Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

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rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

Offering laser cut steel wheel blanks from 3/4" A572-Grade 50 steel plate for your 1.5" scale locomotive and rolling stock needs.

8 pieces 5.43" diameter x .600" axle hole, to model 40" locomotive wheels(5") $73.00 ($7.50 each) *including medium box USPS flat rate priority shipping* to the lower 48 states. Net weight is 39#'s.

Steel wheels will outlast cast iron, machine more consistently, and our laser puts minimal heat into the plate therefore there are no hard spots or inclusions like you find when working with plasma cut plate. I have left .025" to bore out of the axle hole and .060" (.030" cut) on the outside diameter to give you some wiggle room if your lathe is one of those that doesn't hold things very concentric.

Other sizes of blanks are available to machine 28"(3-1/2"-rare) and 33"(4-1/8") Subtract $5, and 36"(4-1/2") wheels as well. Axle holes can be requested for 3/4" or 1" axles at no charge, and/or cut only a few thousandths undersize if you just want to ream them out(the way I do it).

Shown is my 40" locomotive wheel cut in 1" plate, unfortunately the 3/8" holes I tried to include for my lathe hub didn't cut very well and have been omitted. We can hold ~.002" tolerances on plate this thick. We use a powerful laser so edge angle is minimal so these will chuck up in your lathe no problem.

We can provide quotes for other laser cut part requests if you can provide DXF or NC1 files.

The company I work for cuts larger structural and architectural steel parts on our laser and has remnant left on the sheet which typically gets scrapped, so I am able to offer the material at a reduced price and offer these steel blanks for around the same price as cast iron wheel blanks.
wheel2.jpg
wheel1.jpg
laser375plate.jpg
laser1plate.jpg
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

Quotes sent, and first orders shipping out tomorrow.
Our laser cuts fast and parts are cheap! Most of the cost of a part is the plate....and shipping. I've been taking advantage of USPS's "if it fits it ships" flat rate boxes to keep shipping costs down:)
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Fender
Posts: 3084
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 8:33 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by Fender »

Is 1” thick steel plate the thickest you have? I need some steel driver tires with (roughly) 9.5” od and 8” id, about 1.2” thick.
Thanks in advance.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

Hi Dan,
Our lasers maximum cutting capacity is 1" plate. Our shop deals in plate up to 2-1/2" on occasion. We have a 125 amp plasma table that will pierce 1-1/4", and edge start cut 1-1/2. While the laser might be able to do 1-1/8" with an edge start, its very finicky and we haven't tried it thus far.
Probably the best bet for that is to look into if a local service center will hi-def plasma cut you the tires and can use the piece in the center for something else....most often they try to make you eat the center portion when you order "rings". Or maybe someone else on Chaski can use your centers for their wheel blanks:)
I can look into plasma cutting the rings here and flat rate shipping them if you are interested in that. Let me know.
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Fender
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Location: Chattanooga TN

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by Fender »

Thanks for the reply. My alternative would be to cut slices from DOM tubing, which is probably the best choice in my case.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
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NP317
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Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by NP317 »

Fender wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 7:53 am Thanks for the reply. My alternative would be to cut slices from DOM tubing, which is probably the best choice in my case.
That's what I used for the tires on my Mikado.
~RN
Drivers Sept08-#3.jpg
rkcarguy
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Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

If you can find a remnant, that's a perfect way to go. If you had to buy a whole length of DOM tubing it would be cheaper to get rings burned.
rkcarguy
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Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

Orders and quotes sent!
Hope you guys are staying thawed out in the Midwest!
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

I've scaled my AAR Type-A switcher truck sides and my freight truck sides down to 1-1/2" scale, and up to 2-1/2", 3" and 3-3/4" scale, so I have drawings/files of these we can laser cut that accept flanged ball bearing pillow blocks for anyone interested. I've had a few requests for GE 44 Ton truck frames side plates as well, so I am working on a drawing for those.
0351
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Shameless plug for rkcarguy

Post by 0351 »

Rkcarguy has been geat to work with while designing my 3” scale truck sideframes.
His has went above and beyond in willingness to work with me and make changes to the original design. Rkcarguy’s knowledge in scaling and drawing, along with geat communication, has resulted in achieving an awesome end product, at very reasonable prices. Thank you sir!
SemperFi-Curt
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6 (KJV)
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

Thanks for the Kudo's Curt!
So far we've done a set of AAR Type -B switcher truck side frames in 1.5" scale, and we are gearing up to do several sets 3" scale side frames for 4 freight cars and a narrow gage switcher.

Pricing varies with the material utilization, but the truck sides start at about $28 each and really opens up some opportunities for large scale trains on a tight budget for those that don't have much more than a welder and drill press to work with. I have quite a library of drawings I can easily scale for many truck sides and am developing more as time allows, so feel free to inquire.
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Steel Laser Cut Wheel Blanks & More

Post by rkcarguy »

qtrscaletruckfframes.jpg
We just finished these up for a members 3" scale "pumpkin patch" train.
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