English wheel one curve only

[Vinnie]

Hey guys,

With my english wheel I tend to always get curves in 2 directions. But sometimes I only need 1, like in the included pic.

Any pointers on how to achieve this.

cheers,
Vincent

 

[Stanglover]

Vinnie, I was only at the early learning stage with my English wheel before I decided to sell it, not enough room in my 9'x10' shed to work!!
I did a few courses and I'd suggest you do the same if you can find someone to teach you.
If you're getting stretch in two directions, then you might have too much pressure in the center of the wheel or the wrong shape bottom wheel. Rolling a single curve like to show is not easy from my own minimal experience.
It's trial and a lot of error until you figure out the pressure and direction you need to travel in to achieve the result you want. It's 90% feel.
Just for the heck of it, here are a few pics of some of my practice pieces. Far from good yet, but a start.
The best pieces I did were the the top and bottom wing tip panels for a Lancaster bomber restoration, but alas, not a flying aircraft.

 

[Vinnie]

Those are quite complex shapes. There are lots of things I’d like to train on but I’m limited on time…

 

[Stanglover]

Those are quite complex shapes. There are lots of things I’d like to train on but I’m limited on time…

Time kills many thing Vinnie. You don't find time, you make time.

I was starting to get better at aluminum gas welding too. My weak eyesight was a limiting factor even with a magnifier and cobalt lens in my goggles. Oh well, it was fun whilst it lasted.

 

[Hemikiller]

A slip roll will give you the section you're looking for. Any metal fabrication shop should have one.

 

[Stanglover]

A slip roll will give you the section you're looking for. Any metal fabrication shop should have one.

Agreed.
I thought about that after the post, Duh!

 

[73MustangCoupe]

I agree with hemikiller, that a slip roller would give you that curve, and probably would be the easiest way to do it. With the english wheel, putting a rubber band on the upper wheel will allow you to add shape to the metal in one direction. When you remove the rubber band, you will add shape in 2 directions. I don't have an english wheel, but I've watched a lot of fabrication videos on YouTube.

 

[Vinnie]

OK, slightly different question then. I created a rectangular panel, curved in one direction. Like so:



It needs to get a little crowne lengthwise to match the roof. I tried using the english wheel but if anything it curved the wrong way like this:



How can I get crown in this thing?

cheers,
Vincent

 

[Stanglover]

As said before Vinnie, my experience is limited and I've not done any wheeling for a long time now.
It comes to trial and error until YOU find the technique. Try different bottom wheels assuming you have a selection and try different pressures. You have the long curve and that's good, but now you need to stretch the center lengthways and work that out to the edges. It's hard to try to explain.
I know a guy who is the lead fabricator at RM Restorations. I don't see him often but I might be able to ask his advice. If I can get ahold of him, I'll let you know what he says.
In the meantime, try try try.
Look at my pics where you can see parts of the pieces that are similar to the shape you want to achieve. That might give you ideas. Try to imagine how I did it. Hope that makes sense.