This one of the two twin lamps made of wood/steel for a country restaurant. The lamps were made as close as we could to resemble the old west wagon wheels that I could only see on images found on internet. nelson.

Nicely done Nelson.
Finnr

You made the wheel too?

Beautiful job Nelson, simply beautiful.

Frosty

Very nice work Nelson, very nice!

They look very nice.

At the moment I am making a pair of Civil War No. 1 cannon wheels. They will be 57" in diameter and weigh about 200 pounds each.

There are books available on making both real wheels and decorative wheels.

For books on real wheels see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelwright

Edited April 11, 200917 yr by UnicornForge

that is nice, great job! you to unicorn thats cool:)

Thanks Finnr!

Yes Frosty, it was quite a challenge because I had never made a real looking wagon wheel and there was little time. Probably, I did some things the hard way, but the client and I were satisfied. This wagon wheel would have never been functional! We just made sure it look good and it would be strong enough to hold together for a very long time up on the ceiling. Thanks. Nelson.

Thanks Fe-Wood and Chadj. Nelson

Unicorn thanks for book tips. I see you are using pine wood for your wheels. Do you plan to age them? I boiled my green wood to avoid warping and shrinking. After that shaped the components roughly and burn them some, and brush them to get a nice old looking grain. Some cuts, nicks, bleach, etc helped further for that aged look that goes so well with this sort of wheels. You know I made the metal tyre first, knowing I could manage to get a snug fit on my wood. Quite some work, but it worked!

Not pine, it is white oak as per government specification.

Unicorn thanks for book tips. I see you are using pine wood for your wheels.

No I will not age them. I plan on soaking them in linseed oil, and painting them, according to government specifications. These will be functional wheels upon which my Traveling Forge will roll. Aging them would be like buying a new car and spraying the car with fake rust. I prefer to have tools that look like they are in good condition.

Do you plan to age them? I boiled my green wood to avoid warping and shrinking.

Civil War Traveling Forges used the same wheels as No. 1 Canon Carriages.

... Show us your cannon when you`re done. Nelson.

The LH paradigm: items should look as they did during the period you are re-creating and *not* like the ones in the museums with centuries of age on them.

I talked with Dominic Tweedle once at a conference and he was explaining about how they went to great expense and trouble to make all the items for the medieval gold workers house they were restoring in York, UK, look proper for the period---except for one item of furniture that was listed on the original medieval inventory as having been inherited and so that item was aged a bit.

Hi Thomas,
I have to confess I had to google LH to make sure the term was at least half understood. More mistakes as to language misuse probably. Anyhow, truthfully my neuronal activity was not at best to try understanding and finding out more about such deep matters. Nonetheless, I understand exactly what you mean, and can agree and disagree to some extent, but to make a long story short, in my case and I quote myself:

Edited April 14, 200917 yr by nelson

I have a friend who has an OLD wagon wheel with the dish up for a dining room table, He had a piece of plate glass cut a bit larger than the outside tire and a hole cut in the middle for the hub to stick through, it uses a part of a real axle with the skein on it for a center post to support it.

Here are some more sources of information in case you need them:

Rural Heritage has a bunch of books and DVDs on building wheels.
Horse-Drawn Vehicle Books & Videotapes

Windy Hill Woods has books and plans to make it easier to make decorative wood wheels.
Windyhill Woods home page plans for decortive wagon wheels, buckboards, carts, chuckwagons ... I just ordered a copy of their book "Working Wheels" for $30 to see what it is like.

Edited April 13, 200917 yr by UnicornForge

What about that! I think that must be one of the most attractive uses for an old wagon wheel, or for a new one too! I`m so in love with wagon wheels that I plan to make a couple to just lean one on the wall outside and another one against a tree trunk. Well, making a third one for a table sounds pretty good too. Thanks. Nelson,

Irnsrgn

Thanks so much Unicorn, your info is appreciated. nelson.

Thanks so much Unicorn, your info is appreciated. nelson.

That is awsome work! To make a wheel that realistic without a model certainly takes skill and imagination. The patina is perfect.

Hi Buffalo,
Let me tell you, the final result does not show the trial and error process employed, a lot of adjusting till I decent looking scale was achieved. Your state, Wyoming, land of Buffalos, a perfect setting for a wagon wheel huh! You know, I just love all that stuff related to cowboys and indians. Wagon wheels was a concept long spinning in my mind. Finally had a chance to suggest a client making a couple for his restaurant. It was a thrill to have been given a chance to do something I longed to make, and got a little pay for it, ain`t that great .LOL. Thanks for your compliment.

Nelson, U don't mess around when it comes to chandeliers. They look fantastic. I saw something similar in a winery TST Brandy at Mile End Australia - for the lamp shades they had cut the bases out of magnum size champagne bottles, recorked the bottles complete with lable seals and suspended them from the wheel. They had been wired to accommodate electric lights. I saw these 20 odd years ago - the building is now a private school and I have no idea of what became of the lights.
Chris

Hi crispy,
Thanks for your compliments. And I want to thank you too, for commenting about those lamps where they used huge bottles of champagne. Seems to be an excellent idea that I`d like to try some day. nelson.