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Step 8Adapting wheels to smaller diameter axles or shafts
Wheels (or gears) often have holes that are larger than the axle you want to mount them on. This is in particular the case when you want to mount them directly on the shaft of a small electric motor. The right adapters are not always available.
The sollution is making use of the brass tubing available in moost moddeling shops in "telescopic" sizes. This means the outside diameter fits inside the next tube. You start with a tube fitting the axle or shaft and add tubes untill it fits the hole in the wheel or gear. If you do not arrive at a good fit, drill out the hole to a fitting size.
Cut the brass tubes to a length about equal to the thicknes of your wheels or gears. The tubes can be cut quite cleanly with a snap off knife, with a rolling movement as shown in the video. Do not use a knife you want to cherish, as this will cost you in lifetime of the knife's cuttin edge. You might still have to remove some burs. At the inside you can do that carfully with the tip of the same knife. At the outside you can use a file or sanding paper.
Fit the wheel and tubes "telescopically" and add a drop of superglue. Avoid getting glue in the inside of the smallest tube, unless you want to apply the following trick: if the fit with the axle or shaft is lose while it should be thight do not attempt glueing it on a motor shaft or any other axle already mounted in any bearing. You risk gluing it stuck in the bearing or at least to add a lot of friction. Instead, put some superglue in the inside of the smallest tube and immediatly and forcefully blow it out again with a straw (the latter is to avoid getting glue on your lips). Let it dry out before mounting. The thin layer of glue will provide a tight fit.
The sollution is making use of the brass tubing available in moost moddeling shops in "telescopic" sizes. This means the outside diameter fits inside the next tube. You start with a tube fitting the axle or shaft and add tubes untill it fits the hole in the wheel or gear. If you do not arrive at a good fit, drill out the hole to a fitting size.
Cut the brass tubes to a length about equal to the thicknes of your wheels or gears. The tubes can be cut quite cleanly with a snap off knife, with a rolling movement as shown in the video. Do not use a knife you want to cherish, as this will cost you in lifetime of the knife's cuttin edge. You might still have to remove some burs. At the inside you can do that carfully with the tip of the same knife. At the outside you can use a file or sanding paper.
Fit the wheel and tubes "telescopically" and add a drop of superglue. Avoid getting glue in the inside of the smallest tube, unless you want to apply the following trick: if the fit with the axle or shaft is lose while it should be thight do not attempt glueing it on a motor shaft or any other axle already mounted in any bearing. You risk gluing it stuck in the bearing or at least to add a lot of friction. Instead, put some superglue in the inside of the smallest tube and immediatly and forcefully blow it out again with a straw (the latter is to avoid getting glue on your lips). Let it dry out before mounting. The thin layer of glue will provide a tight fit.
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