I wondered if this might be of interest to anyone on here who has an English Weeling machine.

I am embarking on a project to produce a set of aluminium wings, front and rear for a classic car. Fortunately I'm lucky enough to have available, patterns in fibreglass so they will be a big help in getting the aluminium ones right.

First thing is to build a station buck from 12mm plywood. The stations were set at arbitrary 7 inches apart and the profile at these positions drawn onto the wood using one of Frosts excellent template gauges.
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The fibreglass wing was placed on the buck to check for accuracy.
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Next a paper pattern was made using cartridge paper placed over the wing and then marking round the outline. This will be used for marking out on the aluminium blank.

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[Edited on 18/2/11 by 2cv]

Always interested in this type of post - have subscribed to it.

[Edited on 18/2/11 by Ivan]

+1

fantastic oh how I wish I had an English wheel, I'd make my own Ferrari!

I want to see how you go from here (about my level of whacking skill )



to this -



[Edited on 18/2/11 by Mr Whippy]

Looks good. +1.

Looks great. I've been thinking of making my own wheel

http://www.chopperweb.net/forum/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=73

Very interesting;
Couple of points though. The Caterham clamshells ARE different than the Genuine Lotus variety.
Notable in that the Lotii ones pose ...Much Less Aero drag...and more importantly ...Much Less... "lift" at speed. No small issue that. This, according to owners who have tested this difference.
Originals are identified by the wee indents/scallops in them, up near the headlights.. to access the hood latches.

If one was to make a concrete Female mould of the Clamshell.. one could pound the ali into the mould.

This technique was used on the making of Ali wheel spats for the reproduction GEE BEE R1.. (No English wheel)
A bit more complex forming job than clamshells.. seemingly it worked to perfection, having seen the resultant units fitted.

[Edited on 18/2/11 by Bare]

superplastic forming is the modern way!

Ooh... love these threads!

Anyone ever checked out Andy Wiltshires web-page? The man can do magic with aluminium! Made me a tank once and I wasn't sure whether to put it in the car or on the mantlepiece!

Webpage Linky

The aluminium blank has been cut out and a bit of initial shape wheeled in. There will be a bit of a delay now while I'm away on holiday! Will pick it up as soon as I return.
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On the face of it, these wings look deceptively simple to make with hardly any serious change in curvature. However they are not straightforward and are actually very tricky. The problem being that as the bulbous curvature is formed it causes a serious bow on the adjacent flat area lifting it well clear of the buck. This necessitates shrinking in the appropriate places to restore the shape. Alter one bit and another piece of the panel that was sitting nicely suddenly decides to fight back and lifts off in sympathy.

Anyway, getting close now and nearly ready for some final trimming prior to working out the shrinking marks and edge wiring. All good fun!
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Very nice work there! This of course looks FAR easier than it actually is. Very much an acquired skill that you can only learn from having a go at it as it's all about the feel of what you are doing. Not that I've ever tried to do it but I have watched someone use one a few years ago. I suspect that it's one of those things that you can either do or not as the case may be!

What car are the wings for anyway?

I really should pop over and say hello some time, and bring a couple of sheets of ally with me too! Lol

quote: I really should pop over and say hello some time, and bring a couple of sheets of ally with me too! Lol

That would be great, look forward to seeing you though perhaps without the ali!!

Quote; What car are the wings for anyway?

I'm sorry I didn't answer your question. The wings are for Dellow trials cars. Manufactured in the early 50s, they used Ford 10 running gear and the chasis were constructed using ex WW11 rocket launching tube. In all, about 300 were built, many of which still survive and compete regularly in Classic trials .
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[Edited on 1/3/11 by 2cv]

Oh, that is brilliant! It would be worth a trip out just to look at that.

You'll have to pm me your address and no. and I'll give you a bell! Now where did I put that sheet of ali?

Ah, sadly I don't have a Dellow. I'm just making a small batch of front and rear wings for one or two Dellow owners.

Sorry to disappoint, but you would be very welcome to pop over for a cuppa and I'll be pleased to show you what I'm up to. Do drop me a U2U if you'd like to.

The wing is just about finished now. I made it from 1050A half hard pure aluminium 16 gauge. It was certainly not the easiest panel I've ever made! The matt area is where I had to carry out some extensive shrinking. This will need working out with a body file and hammer and dolly before the wing is ready for paint.
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Nice work

"This will need working out with a body file and hammer and dolly before the wing is ready for paint."

Your going to PAINT the wings ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

polish them, as they are crying out for a decent shine



Steve

Lovely work!

Just out of interest, how many hours does it take to make a wing like that? I know that as a beginner I'll have to multiply by 10!

Thanks
Hugh

Thank you Andy Steve and Hugh for your kind words.

Hugh it was a very tricky part to make and probably in all it took me about 8 hours.

Blimey - I was expecting longer - I was thinking my 'ordinary' wings would be a couple of days each at least! Mind you, they probably will be for me...

Regards
Hugh

Hugh, I think the secret is to work slowly and try to understand where the shape is needed. Don't let the shape get away from you and as soon as it starts to distort, stop and think about it before doing any more and then try to rectify the problem. It's a complex old business and it's good if you are able to think a few steps ahead, rather like chess.