Solid Rear Axle

Burrell rear axle

OK, this isn’t a solid rear axle like a 1960’s muscle car. This is an actual solid round phosphor bronze bar that supports both rear wheels on the Burrell traction engine. The rear axle is fixed and the wheels then rotate independently on each side. Inboard of each wheel there is a gear that is … Read more

Whippet Trolley Wheels

whippet trolley wheels

Most stationary engines are on a trolley, hence I though I should make a set of Whippet trolley wheels. As it happened we visited Wimpole Hall and there in the farmyard were some vehicles that might give some inspiration. The design that feels more in keeping with a trolley wheel is the one on the … Read more

Front Wheel Assembly

pair of front wheels

Rims turned, hubs machined and spokes cutout, it’s now time for the front wheel assembly. A lot of parts, some errors along the way and so time has gone into the manufacture of all of the parts, now it’s time to enjoy the assembly process. The first step was that I pickled all of the … Read more

Traction Engine Front Wheels

traction engine Front wheel rims

The traction engine front wheels are 70mm in diameter and 12mm wide. The wheel rims have been machined from 70mm mild steel round bar that is 1 inch long. This really didn’t leave any margins for error in diameter or width. I bored the mild steel and then parted them with the thinnest possible parting … Read more

Rear Wheel Spokes

assembled rear wheel rim

The rear wheels of my miniature traction engine needed 32 spokes in total. This is quite a task and so thought I would take you through my process. I started the rear wheel spokes by cutting out the brass blanks on the bandsaw. Cutting thin brass on the bandsaw can be a challenge and so … Read more

Rear Wheel Rim Blanks

rear wheel rim blanks being machined

The wheel rims for my miniature Burrell traction engine. I originally wanted to buy some 4 inch diameter steel pipe with a thick 0.5 inch wall, but I just could not find any and so had to resort to round mild steel. I bought 100mm diameter round bar as 2 off 1 inch long billets. … Read more