Shine on upper wheels

[goleafsgo_12]

I got my upper wheel machined up today out of 4041 hardened steel, but now im at the point where I have to polish the face. To the touch it feels smooth like chrome almost, its got a nice sheen to it (for steel) but there is still little lines from machining in it. Unless you looks close you cant really see them but since it was cut with carbide and not ground, i was wondering if these lines will be of problem at all to my work. If so I can just sand them out and repolish. Im pretty sure the wheel has to be perfectly smooth true and shiny correct? With no imperfections?

Ryan

[Wray Schelin]

Hi Ryan,

The top wheel "prints" it's surface condition on to any panel you work on. The better the surface quality the better the results. If you have a chrome like polish all of you panels will shine up just like they are chromed. The exception will be only on low crown panels that need very little wheeling.

The same rule applies to planishing hammer dies, Pullmax dies, powerhammer dies, and handheld hammers.

Do you have to go nutty keeping everything in a super shine ? No, but you can compromise and keep your top tool working surfaces always with a fine finish.

Absolute perfection in anything is almost unattainable and you go nuts trying to achieve it.

Wray

[kenklose]

The top wheel "prints" it's surface condition on to any panel you work on. The better the surface quality the better the results.

I've seen that pen ink will leave an imprint (on aluminum at least). Write on a panel with a sharpie, wheel it, then wipe the writing clear - you'll still be able to see where the ink was because it imprinted on the metal.

[rkilgore29]

I've seen that pen ink will leave an imprint (on aluminum at least). Write on a panel with a sharpie, wheel it, then wipe the writing clear - you'll still be able to see where the ink was because it imprinted on the metal.


Marking with a dry erase marker allows you to highlight areas and just wipe the marks away with a rag when you are ready to wheel. This should eliminate any ghost images. It also helps to cut down on the solvent use needed to remove permanant marker.

[goleafsgo_12]

great, thanks for your replies guys. I made the wheel out of 4140 hardened steel, any thoughts on that? Is there a better material I should choose to make the lower wheels out of or is that a good type to use? The upper wheel was 6" diameter and about 2.5" wide. The Frame has a 20x20 (deep, tall) to it out of 2x3x1/4 mild steel tube.

Ryan

[tombsycles]

I guess it depends on what you're doing.
I've never had to do a project that needed to be "bare metal" perfect.
I'm not talking about massive goiders, just little marks you can't snag when running your fingernail over them.
Even projects that were being chromed or painted took some abrasive finishing prior to being complete.
Any marks I've encountered after wheeling were easily removed with a roloc disc, or an orbital air sander with very fine grit paper being careful not to heat the work.
I use a 2" wheel, and while the upper has some little nicks (Caused by what I can only figure are welds I wheeled through), I figured I would "Buff them out" by putting my upper in a lathe and spinning it while flat sanding with my orbital DA with 400-600 grit to knock the high spots off when it marks up my project too much.
When I got the wheel new, the upper wasn't "chrome finished".
It's soft, but works well.
I'm sure many of the perfectionists would disagree, but for what I do, it works fer me!
I've considered Joe Andrews' idea to change to a wider hardened upper though.

When you don't have a fancy-schmancy set-up, you have to adapt.

What do I know?