# Garden waterwheel



## ColeyS1 (2 Oct 2016)

This is either gonna end up an ugly ornament or there's a small chance it may look alright and work. 
I like anything old fashioned and decided I'd quite like to have one in the garden.
I started slowly wombling bits. First thing I got was these two cart rings.





I recently made some garden rings and these pieces were leftover




The frustrating thing is they aren't as big as I'd have liked.
The rings are roughly 1250mm diameter which means the wooden ring will only be around 120mm








The easiest way to mount the waterwheel was in a premade heavy frame. It just happened to be a large super heavy tablesaw




This is the rough sketchup pic I did to show how the wheel might fit.




The front section will need completely chopping off.
Must say I'm really unsure about this. I can make it look like a waterwheel, but I want the thing to turn via a pond pump and a flow of water. As a last resort I'll have to connect up a motor of some sort to give it a helping hand.
I think I could really need some help with this one guys.
Cheers
Coley 

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## Beau (2 Oct 2016)

For in depth advise on waterwheels the Navitron forum might be helpful http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index. ... ,11.0.html

Don't know much about them myself but will be watching this thread with interest.

Good luck


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## Mike Jordan (2 Oct 2016)

Ive recently made a small wheel (350mm dia) complete with a mill house and two moving figures driven by the wheel. The wheel is made of teak and mounted on ball bearings with the shaft going right through the house. The figures are driven by an eccentric wheel mounted on the shaft. You will have no trouble making the wheel rotate assuming that it holds water on the outer edge. My difficulty was in slowing down the flow to make the wheel rotate at a sane speed
I have photos of the finished item in use but I have failed to get them to post on this site. Not sure why


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## Stanleymonkey (2 Oct 2016)

I have no experience of this - but will be following with interest.

Good luck


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## ColeyS1 (3 Oct 2016)

Mike Jordan":3dpw0r6r said:


> Ive recently made a small wheel (350mm dia) complete with a mill house and two moving figures driven by the wheel. The wheel is made of teak and mounted on ball bearings with the shaft going right through the house. The figures are driven by an eccentric wheel mounted on the shaft. You will have no trouble making the wheel rotate assuming that it holds water on the outer edge. My difficulty was in slowing down the flow to make the wheel rotate at a sane speed
> I have photos of the finished item in use but I have failed to get them to post on this site. Not sure why


Mike that sounds fantastic ! How wide did you make the wheel ? I'd love to see pics someday, perhaps you could email me them and I could post them ?

My main concern is it might be too heavy to turn. The metal rings are just under two inchs wide so the wooden rings are the same size. I'm thinking of making the buckets out of thin metal to keep the weight down, instead of wood which would look alot better and silver over time. Do you think I'm worrying about nothing regarding the weight ? 
I can make the wooden rings up then think about the other things like width etc.

Coley


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## pollys13 (3 Oct 2016)

" My difficulty was in slowing down the flow to make the wheel rotate at a sane speed
I have photos of the finished item in use but I have failed to get them to post on this site. Not sure why "

Incorporate some type of gearing into the design perhaps.


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## devonwoody (3 Oct 2016)

Keep in in the ring.


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## Mike Jordan (3 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
The wheel is 115mm wide with the spokes of the wheel outside that. I will be happy to send the photos to you, they are already posted on the getwoodworking forum if you care to look at that. I'm sure that there won't be any problem making the wheel turn. My difficulty related to the lever type valves controlling the water flow, the levers are not long enough to give good control.


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## ColeyS1 (3 Oct 2016)

Just received the pictures and video.












That really is a beauty !!!! Thanks for showing me  
Your videos here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4fhKh ... p=drivesdk
It's certainly given me a few ideas on what to do around the wheel, perhaps a pitched roof maybe.
Does the waterwheel start off really slow and gradually build up speed, or is it fairly swift in reaching maximum speed ? 

Coley

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## ColeyS1 (3 Oct 2016)

pollys13":1s81uhl2 said:


> " My difficulty was in slowing down the flow to make the wheel rotate at a sane speed
> I have photos of the finished item in use but I have failed to get them to post on this site. Not sure why "
> 
> Incorporate some type of gearing into the design perhaps.


Daft question but would the gearing just slow it down by adding a certain amount of friction/resistance? 

Coley

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## ColeyS1 (3 Oct 2016)

devonwoody":gufw46oz said:


> Keep in in the ring.


I'm not quite sure what you mean D.W ?

Coley


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## devonwoody (3 Oct 2016)

Coley, it just my way to continue to receive notifications at this thread.


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## nev (3 Oct 2016)

Excellent. Whats the little fella downstairs doing?


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## ColeyS1 (3 Oct 2016)

Thought I'd push on this afternoon and get the easy bit done.




I put a 22.5 degree tenon on the end.




Did a quick mock up, it looks something like it.




Set up a fence and a length stop on the pillar drill to make the holes for the drawbores




I've drilled a 9mm hole to allow it to be replaced by a slightly larger 10mm bolt.




Cascamited 4 halves together, will tickle and join them together tomorrow night




Need to think about routing the halves circular tomorrow.

Coley

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## Mike Jordan (3 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
Thanks for posting those for me! The wheel starts with one compartment slightly full of water compared to what they catch when running, that means it starts slightly quickly and then takes up the speed according to flow. I wouldn't worry about gearing slowing it, even my little wheel has plenty of power to work the figures. The size of wheel you are constructing will have power to spare
Nev - The chap on the ground floor is feeding timber into a machine, I haven't installed the machine yet and may substitute a rocking chair for it.
Tha figure with the steam iron is directly driven by a stainless rod but I am thinking in terms of putting a pair of magnets on and beneath the rocking chair. The power of the little button magnets opens up a host of possibilities.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (3 Oct 2016)

I failed to mention the solar lighting! I dismantled one of our garden lights and put the LEDs inside the house with the little solar panel mounted at he back left hand corner. It works well but I think an external solar floodlight directed at the front of the house will be on the plans for next year.


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## ColeyS1 (4 Oct 2016)

It looks smashing Mike. Kind of like it's own little world.
I've just glued the two halves together after cutting it roughly to shape on the bandsaw








My thoughts now turn to what I'm gonna mount it on.




I've taken off the bearing cover and found this




There looks to be a small tab holding in a nut so I've removed both.




The bearing moves by tapping with a hammer but can't help but feel I'm probably causing damage by doing it this way. Does any one have any ideas how I could do this a better way ? Once I know if I can relocate the bearing, I'll have more idea how wide I could make the wheel.
Cheers
Coley 

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## Mike Jordan (4 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
Although you are working on a much larger scale with your wheel, we are both using the same jointing method. With regard to the bearings, again mine are much smaller but I found simplybearings to be a good supplier for both bearings and bearing collars to keep them in place. I my case the shaft is a 10mm diameter piece of brass rod, what will yours be? I found that putting the spokes on the outside of the assembled wheel allowed the wheel to be trued up easily
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (4 Oct 2016)

Thanks Mike. The shaft is around 2 inchs in diameter. I need some sort of central hub for the spokes to meet, haven't quite figured that one out yet. I thought the wheel could be fixed to the shaft then the actual shaft turn on the bearing if that makes sense. 


Coley


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## Mike Jordan (4 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I was able to turn a pair of teak discs and sandwich the spokes between them after screwing the spokes to one disc (one pair of discs each side) epoxy glue holding the whole together. I think your bigger wheel will probably need two hubs with the spokes tenoned and pegged in place a bit like a wheel. I fixed the shaft to the wheel by drilling a 3mm hole through the outer hub and the shaft and tapping in a stainless rod.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (5 Oct 2016)

Cheers Mike. It's good to hear someone talking from experience. 
I'm probably getting a bit ahead of myself but do you think it'd make much difference what angle I put the slats at ?





I've got a large amount of iroko off cuts but the thing is they are all quite narrow. I was thinking of t &g boarding around the entire inner circle, then have the slats butt up to that.




Thanks 
Coley 

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## Mike Jordan (5 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I did much the same as you suggest but I housed the ends of the circle of boards into a groove in the inside face of the circular discs. Each of the boards is rebated on both edges where they meet one another and the groove was wide enough to easily take the straight bits of board. Mine was a pig of a job to assemble and I resorted to a piece of elastic to hold the bits together while the second disc was put on. The slats to hold the water were slid into routed grooves after their inside edges had been beveled to fit the line of the cylinder. It's tricky ensuring that the two discs and their grooves are exactly opposite one another to get the slats level. I will email you a photo of a disc I managed to ruin by routing a groove in the wrong place. It shows the angle I used for the slats which may be helpful. I used west epoxy to glue the boards and slats to the discs but didn't glue the boards together. I think your method of fitting the boards to the inside edge may be much easier to do and every bit as good.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (5 Oct 2016)

I reasoned that the slats would be best if they were horizontal and shedding the last of the water when they reached the 4.30 position on the clockwise turning wheel. I cut the grooves for the slats by fitting the disc onto a jig which allowed it to rotate under a hinged jig that guided the router. As you can see not everything went to plan, I think I picked up the wrong mark and cut a groove in the wrong place, the result being a carefully crafted piece of firewood!
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (5 Oct 2016)

Mike Jordan":1ol3j3kg said:


> Hi Coley
> I did much the same as you suggest but I housed the ends of the circle of boards into a groove in the inside face of the circular discs. Each of the boards is rebated on both edges where they meet one another and the groove was wide enough to easily take the straight bits of board. Mine was a pig of a job to assemble and I resorted to a piece of elastic to hold the bits together while the second disc was put on. The slats to hold the water were slid into routed grooves after their inside edges had been beveled to fit the line of the cylinder. It's tricky ensuring that the two discs and their grooves are exactly opposite one another to get the slats level. I will email you a photo of a disc I managed to ruin by routing a groove in the wrong place. It shows the angle I used for the slats which may be helpful. I used west epoxy to glue the boards and slats to the discs but didn't glue the boards together. I think your method of fitting the boards to the inside edge may be much easier to do and every bit as good.
> Mike.


I received the pic Mike thanks. It looks like from your pic you had 12 slats. I've got enough dog-ends for 16 so that might be enough.
Thanks for your detailed pics, it's comforting to follow an already working design.
Hopefully I'll get a few hours on it tonight.

Coley


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## ColeyS1 (5 Oct 2016)

Mike Jordan":2gbnn37n said:


> I reasoned that the slats would be best if they were horizontal and shedding the last of the water when they reached the 4.30 position on the clockwise turning wheel. I cut the grooves for the slats by fitting the disc onto a jig which allowed it to rotate under a hinged jig that guided the router. As you can see not everything went to plan, I think I picked up the wrong mark and cut a groove in the wrong place, the result being a carefully crafted piece of firewood!
> Mike.


It's not the most straight forward things to route though to be fair [WINKING FACE]
You've just solved how to route the slats in




Pivot in the middle and a guide bush following a groove on the jig should do it.
I'll double check the angle and the 4.30 thing before I start routing.
Cheers 

Coley


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## ColeyS1 (5 Oct 2016)

Just routed the inside 




Measured the diameter by using masking tape cause it's so humpy bumpy. 




The length on one is 3958mm and 3971mm on the other. By my reckoning that's 1260 and 1264 diameter. The wheel rings are only for looks more than anything. I think I might have to rout them differently though. Perhaps allow em 3mm diameter slack so they'll go on with ease :? 

Coley

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## JakeS (6 Oct 2016)

ColeyS1":sat49mw1 said:


> Daft question but would the gearing just slow it down by adding a certain amount of friction/resistance?



Gearing slows down or speeds up your system by having gears of different size. If you have a drive gear with ten teeth meshing with an attached gear with twenty teeth (and thus twice the circumference), then the attached (teeth in mesh) gear will rotate at half the speed of the drive gear. The reason being that when the drive gear makes one full rotation it moves ten teeth, which means that ten teeth move on the attached gear... but ten teeth on the attached gear is only half a rotation. So for every full rotation the drive gear does, the attached gear rotates half a rotation.

For example, if your water wheel is moving three times faster than you want the figures to move, then you could have a small drive gear attached directly to the wheel (e.g. with 7 teeth), and a larger gear that has three times as many teeth in mesh with the drive gear (e.g. with 21 teeth), then the elliptical wheel to drive the figures gets mounted to the same shaft as the larger gear. The same principle is commonly used in pillar drills to change the speed by having the drive belt spanning differently-sized wheels.

If you want to slow the speed down without having a gigantic gear taking up space, you can chain multiple gears to slow the movement down in steps. So if you want to slow down by a factor of four but a 28-tooth gear is too big, then you can have shaft 1 contain your water wheel and a 7-toothed gear in mesh with a 14-toothed gear on shaft 2, then at the other end of shaft 2 there's another 7-toothed gear which is in mesh with a 14-toothed gear on shaft 3, and at the other end of shaft 3 there's your elliptical wheel. Shaft 2 moves at half the speed of shaft 1, and shaft 3 moves at half the speed of shaft 2... and thus one quarter the speed of shaft 1.



There's a handy online tool on Matthias Wandel's site for printing out templates to cut gears from wood: https://woodgears.ca/gear_cutting/template.html
Just remember that - friction in the system aside - whatever factor you decrease the speed by, you increase the torque by. So if you slow a gear down to one quarter the drive speed, it's four times more likely to break your finger if you stick it in the wrong place. ;-)


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## ColeyS1 (6 Oct 2016)

Ta for the explanation regarding the gears. Perhaps I'm just being a numpty but I don't understand how adding gears could alter the speed the waterwheel spins at ?
Say I've got a pond pump that can move 10000litres an hour- that's fixed, I can't alter the flow. I've also got a wheel with certain size buckets and a certain weight, I can't easily alter that. If those 2 things cause the waterwheel to spin too fast, adding cogs/gears would only control something I was using the waterwheel to drive ? I don't need this to drive anything, I just want the wheel to turn and to make a splashy sound. 
While looking for waterwheel pictures last night, I stumbled across a handy website. This guy sells bit to make your own waterwheel. One of the things he sells, is a brake to slow waterwheels down.




Looks like a fairly straightforward way to add friction if required.

Been coughing like a champ since using this awful iroko again.




Even wearing a mask, with air filter running, my lungs feel like I'm smoking 20 cigs a day. So glad I stopped using this and switched to sapele/utile for most jobs.




I did a test fit with the metal rings. As you can see they really are an awful shape




One of them went on relatively easy, the other I think I could get on, but don't think it'd come off again so I'll leave that until it's ready to stay on permanently. I need to flush trim the outside of the wheel to the newly router diameter. I'm hesitant to use a router cutter cause iroko being so abrasive just kills them. I might use the spindle moulder and a rebate block instead if I can manage the awkward size.




I hot glued the wheel to my bench to do the routing, it's safe to say the hot glue did it's job, almost too good. I've ripped the ply bench top in a few places trying to remove it.
The worry thing is the waterwheels getting smaller the more I work on it.




The mdf fins are the maximum size I could get from my iroko dog ends. I like how it might look, just hope I'll have enough flow for it to turn.
Mike, does the bucket position seem about right regarding the 4.30 position ? I've put my foot where I think it looks like it should start emptying.
Cheers guys
Coley 

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## Mike Jordan (6 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
That looks great to me, I agree about the need to dodge the Iroko dust, the truth is that it's only great advantage is that it lasts for a huge length of time in outside use. 
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (6 Oct 2016)

Thanks Mike. Do you think the pockets look big enough though ? I guess it's the flow of water against the first one it hits that causes it to turn, not the pockets filling up ? 

Coley


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## Mike Jordan (6 Oct 2016)

It's the weight of water on one side of the wheel that makes it rotate, each litre is a kilo so not a lot is needed to make it go. I've never dealt with a wheel that size but if we assume that it's well balanced and running true I think it will work brilliantly with just a small flow of water. It's the total weight of all the pockets contents on the descending side of the wheel that provides real power. Isaac Newton is in charge of that bit of the operation! 
I'm not sure about the steel tyres, if they are not a good fit and run as a true circle they may not add to the appearance. 
It's looking good so far. Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (6 Oct 2016)

Mike, I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I don't feel like I'm working on my tod making it. 
To be honest I hadn't considered how the steel rings might look when the wheels spinning. It's relatively flat, perhaps when the wood swells a bit it might even out the humps. I'll take your advice on board and not screw them on till I see it spinning.
I flushed trimmed the outside earlier




The routed bit ran against the bar. Each revolution it trimmed it closer and closer till it was flush




A while ago I machined a load of 40mm dowel. I planned on making something from it but this is a little more urgent in terms of making space in the workshop. I can't decide whether I should splash the cash on some timber to make the spokes prettier or just use em. The latter's what I'm leaning towards








The hubs the other issue at the moment. If I had another pulley, like the one in the pic (it came off the saw shaft) I think it'd be fairly easy to weld some pieces of metal for the spokes to bolt on. It'd be a lovely fit on the shaft....If only I had another !!!!
I'm gonna try for a big push on Saturday. It'd be nice to think the wheel being assembled at the end of the day.

Coley

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## JakeS (6 Oct 2016)

ColeyS1":36wxdyr7 said:


> Ta for the explanation regarding the gears. Perhaps I'm just being a numpty but I don't understand how adding gears could alter the speed the waterwheel spins at ?



Ah! Sorry, I got you mixed up with Mike Jordan for some reason!

If you want to slow the speed the wheel spins at, then you need to introduce some resistance into the system. Gears aren't necessarily the best option there, but there is a way to shoe-horn them in if you fancy a bit of extra engineering challenge!

(I suppose you might want to avoid something simple like a screwed-down block on the principle that anything that introduces friction can potentially wear and/or make unpleasant noise, but realistically it's probably a perfectly good solution.)

If you follow the gear-train approach in the opposite direction, from big to small, then you end up with a small gear which has less torque than the drive gear but moves faster. If you put paddles on that as well and dip it in water somewhere (e.g. at the same level as the water under the wheel, but inside the housing?) then it will introduce a bit of resistance from trying to move through the water, but not enough to overcome the drive of the main wheel driven from the water falling across it. You could then adjust how much resistance it offers by varying the gear ratios or simply moving the gear into or out of the water a bit more. The energy has to go somewhere, but with this approach it gets dissipated into more splashing noises that probably won't be audible over the noise of the main wheel turning.


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## Mike Jordan (6 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I think the round spokes will look good. How will you fix the spokes to the outer rim, machine a flat on the outer ends of the spokes and screw through?
I've used the last of my teak off cuts for another small wheel to have another go at a water mill, I have some ideas for moving figures using magnets and more involved movements. If they work out I will send you some pics.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (7 Oct 2016)

JakeS":2ti586lu said:


> ColeyS1":2ti586lu said:
> 
> 
> > Ta for the explanation regarding the gears. Perhaps I'm just being a numpty but I don't understand how adding gears could alter the speed the waterwheel spins at ?
> ...


Oh I see ! Your solution sounds amazing and would definitely add some interest if the inner part was spinning aswell. I think I'd have a nervous breakdown though trying to put it into practice 
I'm fascinated by gears and cogs. I like the steampunk look of things but trying to find second hand cogs that'll work with others make most ideas not possible. You seem to have a good understanding of them. Is it something you've picked up along the way ?

Coley


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## ColeyS1 (7 Oct 2016)

Mike Jordan":20bg42nm said:


> Hi Coley
> I think the round spokes will look good. How will you fix the spokes to the outer rim, machine a flat on the outer ends of the spokes and screw through?
> I've used the last of my teak off cuts for another small wheel to have another go at a water mill, I have some ideas for moving figures using magnets and more involved movements. If they work out I will send you some pics.
> Mike.


Exactly that Mike, I think that would be the easiest option. I like how you've took the motion from the waterwheel to operate things. 
Forgot to mention, the dog/cat house in your pic also looks great. What other stuff do you make ? - not that I'm thinking of borrowing some more of your ideas  

Coley


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## Mike Jordan (7 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
The cat house was featured in an article I wrote for good woodworking so it's already public property, I should be able to find a set of plans if you needed them. I've knocked the magazine articles on the head for now since two of the magazines like to reuse your work without payment. The exception being the WaterWays World magazine they had one of my articles each month for more than two years, I have since turned a number of the article into a book, it's failed to make my fortune but is still selling on Amazon. My friends in the boat fitting game snatched a copy each and I have found my designs being made in lots of places!
The prices charged by boatyards would sometimes take your breath away, so I still make a few bits for local fitters.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (7 Oct 2016)

Whats the name of your book, if you don't mind me asking ? Does seem a bit naughty that they haven't been paying but happily been publishing your material.
After you mentioned about the buckets filling to turn the wheel, I found this picture




Looking back at the picture of my layout I think I might need to make the buckets bigger....somehow. The ones in the above pic look like the're really brimming, mine look tiny in comparison.

Coley

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## Mike Jordan (7 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I think that times are not so good in the world of magazines generally, subscriptions are a discressionary purchase and people have been looking to save money and just buy the occasional magazine. The net must also be a factor, you can find plans and instructions for all sorts of things totally free. It doesn't seem to have registered with the magazines that they are contributing to the decline by posting articles on line. The book is "Narrow Boat & Dutch Barge Joinery Designs for Boat Fitters" ISBN 978-095768240-5
The top wheel design looks closest to ours, the others look as if they hold a lot of water and deliver a lot of power. How wide do you intend to make your wheel?
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (7 Oct 2016)

I don't think you will need to do it but it would be possible to add a retaining lip to the front edge of each compartment. We are after all only spinning the wheel for ornamental purposes rather than delivering power.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (7 Oct 2016)

I'll have a looksie for your book later, I'm always after an interesting read.

Well the width will be governed by a few things. The dogends for the buckets are about 2ft but I think the shaft will mean it has to be shorter. I've got some more sapele offcuts of t and g but I think I've only enough to do about half, and they are only about 12 inchs long. I do have a stash of oak t and g which would be wide enough for any size but I was hoping not to use it on this.

The outer lip suggestion is just pure genius !!! I was considering rounding the front edge of the bucket to make it look prettier, but I think I'd be better off leaving it straight, incase I need to increase the capacity by adding a lip. 
That's a really neat way without much effort to increase the capacity. Cheers Mike 

Coley


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## ColeyS1 (8 Oct 2016)

Changed the planer blades and planed up this awful stuff.
Had a quick measure and I'd have bang in enough boards if I used the sapele offcuts. The downside being the wheel would have to be alot narrower to accommodate them. 
I've decided to dig into my oak pile instead 




Chances are it'll only sit gathering dust for years. Atleast I can make it as wide as possible, more water in the buckets, and not have to worry about scrimping and scraping short bits.

Coley 

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## Chrispy (8 Oct 2016)

Very interesting project you have going, a thought I just had, is this for a pond with fish? if so you may want to soak the wood off first, some how I feel with all this tannin rich wood your using you may end up with a strong tea coloured pond. 
Keep up the good work.


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## ColeyS1 (8 Oct 2016)

Chrispy":2tpkheci said:


> Very interesting project you have going, a thought I just had, is this for a pond with fish? if so you may want to soak the wood off first, some how I feel with all this tannin rich wood your using you may end up with a strong tea coloured pond.
> Keep up the good work.


Probably gonna sound daft but it's gonna just go on the end of my shed. 
I saw this pic and just liked the scene.




I'm hoping sitting in the shed, reading a book hearing the waterwheel splashing will be a nice retreat from the everyday chaos that is life. Good point regarding the tannin though.Thanks for the words of encouragement  
Rather than wreck a router rebate cutter I used an old cutter and bush- a little naughty but I locked the height so it could accidently hit the bush




I wanted to form a rebate for the t and g, which should cover the mortice holes




Out in the timber rack and I noticed an offcut of newel post that was leftover from a renovation job.




If it was bigger I could mortice the spokes into it and hopefully gently slide it onto the shaft.
One things lead to another after that, I think it should work.




If I slice of the end of an old brake disc, I think I could use it to slip over the wooden spindle. Also.... if I can drill them I could add a few addition bolts to the spokes to hold it nice n rigid.




It'd be nice if I could find some wood for the spindle, that would be big enough so the brake disc fit snuggly around it (after the disc end with the holes is ground off)
Now I've had my lunch I think the next stage might be to attack the disc and see if it likes having holes drilled in it.

Coley

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## ColeyS1 (8 Oct 2016)

It cuts




It drills really really easily, even without coolant




Nearly had a melt down when I noticed the shaft isn't consistently parallel 




It's 51mm on the ends but the bit in the middle gets smaller. Having a square hole in the spindle would mean one end will be wibbly wobbly.




After a bit of head scratching, this would fix the sloppy end. I'm now wondering if I should make the square hole oversized and have an amount of adjust each end.




Not the best choice of material for the spindle but perhaps if I've adjustment both ends it wont matter as much.
One things for sure- there's no way in a million years this will be assembled by the end of the day :lol:  
Coley

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## Bm101 (8 Oct 2016)

Keep it up Coley. This is a fascinating project.


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## ColeyS1 (8 Oct 2016)

Bm101":23md6vi5 said:


> Keep it up Coley. This is a fascinating project.


Thanks bud, I thought by posting almost as it happens someone might catch me about to make a cck up. 
The morning went reasonably well. I set the spindle moulder up to put a 45 degree bevel on the spindle. Then one thing led to another....again. The two parts of the spindle I planned on making in two parts, then bolting the two together




I was about to turn the spindle moulder on but realised I needed to counterbore the waterwheel spindle beforehand to accept the bolts that'll hold the two parts together. Thing is, I didn't know where the bolts could go, cause I didn't know the width because the bearing were stuck fast on the saw blade shaft




No amount of heat or fkin peed right off aggression :lol: , would release the nut.
Angle grinder time




Not sure why but I really didn't want to damage the nut or the thread. Once the nut realised I meant business it gave up hanging on.




One of the bearing was packed with dry grease, the other was all moist and spun really freely. Not sure if I've done the right thing but I've scraped off as much of the grease as I could, then used 'gunk', a grease remover and pressure washed em off.




I've lit the fire to get the moisture out of them, not because I'm cold and watching the footy  




I'd like to have removed the lump on the end that the saw blade clamped against. I can't see how it's joined so can only assume it's part of the shaft.- this will limit the width of the wheel which is another reason to feel grumpy. -(I'm grumpy, I haven't got a stranger living with me who's miserable that I like to feel)  
Dissapointing afternoon. Was looking forward to a day of wood bashing, instead got covered elbow deep in grease. 
Are bearings fussy when It comes to regreasing, or will anything do ? The dried up bearing works better just dry, now that the dried up grease is gone.

Coley 

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## ColeyS1 (8 Oct 2016)

Just had a thought. The spokes could be like the sides of a toy diablo. At an angle but still allow a wide waterwheel 

Coley


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## ColeyS1 (16 Oct 2016)

I ordered some marine grease for the bearings but general purpose grease was sent by error. The proper stuff turned up yesterday so last night I began syringing it into the bearings








I thought I did a fairly thorough job but this morning I noticed gaps between the ball bearings




Other than wasting grease is there any reason I can't pop the cover on and fill right up until it starts oozing out ?
The bearings seem stiffer to turn now, so I'm still unsure if I should make it narrow and straightforward, or tapered so the buckets hols more water :lol: 

Coley

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## morturn (16 Oct 2016)

Is that good practice to pack a bearing fully with grease? I read somewhere is may cause failure, although cannot remember precisely why.


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## ColeyS1 (16 Oct 2016)

morturn":3dzzjkn4 said:


> Is that good practice to pack a bearing fully with grease? I read somewhere is may cause failure, although cannot remember precisely why.


I'm not sure to be honest. I think it must need to be filled right up cause the grease access hole looks like it just puts it in the middle void, no where near the bearing.




I do wonder whether I should have used a thinner grease, if such a thing exists ?

Coley

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## morturn (16 Oct 2016)

I would imagine that it is not going to be subject to high loads or speed, so it should be ok I would think.


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## Mike Jordan (17 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I've just caught up with you and read through the last page of posts, I must admit that those bearing are a concern to me, with the care you have taken with them I would have expected them to rotate without any resistance at all! 
They would have been under much greater stress as a saw spindle than the gentle rotation of a water wheel, I think they are of much more then adequate size but are they worn I some way that's not obvious? I've replaced bearings on woodworking machines when they have developed a rough and lumpy action without showing any sign of play or contamination by dust etc. They are normally to cheap to bother with and easy to replace.
I have an idea for the entire of the spokes if you haven't already completed them. Did you manage to drill the brake discs.?
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (17 Oct 2016)

Thanks Mike, I've been busy pushing on another project so this hasn't had much done since the last update. 
Hopefully tomorrow I'll remount them on the shaft, perhaps but a massive saw blade back on and see how it spins. I think I probably haven't greased them properly. From what I can make out there's two layers of ball bearings- I've only been able to lubricate the top layer by injecting with a syringe. 

The brake discs drill easily, just haven't got around to it yet. I'm open to suggestions though 

The dimensions of the bearings are 120mm outer diameter, 55 mm inner diameter and 30mm thick. If it wasn't gonna cost the earth I'd replace them, but I've just got a feeling they'll be mega bucks


Coley
Edit. Just got the hair dryer on it to see if a little heat might make the grease a bit runnier. Something seems to be happening as it seems to be turning easier and big voids where the grease once was have started to appear 




Perhaps it's making its way to the next layer of bearings :?


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## Mike Jordan (17 Oct 2016)

Hi Coley
I'm sure you are right about the cost of the bearings, the problem of this type of job is that it consumes mega man hours! My next a mill house is waiting for a few bits from my sons laser cutter and delivery of others from Amazon, enthusiasm is a bit slow as well.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (22 Apr 2017)

6months have passed- sick of seeing it unfinished :lol: 
Now the sheds finished, I need this to see how it'll fit on the end of it. 
So glad I had this thread to look back on.




Made a quick jig so I could flush trim it onto the proper jig.












Fingers are tingling from the iroko, despite wearing gloves and a mask, so glad that routings finished.
Need to figure out how wide to make it next. Almost starting from scratch cause I haven't a scooby doo what the plan was. Ha
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (22 Apr 2017)

Hi Coley
Pleased to see you are back with the waterwheel! by coincidence I've just finally completed the one I was working on last year, Its only a 330mm diameter wheel but it works the little figures very nicely using the nomidium button magnets beneath the floors and in the base of each of the moving figures.
They have been working for a couple of days now and although I think I may make a few adjustments, the method is easy to use and works well.
I made the floors out of 5mm thick white Perspex to cut the friction down and that seems to have worked . I've made a few mistakes with the mechanism under the floors but now I know the method works I can tidy those up. 
Ill put the camera on charge tonight and post a few photos tomorrow.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (22 Apr 2017)

Sounds interesting Mike ! I'd quite like to see the pictures to see what you've been up to. 
I'm a little concerned my wheels gonna look quite small, compared to its surroundings. The possibility of it turning/powering something, might help it fit the gap on the end of the shed a little better.
Strangely everything seems to be going smoothly since the 6 month break. Not sure whether its cause I'm not as anxious about making it, or perhaps I just want it out the shop :lol: 




I've got my overall width of the wheel to work with now, so it's back to woodworking. I was pleasantly surprised that both bearings went on the shaft fairly easily. I've lost a couple screws that hold the grease covers on.If that's the only thing that's gone missing after 6 months, I'll be happy.
Cheers
Coley


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## Bm101 (22 Apr 2017)

(Yay!) =D> And the whole interest in the boat varnishey stuff becomes clear.


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## n0legs (23 Apr 2017)

'Bout time you got back to this :lol:


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## Mike Jordan (23 Apr 2017)

Hi Coley
Sorry to say my promise to post pics has come to nothing, the old computer that I understand sufficiently to compress photos and send them is on the fritz. The laptop is OK for access but I am clueless about sending photos with it. I will give it some effort!
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (23 Apr 2017)

Bm101":2p0yvuwe said:


> (Yay!) =D> And the whole interest in the boat varnishey stuff becomes clear.


 :lol: it's a bit like searching for the holy grail ! I'm thinking I must have decided to let this weather naturally-I've found a box with bzp bolts, but strangely stainless steel dome head nuts.


n0legs":2p0yvuwe said:


> 'Bout time you got back to this :lol:


I'm dreadful for starting projects and leaving them unfinished :lol: 
I'm gonna try and keep plodding away at it now  
Tackled the brake discs this afternoon 





Couldn't figure out how to accurately mark the position of the holes directly on it, so made an mdf jig




Small pilot hole to start with




Followed by an 11mm hole to allow a bit of wiggle room.




That's a job I was dreading, but it drilled quite easily. The discs have tiny blobs holding each side together. I managed to catch a few of the blobs, which caused major wibble wobbles on a few holes. Hopefully there will be enough slop that it won't matter.




Next job is to make the shaft- see you again in 6 months :lol: 
Cheers
Coley


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## ColeyS1 (23 Apr 2017)

Mike Jordan":2d1ddxq0 said:


> Hi Coley
> Sorry to say my promise to post pics has come to nothing, the old computer that I understand sufficiently to compress photos and send them is on the fritz. The laptop is OK for access but I am clueless about sending photos with it. I will give it some effort!
> Mike.


O.k Mike, I'm sure you'll master it.
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (23 Apr 2017)

Hi Coley
I'm hoping this is of some use, if the photos appear I will follow up tomorrow with details of what they are.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (23 Apr 2017)

Well I've doubled up on some and missed this one , I'm off to the local pub to celebrate a partial victory.
Mike. attachment=0]Watermill No 2 009.jpg[/attachment]


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## ColeyS1 (23 Apr 2017)

Wow wow and wow some more Mike !!!! The bloke on the rocking chair looks amazing! How on earth do you come up with the ideas ? I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pester you for a video next please. Can't wait to see it in action. Absolutely awesome !!
That bloke on the rocking chair looks really comical. 
Thanks for posting the pics  
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (24 Apr 2017)

Hi Coley
The figures are 1-12 scale figures intended for use in dolls houses, made by a company called Leylin and sold on the internet. you get 7 fully dressed figures for about £11.00 They look much better than the wooden figures I made last time. The photos show the front and back (with the back panel removed) On the top floor there is a figure ironing and a cat, kitten, and hedgehog moving round in a circle, they move about 25mm for each rotation of the wheel. On the bottom floor the rocking chair rocks while the small child figure just moves forwards and back. The magnets that show how things are operated can be seen in the last photo. The magnets run on sheets of 5mm white Perspex.
I may have to send the video to your email address the same as last time. Feel free to post it if you think its worth it, there seems to be some interest in waterwheels! 
My last effort has been given to a neighbour who is not concerned about moving figures and just wants to run the wheel as a decorative feature in its own right.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (26 Apr 2017)

Hopefully this is a pair of videos. They are a bit jerky but the best I can do for now.
Mike

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpAoBm8YKmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0-kdGks3Qw


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## ColeyS1 (26 Apr 2017)

Mike, I'm gobsmacked ! Words can't describe [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH] I laughed out loud when I first saw the rocking chair start rocking with the old boy sat in the chair. It's just brilliant ! I love everything about it. 
Thanks for getting the videos up. So do all those figures move about from just that one cam that's creating a forward and back motion ? 
I'm not sure anybody could better that, ever.
Cheers
Coley 

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## mayo.mick (26 Apr 2017)

That's brilliant Mike, well done!


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## Mike Jordan (26 Apr 2017)

Thanks for the kind remarks lads. In answer to your question coley yes it's just the excentric wheel that operates the figures. The animals going round in a circle have magnets on a toothed wheel that gets a push with each stroke. As you can see there is very little water needed, if more is used it tends to get thrown about as it comes off the wheel but everything moves faster.


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## ColeyS1 (28 Apr 2017)

It's certainly a masterpiece Mike. The only obvious difference from mine to your is the length of the spindle shaft. I'm guessing your goes right through with the cam on the end ? Mine just ends pretty much flush to the bearing - the only way to increase it would be to weld a bit on, which doesn't sound easy. I'm not gonna dwell on that too much just yet. I'll concentrate on getting a spinning wheel, then look at adding movement to it afterwards.
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (28 Apr 2017)

Thanks again! There are a lot of wheels on the net who's only job is to look good, so that's a good starting point. With a wheel the size of yours you might think of a full size rocking chair or swinging garden seat when time allows. I think the saw shaft will mean that the bearings are a suitable distance apart to ensure that the wheel is well supported.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (28 Apr 2017)

Mike Jordan":zl3xmty4 said:


> Thanks again! There are a lot of wheels on the net who's only job is to look good, so that's a good starting point. With a wheel the size of yours you might think of a full size rocking chair or swinging garden seat when time allows. I think the saw shaft will mean that the bearings are a suitable distance apart to ensure that the wheel is well supported.
> Mike.


Ha, I've actually got a rocking chair I rescued from the tip. I repaired it and painted it up so it's weatherproof for outside, the only thing is, its so bloody uncomfortable ! Should have left it at the tip :lol: Are you settled on your waterwheel now, or have you got other ideas floating around ?

Coley 

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## Mike Jordan (28 Apr 2017)

I'm pleased with the overall result and I'm hoping that it will keep going through the summer. Unless I can think of any minor additions I will be taking it back into the workshop before winter to see if the moving parts have worn or need any improvements. It's been enjoyable to make and a welcome change from boat building jobs. I'll be interested to see how you go on with the larger model, the sound and sight of the water is enough to make an attractive garden feature on its own.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (29 Apr 2017)

I did a tiny bit more to the wheel this morning.




Planed up the wood for the shaft.




Drilled lots of holes for threaded inserts- its got 22 overall. 16 that clamp onto the shaft, and 6 that bolt the two halves together




Cut the larger bits with a 45 degree bevel




Glued the small bits to a bigger bit.








Bolted the two halves together.




Then morticed the ends for the spokes.




I need to make caps for each end to hold the spokes in place.




Went to do a 10 minute job and dinner time- ended up taking the rest of the afternoon :lol: 
It's slow progress !
Tenons on the spokes next.
Coley


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## ColeyS1 (2 May 2017)

Wood of life":dgv8168r said:


> I have no experience of this - but will be following with interest.
> 
> Good luck


Thanks pal.
I managed an hour in the workshop on Sunday and tenoned the ends of the spokes.








I need the tenoner set for a few days so was fairly important I got in first with this.
Yesterday was alot more productive....and enjoyable.








Squared up the sides of the tenons.




Marked the position of the notches to fit against the rings




Trench cut on the chopsaw for the notch.




Made a quick jig for the bandsaw to prevent the round bit from turning as it's cut.


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## ColeyS1 (2 May 2017)

Cut some angles on the ends while I was over on the chopsaw. I'd have prefered round ends, this was just quicker.








There's a bit of a gap on the notch. I did consider drilling a hole to match the round, but didn't think it was worth the headache of it tbh.




Drilling some holes to accept washers.








Drilled a mega sloppy 12mm hole for the 10mm bolts. 




The brake disc goes on the other side. I thought it'd be worthwhile seeing if the holes lined up.




I've drilled some holes in the end of the tenons to keep it pulled in tight to the shaft.




Measured the gap which gave me the measurements for the fin lengths. 
Last thing was cutting the boards which go around the inside of the ring.
I reckon I could finish the wheel if I did it today. - its tempting, very tempting !
Cheers
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (2 May 2017)

Hi Coley
It's looking very good, and huge compared to my toy version. I'm looking forward to the video of the wheel spinning while you take a well earned rest in a deck chair listening to the soothing sound of the water!
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (3 May 2017)

Mike Jordan":22kan3ii said:


> Hi Coley
> It's looking very good, and huge compared to my toy version. I'm looking forward to the video of the wheel spinning while you take a well earned rest in a deck chair listening to the soothing sound of the water!
> Mike.


Thanks Mike. I've came to a full stop now as I'm having a rethink. The wheel is made though.




Slats and boards cut to length. 




Trench cut the boards to form the rebate.








The ends of the boards needed am angled cut to fit better against the inner circle.




The metal rings should have gone on fairly easy- one needed a few gentle taps, the other..








It was truly horrific ! I nearly caught one of the wheels on fire trying to heat the ring :lol: it's still not fully on, my only hope is the summer heat shrinks it loads and I can have another go. I must have taken over 2 hours trying to get that bloody thing on.




Started fitting the boards and the slats. Each slat needed individually fitting cause the angle changed, depending on where it landed on the board.




Once the slat was in place I drilled as far as I could with a normal lip and spur, then joined the two up with a long twist bit. On the 8th and final slat the drill bit came straight out the side :lol: luckily I had a few spare.




The boards tgv boards were left over from a job. I boarded half way, then tried working out how much I needed to lose to make them meet. I planed 1mm off per board after that hoping they fit together at the end.The last board is 10mm narrower- not sure what happened there :lol: 








The other side dropped on remarkably easily.




I put a couple threaded bars right through, and then moved it onto the floor to work on - its quite heavy!


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## ColeyS1 (3 May 2017)

I was looking forward to fitting the spokes. 





I screwed a spoke onto the hub and dropped the brake discs on over.
The threaded bar was already in place so I hooked on the spoke and hub




The first was the worse, everything after that was much easier












At this point everything was still loose. It was only the threaded bar stopping the side from falling off.




I worked my way around the wheel tightening each nut- it was fair creaking and snacking as I began torqueing em up :lol: 




Seemed all was going well, until-




I couldnt get access to the end bolts that needed to bolt on th shaft- balls. I undone the brake discs and moved them out the way near the middle of the hub.




I wound the outer bolts so they were all in the same position, then inserted the shaft through the hole. 90 degree turns equally on the ratchet and the shaft was secure.








The pulley that originally ran the saw fits onto the shaft where the saw blade was. Mike could we maybe use this to get motion ? 
Pushing the wheel over to the forklift, I noticed the bearings were staying level




That did make me feel slightly more confident that the bearings may be o.k. 




I left the break discs in the middle of the hub so I could still get access to the bolts that clamped against the shaft. Spinning the wheel with my hand, it looked pretty good. I tightened up all the rest, then got a hose pipe to see if the thing would turn.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4fhKh ... p=drivesdk
I was really pleased that it turned with only a hose pipe. I had been looking at pumps that moved 15000+ litres an hour ! The hose pipe filled a 25 litre drum in a tad over 2 minutes 45seconds. 
I glad it can finally be wheeled around the workshop in one piece- I'm getting cold feet about using the tablesaw to mount it on now though....
Cheers
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (3 May 2017)

Hi Coley
The finished wheel looks great! I can sympathise on the fitting of the metal tyre, some years back I made just one ornamental cart wheel using the traditional materials and mostly traditional methods. All went well up to the job of heating and fitting the tyre. I burnt a huge pile of scrap timber in two attempts to get it hot enough. Finally a red eyed, smoke stained woodworker managed to get the tyre in place and put out the resulting burning wheel. It looked good when done but wasn't anything like as easy to do as it looked in the wheelwright video.
Mike.
Just had a look at your latest post!! In the words of Raymond Baxter " SHE FLIES" well done.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (3 May 2017)

Yes I think the Pully will provide power for whatever you want. With that amount of power you might even floodlight it!


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## ColeyS1 (4 May 2017)

Mike Jordan":3snjk97z said:


> Hi Coley
> The finished wheel looks great! I can sympathise on the fitting of the metal tyre, some years back I made just one ornamental cart wheel using the traditional materials and mostly traditional methods. All went well up to the job of heating and fitting the tyre. I burnt a huge pile of scrap timber in two attempts to get it hot enough. Finally a red eyed, smoke stained woodworker managed to get the tyre in place and put out the resulting burning wheel. It looked good when done but wasn't anything like as easy to do as it looked in the wheelwright video.
> Mike.
> Just had a look at your latest post!! In the words of Raymond Baxter " SHE FLIES" well done.
> Mike.


Was the ornamental wheel for your own garden Mike ? I think old wooden wheels look pretty as just ornaments. Trying to fit the ring was probably the most frustrating thing I've ever done, I really thought I'd allowed it slack enough- the g clamp picture suggests different :lol: 

I'm still surprised by how little water it needed. It pretty much filled up an entire pocket but only moved ever so slightly then slowly but surely gained momentum until there was hardly any water in the pockets but it was still turning ! I'm not 100% sure but I think as the wheel got heavier from being soaked from water, it may have slowed down slightly. Is that something you've come across ? 

One of the main reasons for taking a break from this (maybe until the weekend) is I'm thinking it might look better if I put the wheel looking this way -



instead of backing onto the shed.
Excuse the poorly photoshopped pic.

If I have it this way it'll be alot more noticeable when it's spinning. It'll also help keep the water off the shed. One extra bonus is the metal ring that didn't quite fit on could go at the back. If it went this way, the pulley to drive something would be at the back (not sure if that helps or not ?) The water would need to be hitting the wheel on the left hand side, instead of running from the shed guttering straight onto the wheel.The original idea was to have wooden guttering (with a hidden plastic liner) with the water being pumped into that.

My main concern now is its gonna look randomly out of place. With your wheels, you've kind of set a scene and as well as the waterwheel you've got other stuff going on that helps it look settled in its surroundings. Mine will just looked randomly dumped on the end. It almost needs some landscaping going on around it- perhaps a small pond, some rocks etc. Not really sure to be honest ?

On Saturday I may as well attack the saw bench with a grinder to see how it could look with the wheel fitted- worst case scenerio it looks megafugly- Atleast it'll be easier to chuck in the scrap metal skip :lol: 
Cheers 
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (4 May 2017)

Hi Coley
Yes the cartwheel is still hanging on the garden fence. My first question on siting your wheel is 'can you still get into the shed ? To be a bit more constructive, you will need some sort of trough beneath the wheel to contain the water and pump so perhaps combining that with the some sort of A frame for the wheel will allow it to be moved about until you find the best position in terms of appearance. A few potted pine trees or similar might hide anything you don't want to see. That's my only two methods of gardening really - mow it or hide it.
I don't think my wheel runs differently when wet but it is minute in size compared to yours. As I mentioned in a previous post the amount of water needed to run an ornamental wheel is very small, a small fish pond pump runs my wheel and fountain through two adjustable lever taps to control the flow.
Mike.


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## Mike Jordan (4 May 2017)

Just a passing thought (otherwise known as a daft idea) what about a figure about half a metre high digging in the flower trough? Better still perhaps stick with snoozing in a rocking chair.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (4 May 2017)

Mike Jordan":2insf5or said:


> Hi Coley
> Yes the cartwheel is still hanging on the garden fence. My first question on siting your wheel is 'can you still get into the shed ? To be a bit more constructive, you will need some sort of trough beneath the wheel to contain the water and pump so perhaps combining that with the some sort of A frame for the wheel will allow it to be moved about until you find the best position in terms of appearance. A few potted pine trees or similar might hide anything you don't want to see. That's my only two methods of gardening really - mow it or hide it.
> I don't think my wheel runs differently when wet but it is minute in size compared to yours. As I mentioned in a previous post the amount of water needed to run an ornamental wheel is very small, a small fish pond pump runs my wheel and fountain through two adjustable lever taps to control the flow.
> Mike.


Thanks Mike. The door is the other end, so access isn't an issue. 
I think I need to be realistic and wrote the rest of the week off. My thinking this morning, was whatever happens I'll need to cut the saw bench, to either get it to fit, or to chuck it out easier. I was merrily taking bits off the saw table, when a guy who pops in now and again asked what I was up to. I told him the thoughts of the saw table and his reply was 'you can't do that, it's criminal ' apparantly he could pick it up at the weekend and use it as a sturdy workbench.




If I cut it and decide it's not suitable I'll have sleepless nights knowing he could have used it. Grrrrrr !!!
I took of a piece of rusty angle iron this morning and uncovered some raised lettering - I quite like it. 




If I did use it I'd chop the red lines in the picture. I could use your 'hide it' idea to perhaps diguise the right hand side of the table, so the lump would be less obvious. I do wish the chap had came in a day later !!
Do you think it could look nice, old and rusty/weathered, or is it always gonna look like a chopped up table saw ? 
Thanks for the support Mike [WINKING FACE]
Coley


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## Mike Jordan (4 May 2017)

If you have access to a welder perhaps the bench builder will donate some steel angle or HRS so you can do it the easier and lighter way. Just tacking a few bits together is more attractive than grinding castings and it would be tailored to your needs.
Mike.


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## ColeyS1 (4 May 2017)

Mike Jordan":bn31vbte said:


> If you have access to a welder perhaps the bench builder will donate some steel angle or HRS so you can do it the easier and lighter way. Just tacking a few bits together is more attractive than grinding castings and it would be tailored to your needs.
> Mike.


I think you're right Mike. He's better off using it as bench than me trying to palm it off as something it's not.
I've just visited the local garden centre and picked up a pump- that's one less thing to do. 
My friend said it was a shame you've gone to the effort of making it, as you'll never see it unless you're sat in your car- I was sat in the car when he told me this and he's absolutely right ! I've done very little today, but have finally decided on something that should suit everyone.




I need to move the planter that's already there along the concrete block wall- that'll help disguise the bare concrete blocks.
I then need to make a new planter type trough, that'll allow the wheel to sit inside. Perhaps have plants in the rest of it. 




Atleast I'll be able to see it from nearly everywhere, instead of just in the car :lol: 
Just need a decision on the guttering/water route location.

I just need to decide how to make the planter, more importantly see if I've got anything to make it with :lol: 
Thanks Mike, for saying it how it is.
Coley


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## Bm101 (4 May 2017)

Gotta say Coley. _Just_ my tuppence worth mind.
1) After all that work you need to be able to actually see it.  
2) I think your man who wants the bench frame is right. (sorry!)  I do think it would be madness to cut that up. I have a soft spot for stuff like that though. No idea why. I just do. There's no real logic I just think it deserves better after surviving so long on it's uppers.

Right I'll be on me way.... As always, your builds fascinate and bamboozle me in equal measure. Looking forwards as always to updates.

Cheers fella.
Chris


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## ColeyS1 (4 May 2017)

Bm101":3a6tzzp5 said:


> Gotta say Coley. _Just_ my tuppence worth mind.
> 1) After all that work you need to be able to actually see it.
> 2) I think your man who wants the bench frame is right. (sorry!)  I do think it would be madness to cut that up. I have a soft spot for stuff like that though. No idea why. I just do. There's no real logic I just think it deserves better after surviving so long on it's uppers.
> 
> ...



Thanks Chris, appreciate your thoughts and agree 100%. It didn't cross my mind that someone may have wanted it for a bench, until it was pointed out.
He was so so lucky he caught me in time. It's been in the workshop for 10 months on death row :lol: It was literally like the noose on the rope was tied, hinges on the trap door oiled, last meal had, and all that was left was the drop and the neck breaking ! 30 minutes later and it would have got attacked :lol: 




He came round earlier and took it away. He said he had to come and take it today, in case I had second thoughts and started hacking away at it. It's gone to a good home now that's for sure. Happy days.
I found a couple 200litre plastic drums earlier.




I cut them length ways thinking I'll need a bigger water reservoir than soil area. Washed ready for chucking around tomorrow.




I had a quick fiddle on sketchup and think I'll need a double decker type arrangement with the drums. Water reservoir on the bottom, with a shallower tray ontop to grow a few weeds. 




Can't believe I'm making another friggin planter- I really thought the previous long planter was gonna be the last. I'm not even that fond of gardening :lol: 
Atleast this one will be worthwhile. Hopefully it'll do a prettier job of mounting the waterwheel, and I'll be able to see it.
Cheers Chris.
Coley


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## ColeyS1 (1 Jun 2017)

I got there in the end 




Never again !!! It was just so time consuming- the guttering took almost 2 days.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4fhKh ... p=drivesdk
Once it was in position I kept filling the grease cups until I could see it starting to ooze out. The front bearing had 8 cap fulls, the last cap full was crazy- each turn of the cap made the wheel go faster and faster, it must have been metal on metal rubbing somewhere. Trying to slow it down is a problem I didn't expect :lol: 
Cheers 
Coley 

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## Mike Jordan (1 Jun 2017)

Hi Coley
That looks great! You are now qualified to join the Water Wheel Watchers Club, members are required to sit in comfortable chairs with a drink in hand and watch the action. 
I know what you mean about time consuming, it's the one off wild idea that costs a fortune if you start to add up the time spent beating up the brain to sort the little details out. On the other hand how many joiners do you know who have built a functioning water wheel ? Why not put a photo of it on the business cards and see what sorts of interesting work that attracts? 
My little wheel is still working about ten hours a day with the odd dab of oil to keep the figures moving, if it lasts the season out I may be tempted to see what additions can be made during next winter when I take it back into the workshop.
MIke.


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## ColeyS1 (1 Jun 2017)

It's very addictive to watch isn't it Mike. I reckon I lose about 20mm of water a day running it continously (I reckon I've got about 250mm of water height) . A fair bit splashs about when it gets up to speed. 
I reckon the 'odd dab' of oil isn't much if it's running daily. It'll be interesting to see what future additions you come up with !
I've got a few bits to finish off (boxing in the pipe that drops into the gutter etc) then I'm taking a break from it. 
Thanks Mike
Coley

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## Bm101 (1 Jun 2017)

Brilliant! Love it. It's a proper beast. Look at it go! :shock: You should wire that up to an induction motor *mumbles a bit to cover complete ignorance of owt electrical* and generate your own electric (_possibly_).


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## ColeyS1 (2 Jun 2017)

Bm101":1zo1jqym said:


> Brilliant! Love it. It's a proper beast. Look at it go! :shock: You should wire that up to an induction motor *mumbles a bit to cover complete ignorance of owt electrical* and generate your own electric (_possibly_).


Thanks bud. Ha ha, I like your thinking ! Frwee electricity for everybody that supply a 12v bicycle dynamo :lol: 


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## n0legs (2 Jun 2017)

That is freaking awesome Coley =D> =D>


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## Mike Jordan (27 May 2020)

Hi Coley. My wheel is now on its fourth season of winding the figures about, apart from having to glue back a loose magnet every now and then and put on a dab of oil/grease it works pretty well. How did your huge wheel fare? Mike


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