it in gear lol

I set something similar up, using an old stub axle/hub off something ( i can't remember now) that i redrilled to 4x100, a single phase motor, VF drive and a couple of belts/pulleys. The beauty of using the drive was that i could set it at a very low rpm and use a drill or grinder with various polishing mops etc. I polished 3 p slots from fully painted to fully polished in the time it took to do the 1st one by hand.

i would agree with the washing machine motor and a front hub so it would just bolt the wheels on easy. just run the belt in the center of the wheel

I used such a device for cutting my wheels - its called a 'lathe'.

I set something similar up, using an old stub axle/hub off something ( i can't remember now) that i redrilled to 4x100, a single phase motor, VF drive and a couple of belts/pulleys. The beauty of using the drive was that i could set it at a very low rpm and use a drill or grinder with various polishing mops etc. I polished 3 p slots from fully painted to fully polished in the time it took to do the 1st one by hand.

thats sounds good, get an old axle to fit VW wheels, and spin that! scraphead challenge is popping into my head :p

tbh, when i read the title i thought about a tumble dryer! haha

depends what you like at fabricating sumat...frame with a belt to the motor in a washing machine...lol

oh, and great constructive comments.........

I used such a device for cutting my wheels - its called a 'lathe'.

you could have 5 sets of wheels professionally refurbed and polished for the price of an old lathe big enough to hold a wheel, there isnt an easy way to do it, flap wheel on a die grinder/big dremel/drill will be the cheapest option, tedious but cheap.

I agree,Pete. In fact,the time to buy a used lathe has been and gone - prices are going up.

I just used someone elses.

I admire Mikes plan. But spinning a wheel is the least of his problems - skimming a wheel requires precision,so as not to upset the balance of the wheel,otherwise you'll end up with layers of weights around the rim like a moon crescent,and your tyre fitter will have attitude.

Perhaps adding weld to fill pitts and kerb damage,then cutting back to original form,isnt the level we're talking about here - but even still,any tool against the wheel cannot be allowed to fail and subsequently take a chunk out of the wheel itself - whilst it also removes several of Mikes fingers aswell.

Id start off with a drive which is a little more manageable than a washing machine - a bench grinder would be good,chain-driving a wheel hub from one end,geared for optimum speed/stability. That,on a strong metal frame,holding a X-carriage track,adjustable by a threaded strut each direction.

Basically,a home-made lathe,resembling a rigid,fully welded-up metal-frame coffee table,housing a bench grinder and hub,and a mini bench vice on a roller-bearing,threaded-spine,carriage. Bit of grief,but you could build it for a ton if you can weld.

Otherwise,if all you're gonna do is hold a sanding block against the rim,you may aswell just do it on the car.