Hmmm ... band saw vs. chop saw ... not sure which is "best", but plenty
of wheels have been made on both, so either is a good place to start.
My preferred method is as follows:
1) Rough cut plywood pieces about 1/4" bigger than the desired wheel size.
2) If necessary, stack and glue pieces to get the desired wheel
thickness. You can screw the pieces together as clamps, but make sure
that the screws are at least 1" from the outer edge and from the middle.
3) Drill a hole for the axle/bearing to be used through the center of
each wheel blank.
4) Mount a short piece of a wooden or metal rod in a flat piece of wood
to serve as a dead center. The rod should be the same diameter as the
hole drill in each wheel.
5) Clamp the dead center to the saw table at a distance to the blade
slightly larger than the desired wheel radius. Cut through the dead
center base so that you know where to reset it whenever it needs to be
moved.
6) Place a wheel blank on the dead center, rotate it slowly through the
saw to cut the rough wheel.
7) If you have a stationary belt sander, clamp the dead center to the
belt sander table and repeat step (6) using the sander to get to the
final wheel radius.
We've made dozens of wheels like this and if you go slowly and
methodically the results are very good.
Frank P.
On 2/10/2011 6:28 AM, Steve Tyng wrote:
Short of a lathe, a chop saw is the best way to make perfect wheels
out of plywood.
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