DIY Tires Tutorial Completed

[Mysterion]

I was asked to do a tutorial on how I make tires. I'm new to this, but I think I have a simple way to make a tire any size and or shape you want.

For supplies I used the following,

Circle Cutter
Ruler (Wait, what, did he just say ruler?)
Pencil
Tape Glue Sandpaper
.030 Sheet Styrene
1/16" Styrene Rod
Pin Vise and Bits

I decided to make a tire 1 1/4" tall x 3/4" wide.

I marked out two squares 1 5/16" to leave just a bit of overhang.
Mark the diagonals to find the center.



Cut the outside of the tire.





Repeat the process until you have enough cut for all the tires you will need. You need two sides per tire.



Now mark the side for the wheel. Note the arrows marking the top and the word out to denote the outside of each side. You need to remember which way these two pieces align.

The four inside marks are for the wheel, the outer marks on the right side are for drilling and aligning.

[Mysterion]

Hold the two sides together noting which side is up and both sides marked "out" are facing out. I hold the sides together and align them the best I can (if it's a circle, it's pretty easy). Using one of the outer marks, drill a 1/16" hole through both sides, be neat and precise. Hold your fingers or clamp close to the hole you are drilling to keep it tight.



Clean any flash from drilling. Pin the two sides together with a piece of 1/16"rod.



Use the first pin to hold the sides while you locate, drill and pin the second hole, then drill the 3rd and 4th holes and pin them.



Now sand the outer edge of the sides to true them up to one another. Mark the hole for the wheel.

Cut the holes for the wheels, I use a sanding drum on my Dremel.



Seeing as the tire will be 3/4" wide, cut four pieces of 1/16" rod to 3/4". It's important that all four rods are the same length.



One at a time I remove a short pin and replace it with the 3/4" one.




Push the sides out to the ends of the 4 rods. I do this by setting the tire on its side and pushing the tire side down until it hits the table, flip over and repeat.

[Mysterion]

When you are done you should have something that looks like this. Note that the 1/16" rods don't run parallel.



Adjust the rods by twisting the sides until they run parallel.



Glue the rods to the sides and set aside to dry.

I cut the tread just a hair larger than needed. In this case I needed 3/4", I cut 13/16". To find out the length needed, I mark the tire side and a piece paper, then roll the tire until the mark comes up again, mark the paper and measure. Add 1/4" to that.

Use your favorite method for rolling sheet stock. I run it with pressure along the sharp edge of my desk.

You should have a band that looks like this.



Get the band into shape and drop the tire sides into it and wrap it tightly. Play around with it to get the right feel and to work it tight to the sides. Once your satisfied with the fit, you can tape it together and start gluing.

If you note the marks on the tire, I start gluing at the beginning of the band but stop about 1/2" shy of the end. This makes trimming an the final gluing easier. Glue and set aside for a while.



Now I mark the edges and cut the excess. Be careful and precise, a good tight cut will save you a lot of sanding and filler.

The cut is almost through.

A good tight fit.



Once it's dry, trim (if needed) the excess band and sand smooth. What I do is trim it close with Kitchen Shears, then lay sandpaper on a flat surface and constantly rotate the tire as I sand it, this prevents any uneven surfaces.




Now if you are using wheels you already have, all that's left is shaping the sidewalls and tread area with filler. I'll try to do that step tomorrow.

[ira]

[glow=red,2,300]This is GREAT!!![/glow]

Thanks for sharing David!

I have to try making some of these. Looking forward to the next steps...

[Mysterion]

Sorry for the delay on finishing this tutorial. I've actually managed to start a new year with work on the schedule.

Anyway, back to making tires. Now that the base of the tire is done, lets get rid of that boxy look.

First we need to make some contoured spreaders. I like to make them out of stiff paper such as paper plates or the backing of blister packaging.

You need one for the sidewalls and one for the tread area.

The sidewall spreader should be cut deep and with more of a crown than you intend for the finished product (You will lose some of the crown when you sand it smooth). You want a tight fit. Make sure you can run it around the entire length of the sidewall without it snagging or getting too tight.





The tread spreader is a simple arch slightly wider than the tread area. It's the one on the right. Note the marks, these are the width of the tread.



I use a Auto Body 2 part Finishing Putty, it won't stick to bare styrene very well, so I prime with DuPont 131S, it's a filling primer and bites to the styrene very well.

Until you get the hang of it, I suggest you start with one sidewall at a time. Mix a little filler to entirely cover one sidewall, don't leave any bare spots.

It should look close to this.




Now take your sidewall spreader and do as smooth and clean of a pass as you can to get your sidewall profile.

It should look something like this.



Immediately clean your spreader, you need it for the rest of the sidewalls.

Set the tire aside to harden.

[Mysterion]

Now to round off the edge of the tire.

Using 80 grit paper I sand the edge at a 45 degree angle to start rounding it off. Your limit is how thick the plastic is you used to make the tire. I'm not having any problems using .030..



I don't do any sanding on the sidewall yet, but follow up the 80 with 180 to remove any deep scratches.

Repeat the above steps to the other sidewall.

I now sand the sidewalls smooth with 180.

If you don't need a crown on the tread area, you can just finish and paint the tire using whatever methods you like.

This is what you'll wind up with.

[Mysterion]

I re-primed the tire to be sure the filler will stick.

Cover the tread area with filler, again, don't leave any bare spots.



Using the shallow curved spreader, shape the tread area, use the two guides marked on it to keep it centered on the tire. Also keep the angle of the spreader constant in order to keep the shape consistent.

You should have a tire that looks like this. Also note, that you will need a way to hang the tire while it dries. I just propped up a pencil.



Now sand the tread area to shape.







All that is left, fill any imperfections and paint.

[badroadahead]

Putting the sidewalls on is so simple....yet genius!!

I love it.

Dave

[ira]

[glow=red,2,300]THIS IS GREAT INFO!!![/glow]

I have to try a couple of these!

Thanks for sharing David.

[mind9]

Thanks this is great will keep this tutorial great job you did there.

Thanks David

[Dennis M]

That is fantastic Dave' thank you for sharing with us.

[eshaver]

I must applaud you for you're creativity !

[darquewanderer]

Great tutorial Dave. Thanks.