Building big wheels for Old Fogey

For my Old Fogey I wanted big (or as David says: huuuge) wheels. I couldn't find some so I decided to try it myself.

I'm happy with the result, although I think the foam of the tires could be finer and less glossy.

Here's how the wheels looks like:

I like to build with wood so I decided to build the rims from wood. I used poplar plywood which is very lightweight. 

Cut out the outer and inner rim parts. As you see I used holesaws of two diameters.

Now use a bolt which fits in the holes of the rim parts and fasten one bigger outer rim part on the bolt. You might use one inner rim part so the bolt doesn't press marks into the wood.

Put it on a drill and use a rasp and sand paper to give it a 'rim' shape like the photo below.

As you see I used two nuts so the whole thing does not loose itself because of the rotation.

Cut a tire out of the foam. The inner smaller rim parts has to fit in the hole of the tire.

I cutted the edges of the inner hole of the foam so the rim fit better. The rims I made are a bit less wide as the tires, so the rim compresses the foam a bit.

Put the rim parts on a bolt and use some glue between the parts. Again I use additionally two parts on the outside to prevent press marks. Mount the foam tire on the half rim. Mount the other rim part and tighten the nut to press the rim together. Don't forget the glue which will hold the whole thing together.

Now mount the bolt on the drill. Let the wheel rotate a bit so you can see if the tire is wobbling and some correction is needed. It should be possible to push the foam a bit to correct the position of the tire. A little wobble is ok, that will be gone after the next step.

You can use a rasp and sand paper to give the tire it's shape. From time to time stop the drill and check the shape.

If you want a simple pattern on your tire you can use the edge of a rasp to make some lines in it.

The holes in the rims are normally too big so you need some kind of a shaft to reduce the hole. You can use a wood dowel and drill hole in it. I found some plastic with the right holes in it.

Finally my Old Fogey has big wheels and looks a bit like a bush plane.

Next time I make the wheels even bigger ;-)