Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ
It has been a while since I was researching metalwork, but I believe guys were adding structure to the wheel frame to stiffen it up.
For what you are planning on doing you may want to look that up. From what I recall it really needed that to make it more consistent.
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Yes, I've researched this quite a bit before taking the plunge. Even $134 is quite an investment for me so I was a bit leery about making this purchase. Spending $134 on absolute junk is no savings at all! That's very true.
I watched some YouTube videos of fellows who purchased this wheel and did indeed stiffen it up with extra support welding either angle iron or square tubing to the frame. I was actually prepared to do that if required.
One guy also complained that the square tubing that holds the bottom wheel was too small and caused the bottom wheel to flop around too much. He solved that problem buy adding shims to tight up the fit. I was surprised to receive one that fits pretty snug right out of the box. So far the bottom wheel seems to be pretty solid on mine. But I was prepared to address that issue too if need be.
Maybe I got a good one?
All I know is that it seemed to work really well on the scrap piece of metal I tried it out on. If it needs to be beefed up later I might do that. But thus far it seems to be solid enough for what I want to use it for.
One thing that comes to mind also is that these other gentlemen may be trying to push this wheel beyond its intended limits. That's certainly doable by beefing it up. But for what I plan on using it for it looks like it's going to work right out of the box. Only time will tell.
I actually bought it expecting to beef it up. But I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it works as-is right out of the box. It's certainly a great tool to learn on as-is.
I'm not trying to endorse this product by any means. It is an extremely CHEAP tool. Let's face it. You get what you pay for. And I might have been lucky to just happen to get a good one. So I can't guarantee that if someone else buys one they will be as lucky as me.
All I can do is share my experience. And thus far I'm happy with it. But then again I haven't done a lot of work on it yet either. So my impression could change over time. All I can say at this point is that I'm pleased with the initial experience. It seems pretty nice to me so far. I was really pleased with how quickly I was able to make a bowl shape in a piece of scrap metal. So at least I can say that it does what it's supposed to do.
I most certainly hope that it's not nearly as good as more expensive models, because if that were true then a lot of people would be spending too much money.
It's really way too early to say how well this wheel will work. I don't really have time right now to do more wheeling. Other projects in life are already demanding my attention. But I'm looking forward to coming back to it and seeing if I can actually make a specific intentional shape.