May 2021 Meeting Report - Part 2: Making Toy Wheels

This is the second article describing the May 2021 meeting. You can read the first - May 2021 Meeting Report - Part 1: Designing a Hall Table

Toy Wheels

Barry Viner gave our second presentation for the evening on the topic of making toy wheels. Barry likes to spend time making toys for his grandkids and making wheels turned out to be an exercise in creative thinking.

The wheels are cut from timber using a large hole saw. Once the wheel has been cut out the embellishments such as grooves and wheel nuts can be added. Barry designed jigs that attach to a tablesaw sled which allows him to cut realistic tyre tread grooves in wheels. The jigs allow Barry to cut the tyre grooves at different angles, and they use a template that tells Barry where to make the cut.

A couple of examples of the tyres

Closeup of how the grooves are cut using a tablesaw sled and a custom jig

Example wheel with wheel nuts

Wheel groove template showing were to cut the grooves

Barry showing the hole saw that he uses to create the wheels

Barry's custom jig that he uses for setting the angle of the tyre grooves

Barry explaining the tablesaw sled with custom jig that he uses for cutting the grooves