Gatling Gun Project

[Leo Graywacz]

I had a guy come buy. He is building a Gatling Gun, 1/3 scale. He asked me to build the spoked wheels for him. I figured it would be a cool project to be part of. He supplied me with some Walnut parts. He gave me 16 segments cut on a CNC for the two, 8 segment wheels. He also gave me 40 blanks for the spokes. These had the centers drilled on the ends and a 1 1/2" radius cut on one end that would meet with the brass turned hub.

I started by drilling dowel holes in the end of the segments to form the rim. I used a nylon band clamp to hold it together and put it in a jig that was just a compass to draw two concentric circles on the octagon.

After the circles were drawn I used a band saw to cut out the inside circle. Then I glued up the rim.

http://fototime.com/2BB6632EC5F80A8/orig.jpg

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I got my spoke blanks turned by my turning guy. He did a nice job. Does all his work by hand lathe, no duplicate. This would have been a good job for a duplicator though.

http://fototime.com/485607BC9EE41CD/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/54357FC664AB277/orig.jpg

After the rim was dry I made a jig to sand the inside diameter with my RoboSander Drum, a flush sanding drum. The picture shows the rim in the finished condition. I didn't take a picture of the actual operation:thumbdown: When I did it the outside was still and octagon and I was able to put a few screws in it to attach the rim to the ID circle jig.

http://fototime.com/E808FF51AEEC372/orig.jpg

Then I made a jig to round the outside. This was a circle made from MDF with another larger circle underneath as a base/platform. The smaller upper circle fit snugly inside the rim and I was able to mount it on my edge sander and spin it around until I got the right size. I used a 60 grit belt. I didn't even cut the OD with the bandsaw, just sanded it down.

http://fototime.com/B008CD3CE889FD9/orig.jpg

Then I needed to make the jigs for cutting the angles on the spokes that would go on the hub side. I needed 11 1/4º angles on both sides so I made a jig to cut one side at 11 1/4º and the other at 22 1/2º because I will be referencing it off of the first angle.

I used poplar blanks for adjusting the jig

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My first try the parts weren't wide enough.

http://fototime.com/ECA2BFF9C360C3D/orig.jpg

[Leo Graywacz]

Here is what I got after 6 tries :wallbash: I threw in a spoke for effect

http://fototime.com/620A4E300BF28A2/orig.jpg

After all the testing it was time for the real thing. The test pcs were about .002" wider than the real spokes, so they would end up a bit wider because of the way the jig is referenced. I ran the 16 spokes and as I expected they were to snug, but that is much better than to loose.

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To adjust the spokes for the tightness I put some blue masking tape on the jig and ran all 16 through to shave them down. Still a bit to snug, I couldn't get the last two to fall in place. So I put another layer of blue tape on and ran 8 of the 16 spokes again. Still to tight. So I continued to run 1 spoke at a time and shave off a bit until the fell into place. I had to shave 3 more. The second wheel only needed to have 8 shaved before it fell into place.

Put blue tape here
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http://fototime.com/73439D09A33C36E/orig.jpg

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It's a Wheel !!

http://fototime.com/F2460FD22A19FA8/orig.jpg


Still have more to do. I need to make the round portion of the spokes taper to an oval as it goes out towards the rim of the wheel. I need to drill the holes in the rim for the dowels that go in the end of the spokes. Glue it up and sand it down. Then put a clearcoat on it and put the brass hub on it, drill the holes through the hub into the spokes and bolt them up.

[Keith Christopher]

Ok that's just plain cool.

[John Loftis]

You must have the patience of Job. 11 1/4 degrees! I'm lucky when I find 90 and 45.

Extremely cool. I hope he lets you test fire it.

[Craig T. Smith]

Leo, WAAY COOL! Is it going to be a working model or not? Beutiful work. If you can get pics when its all finished I'd really like to see them, Craig

[Matt Meiser]

Incredible!

[Roy Wall]

Leo -

Add me to the 'stunned' list......just beautiful work tremendous skill. NICE!!!

[Leo Graywacz]

Leo, WAAY COOL! Is it going to be a working model or not? Beutiful work. If you can get pics when its all finished I'd really like to see them, Craig

Working model, yes. I hope that I get to see the finished project too.

[John Thompson]

An excellent piece and as stated you should be credited with patience on top of skill. I don't believe I have ever seen a Gattlin' Gun with walnut wheels but.. in the world of make believe they sure look good. :)

[Leo Graywacz]

Or a shiney brass hub or have the wheel banded with brass instead of steel. But it is going to look sweet.

[Leo Graywacz]

Few more pics with a real camera instead of my crappy cell phone:


Center of wheel - Spoke intersection:
http://fototime.com/A07A1FC399ACCB3/orig.jpg

I put a 8" radius on the end of the spoke so it would fit without a gap:
http://fototime.com/D041244C7E86847/orig.jpg

Picture of the wheel w/a birch background:
http://fototime.com/5D6995D53DF955C/orig.jpg

The brass hub that will go into the center of the wheel, all custom milled, even the nuts and bolts were milled.
http://fototime.com/8F30161B7D47D38/orig.jpg

[Larry LaRoque]

Leo, that is the type of work that shows me what is possible but how far I have to go. That is really amazing! Thanks for sharing with us.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Leo - very impressive work! I am awed by the precision! Looking forward to seeing the finished wheels as well as the completed project!

[Ryan Lee]

Wow...that is way beyond what I could accomplish!

[Leo Graywacz]

I have some more pics. The work is almost complete. I have only to sand a few things, put the finish on and drill the hub holes.

Today I worked on drilling the spoke indexing dowel holes and ovaling the lengths of the spokes.
I also put the hub on, which was a challenge in itself. But as usual, there is a trick to
everything and I figured it out.

Here is the rim. My client gave me a full scale drawing of the octagon with
the circles drawn in. It had an x and y axis line. I had to draw the 8 intersecting lines to
get the 16 holes for the dowels.
http://fototime.com/0CEAB86A8BE6FA9/orig.jpg

Here is a close up showing how the holes line up with my centerlines.
The photo was enhanced because of shadows.
http://fototime.com/F4A2EEFA4CE2135/orig.jpg

Here is my Stanley #59 doweling jig that I used to drill the 17/64" holes
for the 1/4" dowels.
http://fototime.com/A5A04EE158CAF3C/orig.jpg

This is the jig I made to start the ovaling process. The dowel was .550" in diameter and I needed
to get the skinny side to .410" I routed a slot in some birch that was .480" deep and made a shim
that was .070 thick. I clamped the spoke with my Jorgenson clamp and used my sander with 100
grit paper. I sanded it flush with the birch. Then I removed the spoke, put the shim in the end
of the jig and clamped the spoke back in with the sanded side down. Then I sanded flush to the
birch again. Result .410" thick, usually within about .003". I am just as surprised as you.
http://fototime.com/A78C256FB9D80B1/orig.jpg

After the jig I needed to do some hand shaping. And by hand shaping I mean
with an electric RO sander. This is how I got rid of the flats and made them
more ovalish. Finished off by hand sanding with 150 grit to get rid of the lathe
sanding lines.
Here is a crappy picture from my camera phone.
http://fototime.com/9832FEE613EE790/orig.jpg

[Dar Lounsbury]

Would you please post a photo of the completed gun when done. The wheel looks remarkable.

Dar

[Leo Graywacz]

I have made an agreement with the guy making the gun. He said I would be able to get photo's of it. But the one thing I don't know at this time is how long the project will be out. Could be a month, 3 months or a year. If I get pictures I will post them here.

[Leo Graywacz]

I have some final pictures of the wheels. The first pic is one wheel with the hub completed. All the holes drilled and bolts and nuts inserted. I ended up doing the holes on the drill press. Using the front hub as a guide, the back hub was removed and a blow out board was underneath to prevent the wood from splintering when the drill bit exited.

http://fototime.com/DF7925A7503967E/orig.jpg

The second pic is inside the shop taken with a flash. The natural light one shows how the wood is closer in shade to each other and the flash shows the nice character of the wood. In real life you see both at the same time. I just couldn't get one photo to show both.

http://fototime.com/9BBC7EE93609241/orig.jpg

[Bruce Page]

Absolutely stunning Leo.
I don’t think I could do as well with my milling machine!

[John Thompson]

Those turned out extradinary Leo. I hope they keep that gattlin' gun covered in paste wax as rust just wouldn't compliment the carriage and wheels. :D

Extremely well done...

[Gary Herrmann]

That's very impressive work, Leo. The finished result is fantastic.

[Kyle Stiefel]

Leo,

The wheels turned out wonderful. I would love to see the final pictures with the unit completed.

[Brad Wood]

Leo,

The wheels turned out wonderful. I would love to see the final pictures with the unit completed.

yep, very nice... and I'd bet money everyone would like to see them on the final project.. fulfilling their destiny

[Leo Graywacz]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I Gave up the 2 walnut wheels a few days ago. He offered up some more info, not a lot though. He is going to get the brass hubs gold plated. So I had to show him how to get the hubs off the wheel and back on. I really hope he can do this and get everything align back up so they go on. It was a very tight fit with very close tolerances. When I went to put it on I even had a tough time, and I know exactly how to do it.

He doesn't know the time scale of completion. Most of the work is being done the way he had it done with me. Take your time, and do it between projects and give me a nice price. He also said he will be getting a Plexiglas box made for it to protect it. He says he already has made a scale cannon. It just goes into a room in his house.

[Gary Nicholls]

That is some very nice work. Thank you for sharing.

Gary

[John Keeton]

Been watching this project with interest. Great job, Leo. Interestingly, just heard a few days ago of a local fellow that was building a scaled gatling gun - must be a somewhat popular project. I look forward to seeing a final pic - whenever that comes.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jarrod McGehee]

aw man that's cool!

[Leo Graywacz]

Well, he called me today asking if I would be interested in pictures of the finished project. Of course my answer was "hell ya". Only to find out that he still needs to get the metal parts gold plated. I guess this is the last thing that needs to be done.

We both laughed at how it would have been so much nicer if the plating was done a lot earlier before the price of gold soared.

So, I haven't forgotten, just been waiting myself.

[Bruce Page]

Leo, I enjoyed re-reading this thread. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished Gatling gun!

[Leo Graywacz]

Me too. The guy doing this is pretty up there in age. I've been hoping he would have time to complete it. I was surprised to hear from him on a few different levels. Glad to heat he's still kicking.

[Mark Valsi]

Being somewhat of a pessimist, I saw all that fantastic, intelligent, and craftsmanlike work put into something so fragile looking !! All that work and one little slip and it's destroyed !! YIKES !! I hope nothing happens to that wonderful piece of art !!!

[Gus Dundon]

Great work. Great result.Simply amazing!!!

[Leo Graywacz]

The waiting has finally ended. He had some medical issues which he didn't get into. But he did finish his Gatling Gun project, gold plating and all. He sent me a nice 8x10 picture, so I had to take a picture of a picture because for whatever reason I can't get my scanner to work.

Here's the final product.

http://www.fototime.com/B3082E0CDA5F807/xlarge.jpg

[Andrew Hughes]

That's a fine looking smoke wagon Leo.Thanks for taking the time to show us the completed work.Execellant craftsmanship.Aj

[Bruce Page]

I would love to see that in person! Beautiful craftsmanship Leo.

[Leo Graywacz]

All I did was the wheels. I'll be sure to pass those sentiments along,

[Jim Rimmer]

Thanks for posting the finished photo. A lot of the earlier photos are missing now but it is nice to see the finished product.

[Bruce Page]

All I did was the wheels. I'll be sure to pass those sentiments along,

The wheels make the project.

[Leo Graywacz]

I still see all the earlier photos. They haven't been removed from my hosting site and are hotlinked here. You should be able to see them.

[Bruce Page]

I still see all the earlier photos. They haven't been removed from my hosting site and are hotlinked here. You should be able to see them.

I also see them all.

[ray hampton]

now that the gun is finish , may I send my address so the gun will find a good home

[Chris Stephenson]

I must say Leo, you do top notch work. Where in CT are you located?

[Leo Graywacz]

Wow, a blast from the past.

Near Bradley International Airport.

[Mel Fulks]

Those "spokesmen" affirm high caliber work. Even the enemy appreciates aiming high!

[lowell holmes]

Show Off!!

[David Spurr]

Wow, that's awesome!

[Bill Dufour]

If that is a working gun you should have the owner sign off a paper stating you only did the woodwork. You do not want the ATF coming after you.
Bill

[Leo Graywacz]

Not worrying about that at all.