Today I started working on the tires and wheels for the first AC Six. The wood used is simple poplar but since they will be painted or dyed, I did not want to use more pricey stock. I will also say that the assembly shown here is my 2nd attempt of completing them. No project goes without some screwup some where and this one is no exception. I looked at the plan and thought that I would change up the tire/wheel mating schema a bit and so only drilled the tire 10mm deep to accept the wheel. The key was to make sure that the axle hole was drilled dead straight and accurate in both mating pieces. Not sure how I screwed it up, but I managed to be off by about 1mm or so. Rather than screw around with it, I chucked the first 5 and remade them as the plan calls for. (Actually the trashed tires were used to test laser the logo and the sidewall tick marks.)
I made the tires and wheels parts on the CNC after bringing the stock to final dimension: Tire, 14mm, wheel, 10mm. Then just ran the file and got 7 clean sets. I always make a couple of extra since a spare or 2 might come in handy.
Next came the sanding and shaping the tire into a final shape before adding the tread to the road surface. For this, I use the layout Dutchy included in the plans for treads. It is a simple layout and will still provide a good approximation of early auto tires. I made a template so I could easily layout the tread design. If you decided to add more treads, the same technique of making a marking template to lay them out uniformily.
Once scribed, use a thin parting tool or the nose of a skew chisel to make the tread profile.
The last add to the tire is the Logo and the side ticks. The logo presented no issue but for the life of me I could not think of how to cut the rim tick marks. I thought about creating a jig for the Dremel tool and using a 1/16" bit to mark them but that would be a lot of finicky trial and error so I finally asked Dutchy and he said "laser". Duh!!!!!! (Thank you Dutchy! Sometimes over thinking gets in the way of progress.) So I made a laser multi part jig and lasered the final tick marks and logos on all 5 tires. .
Here is a side and street contact side view of the lasered tire with rim inserted. On the actual AC Wheel, there is an additional ring where 4 lug nuts secured the assembly to the axel. I added that feature to the model wheel and will add the 4 lug nuts a bit later. I was able to find a circa 1926 Dunlop logo and so went with that. I will dye the tires with India Ink and the wheels will receive the same color treatment as the auto body, once I decide on a color.
I am going to stop at this point and will add more to this Part of the blog soon.
You are really rolling (haha...couldn't resist the pun).
But, seriously, interesting to read the process involved. You noted you will use India ink. How is that different than a black stain (I've used the General Finishes onyx before)? I'm guessing it gives a deeper color?
BB1, I use India Ink for the wheels when I am not using a dark species because it stains deep and uniformly, plus I'd rather pay $5 for a bottle of true black ink that will last me for a number of years rather than $23 for a pint can of GF. Another consideration for me was the intensity of the black hue. The Onyx has more of a deep brown hue to it and no matter how many coats I'd use, it wasn't dark enough for me. I have used regular stain in the past and just like the subtle effect I get with the ink. It's a matter of preference and just something I have adopted. Thanks to you and crowie for the comments.
PapaDave - thank you for the explanation. Cheaper and better for the purpose is a winning combination. Will admit I try to avoid staining as I have not found my results to be satisfactory (e.g., blotchy). For the type of projects I work on, typically I am able to select woods that provide the color contrasts naturally. If I ever need black, I'll hopefully remember this info! Looking forward to seeing the next steps.
