Wheel Design Question

[pyro_tek]

I'm fixin' to build several pairs of wheels for cannon carriages. Almost all designs I have require the spokes to be mounted on the hub and rim at an angle. The angle makes the wheel dish out away from the center line of the carriage. This seems like it will complicate the wheel building process. Does anyone out there have a k.i.s.s. explanation of why the angle is needed? If I build a pair of wheels that don't dish out will the wheel cops come and get me? Will firing the mounted cannon cause the non-dished wheels to break apart?

[John N]

One of the suppliers in the "where to find" sticky, Jefferson Armory, has a blurb about dished wheels in their cannon history section. In a nut shell, dished wheels make a difference when turning corners. However plain wheels will work just fine maneuvering a cannon out at the range and when under recoil from firing.  Dished wheels sure do look nice, but  are more effort to build than plain wheels (and more money to purchase if you go that route). As long as you are not representing your cannon as an exact replica, I wouldn't worry about any "wheel cops".  

Just make sure to include a power can when you post pictures of your piece. :-)

[john pike]

One of the suppliers in the "where to find" sticky, Jefferson Armory, has a blurb about dished wheels in their cannon history section. In a nut shell, dished wheels make a difference when turning corners. However plain wheels will work just fine maneuvering a cannon out at the range and when under recoil from firing.  Dished wheels sure do look nice, but  are more effort to build than plain wheels (and more money to purchase if you go that route). As long as you are not representing your cannon as an exact replica, I wouldn't worry about any "wheel cops".  

Just make sure to include a power can when you post pictures of your piece. :-)

i wanted to do it the plain wheels,,,
the "wheel COP--AKA the wife" caight me, my son squealed,

so i had to do it the hard way,

now i think it looks better,

jmo
johnp

[GGaskill]

When rounding corners at high speed, the side thrust tries to bend the spokes.  With a flat wheel, the bending spokes cause the effective diameter of the wheel to decrease which loosens the spokes and fellies.

With a dished wheel, the bending spokes try to increase the diameter of the wheel.  This is opposed by the iron tire which prevents the expansion of the wheel.  However, the wheel must be mounted on the axle such that the spokes are vertical from hub to ground or the wheel in straightforward motion will suffer the same problem as a flat wheel rounding a corner.  This is why the wheels tilt outward.

[pyro_tek]

Thanks George, your explanation makes sense. I love the idea of authenticity but for my first effort or two I think I'll go flat (these are small models with five to nine inch wheel diameters). The models are meant to be shooters but I doubt I'll be needing them to round corners at speeds high enough to bend spokes. I will be welding up an iron tire so straight recoil shouldn't pose the problem of spokes poking through the wheel. Thanks all.