OFFICIAL 2018 Clod Wheel Thread!

[toyranosaur]

All right then: The dreaded gutting of the wheel halves has been.....Trying. Deep hole pocketing is a genuine Bee-yatch (Google it) and I knew this would be the real sucky part, but Dang. Anyway, they will be slower than hoped but that's how it goes sometimes- I've never done anything like these before so probs are not unexpected. Good news is my new method should eliminate hand-finishing these on the lathe so will save about as much time as has been spent trying to optimize these ops, ergo not a huge biggie in the end.

Pics as soon as these ops are proofed & running, ideally mid-week. SHEESH! Chris REC

[toyranosaur]

So, after mush time spent/wasted- Spent, I should think- to gut these acceptably I have started 'Pre-Gut' ops. Basically, rough 1.5" outta the bottom & it'll make my face ops much easier. Also have the Lathe set up to finish the innermost bore. So, feeling pretty good, lots of metal flyin' & the long ones will be pre-gutted today! The shorter ones should be pre-gutted by next Wednesday, & I can start the final ops right after. Guess at wheel tubes being 100% done, by Christmas: That'll be YUGE! Then I can start on the centers, which, unlike the tubes, are right up my alley & will proceed nicely, though not real fast: At least you chaps will start to see the finished product minus the ano, starting around New year's or so. Cheers All, Chris REC

Couple pics showing Pre-Gut progress as of yesterday-

[bigdogrod]

simply amazing, you Sir, are a true craftsman

any sets left unsold?

[toyranosaur]

Thanks so much Mate. I guess a monkey could do these if he had as much time as I've had, though! (Cursethisplacenomonkeysmilie...)

I have ONE set unsold as of right this minute: The total sold has bounced between 77-79 all this time, so my guess of 80 sets total seems Spot-On. HURRY BEFORE THEY'RE DONE ONLY 3 MONTHS LEFT!!!! Not really. Chris REC

[Hywayhauler]

Chris, I emailed you about a set last night.

[toyranosaur]

Mkay, 3 things:

-Off a tad, but short-tube Pre-Gutting will be done by Tuesday latest.
-Hywayhauler, I can't match that name to a real one so PM me & let me know who you are to be safe!
-I need a pair (two) of Brand-New Big Bear tires: Anyone who can hook me up, I'll knock $75 off your bill!

That's it for right now, more soon, Chris REC

[shodog]

Hey Chris, any updates on these babies?

[toyranosaur]

No.

[toyranosaur]

Well OK yes! Friday I finished all gutting of the 'Tubes'. I hadda Pre-Re-Gut the long 'uns once more, as I worried that tool pressure gouging out the last big hunk & finishing to final wall thickness in the same op would mean I'd hafta clamp 'em down tighter that I wanted to avoid distorting the thinner final wall. So, today I begin the 1st of 2 FINISHING ops, one on the mill & a last op on the manual lathe to skim off the inside & give it a nice, Non-Milled finish. At least we're using the word 'Finish', and that lifts my heart indeed!

Boy, you chaps can be Totally assured that this will be the only run of these ever! Dang!

By the way, these are now Officially SOLD OUT. It seems I picked the exact right number at 80 sets total worldwide, it's been dancing between 76-79 sets for a while. Should have the 'Tubes' DONE within, oh, say 2 weeks? I WILL celebrate that night! Chris REC

[hairba11]

Yay! Progress. Be just in time for my birthday! In August


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[toyranosaur]

I see Hairba11 is an optimist! One thing has been decided: Due to the fact that even I didn't think these would take so long, I will be sending a set of complimentary axle nuts with each purchased set of wheels to show that I value your business and patience. Now, I have not decided on what those will look like- As I get time I'll come up with a few different styles & will offer the most popular 2. So stay tuned, I'll throw up some screenshots here shortly. Chris REC

[shodog]

A set of Chris’s nuts are always appreciated.

[toyranosaur]

Last Friday, I began to cut THE CENTERS (DA-da-DAAAA!) ALL mill ops on the 'tubes' are DONE, thank Gawd. I still hafta run a skim pass on the lathe to finalize the tubes, but this will be done a bit here & there whilst the centers are running so effectively they will not be mentioned again!


Now, I'll be starting with the backsides of the centers, with no pattern or anything yet, but those are all the same & should be done in, oh, 12-days-ish & then design cutting will begin: That should pump chaps up a bit, I know I'm stoked to start 'em at last.


Have 3500 screw heads polished, and must get & polish another 1000. The ano looks much nicer on polished heads. This has been very fun to do while other stuff was running & I can't wait until the other 1000 arrive!



Also: It was not mentioned previously, but chaps who ordered extra centers will get a set of screws in the matching color too. I had not thought about that either until recently, but figure it is not 'REC-like' no not include those so another small bonus for those folks.

Nut screenshots still a bit off yet but coming soon. I guess this post is the best news since these started? Cheers All, Chris REC

[mtdriver]

Hell yeah. I still cant get over all the round mill work you do Chris!


But I'll say that you're not as odd as some of the shops I go into nowadays. Ive switched gears from running shops to selling tools for ISCAR. I get to go into shops every day and don't have to deal with their workplace drama! Best of both worlds.


And ALMOST my own boss, but not quite...

[toyranosaur]

Worry not: I am my own boss, but I tried to fire myself about 2 weeks into starting these wheels. But, once I fired myself I no longer had the authority to do so! Ergo, I was back in the blink of an eye. After a few more attempts with the same result, I had to stop trying so as not to get caught in a causality loop & disappear entirely. So it's not everything it's cracked up to be.

Much as it can be a huge pain, I could never leave the shop: But there is no drama working alone, and we both know that's 90% of it. The only thing I miss about working with other people is pranking them with practical jokes: Otherwise, it is Heaven even when it's Hell (Another odd paradox! If this keeps up I'm gonna disappear right in the middle of a sent