This guide is to compare our English wheel to our competitors English wheels.

Definition

• The English Wheel , is typically a manually operated metalworking apparatus, (used in car/motorcycle restoration and aviation amongst other uses), that allows a craftsman to form smooth, compound curves from flat sheets of metal, such as aluminum or mild steel.

Craig's Affordable Tools English wheel. Price is $549.99
Features:

• Overall dimensions: 53"H x 30-7/8"W x 44-1/2"D
• Throat: 37-3/4"
• 90 degrees swivel head
• Upper roll size: flat, 2-1/4"W x 6" diameter
• Bottom roll sizes: 1/8", 1/2" and 3/4" edge radius x 6" crown radius, flat with 5/16" x 1/4" step, 1.55"W x 0.65"D groove, 0.82"W x 0.65"D groove and 2 flat rolls

Harbor Freights English wheel. Price is $299.99

Giant 27-3/4" throat capacity lets you fabricate compound curves on large pieces. Ideal for shaping, fabrication, smoothing dents or weld seams in fenders, hood and trunk panels.

• Handles sheet steel to 16 gauge, copper and aluminum to 14 gauge
• 4" welded frame ALL steel construction
• Quick-adjust lower anvil yoke for easy leveling
• Anvils sold separately. 4" welded frame with all steel construction. Throat capacity: 27-3/4"; Welded frame: 4" L x 2" W x 1/4" thick; Includes: Top anvil: 8" diameter x 2" W top anvil, Lower anvil: 3" diameter x 2" radius with dual sealed ball bearing mounts (additional anvils in picture sold separately); heavy duty welded steel stand with four 1/2" mounting holes and anvil die storage; Maximum height: 60" H; Overall dimensions: 40-7/8" L x 34-1/2" W x 60" H

Grizzly Industrial Inc. Price is $1195.00
Description

• This Professional English Wheel rolls beads and forms mild steel up to 16 gauge. Features 9 interchangeable hardened metal rolls with sealed bearings, cam quick release and foot wheel.
• Overall dimensions: 53"H x 30-7/8"W x 44-1/2"D
• Throat: 37-3/4"
• 90 degree swivel head
• Detailed instruction manual
• Upper roll size: flat, 2-1/4"W x 6" diameter
• Bottom roll sizes: 1/8", 1/2' and 3/4" edge radius x 6" crown radius, flat with 5/16" x 1/4" step, 1.55"W x 0.65"D groove, 0.82"W x 0.65"D groove and 2 flat rolls

Northern Tool and Equipment's 22B English wheel. Price is $649.99

Description
Suitable and economical for small metal-crafting jobs like motorcycle gas tanks, art or hobby projects, and small fillets for aircraft applications to forming steel and sheet-metal and aluminum. Can be bench mounted or mounted on optional welded floor stand Item# 144452 (sold separately) to give it a working height of 42.75 in. Capacity is 16-gauge steel and 3/32 in. aluminum. Comes with 1 anvil wheel 2 in. x 3 in. x 2.375 in. radius. Other 2 in. x 3 in. anvil radius wheels sold separately. Upper wheel is 2 in. x 8 in. dia. 1045 steel billet polished with a 63 surface finish. Overall size is 27 in.W x 29 in.H with a working height of 16 1/2 in. from bench top.

Comparing

• Grizzly Industrial Inc.'s English wheel and Craig's Affordable Tools' English wheel have the same specifications and the pictures are almost identical. The only difference that between the two english wheels is that the Grizzly Industrial Inc English wheel is $1195.00 versus $549.99 for Craig's Affordable Tools English wheel.
  
• Harbor freights English wheel being the least expensive at $299.99. This model is less expensive because of the size and it does not come with any extra rolls. 
• Northern Tool's 22B English wheel is a little bigger than Harbor freights but is smaller then Craig's Affordable Tools and Grizzly Industrial Inc. The Problem with the Northern Tool English wheel is that it does not come with any extra rolls, the English wheel is smaller and more expensive than Craig's Affordable Tools English wheel
  

Operation of the English wheel

• The operator of the machine passes the sheet metal between the anvil wheel and the rolling wheel. This process stretches the material and causes it to become thinner. As the material stretches, it forms a convex surface over the anvil wheel. This surface is known as crown. A high crown surface is very curved, a low crown surface is slightly curved. The rigidity and strength in the surface of a workpiece is provided by the high crown areas. The radius of the surface, after working, depends on the degree that the metal in the middle of the work piece stretches relative to the edge of the piece. If the middle stretches too much, the operator can recover the shape by wheeling the edge of the piece. Wheeling the edge has the same effect in correcting mis-shape due to overstretching in the middle, as shrinking directly on the overstretched area by the use of heat shrinking or eckold type shrinking. This is because the edge holds the shape in place. Strength and rigidity is also provided by the edge treatment such as flanging or wiring, after the fabrication of the correct surface contour has been achieved. The flange is so important to the shape of the finished surface, that it is possible to fabricate some panels by shrinking and stretching of the flange alone, without the use of surface stretching or shrinking at all.
• The pressure of the contact area, which varies with the radius of the dome on the anvil wheel and the pressure of the adjusting screw, and the number of wheeling passes determines the degree to which the material stretches. Some operators prefer a foot adjuster in order to be able to maintain a constant pressure over the varying sheet metal thickness for smoothing, while using both hands to manipulate the work piece. This style of adjuster is also helpful for blending the edge of high crown areas that are thinner, with low crown areas that are relatively unstretched. A drawback of the foot adjuster, is that it can foul very longitudinally curved panels, such as cycle type mudguards (wings/fenders), as used on pre-WW2 sports cars and on the Lotus / Caterham 7. To address this problem, there are wheeling machines that have a hand adjuster close beneath the anvil yoke in order to allow such panels to curve underneath unobstructed. This type of machine typically has a diagonal lower 'C' shaped frame, that curves lower to the floor, instead of the horizontal and long vertical adjuster shown in the picture. A third type of adjuster moves the top wheel up and down with the bottom anvil wheel left static.
• The operator needs a great deal of painstaking patience, to make many passes over an area on the sheet in order to form the area correctly. He may make additional passes with different wheels and in different directions, (at 90 degrees for a simple double curvature shape, for example), in order to achieve the desired shape. Using the correct pressure and appropriate anvil wheel shape and pattern of accurate, close to overlapping wheeling passes, makes the use of the machine something of an art in order to produce a piece of steel, aluminium or other sheet metal with a particular physical shape. Too much pressure results in a finished product that is undulating, marred and stressed, while too little pressure causes work to progress very slowly.
• Typically, only small high crown panels, (such as repair sections) or large low crown panels (such as roofs), are made in one piece. Large low crown panels need two skilled craftsmen to support the weight of the panel.
• Two key limitations of the machine are: The size of workpiece that the operator/s can physically handle and also the risk of over stretching/thinning the panel section - it is no good having the correct contour if the metal is just too thin and weakened to be serviceable. This is why large high crown panels such as wings/fenders are often made in many pieces and then TIG welded or oxy-acetylene gas welded together. TIG produces less heat distortion, but produces a harder, more brittle weld that may cause problems when planishing/smoothing by hand, or in the wheeling machine. Oxy-acetylene welding joints don't have this drawback, provided they are allowed to cool to room temperature in air, but do produce more heat distortion. Panel joints may be achieved using autogenous welding - that is welding without filler rod, this is useful when finally smoothing the welding joints as it reduces the amount filing/grinding/linishing needed or almost eliminates it altogether. It also, more importantly reduces heat distortion of the surface contour, which has to be corrected on the wheel or with hammer and dolly.
• At every stage during fabrication, constant reference needs to be made to the shape that the operator is trying to reproduce. This may involve the use of template paper, section templates (made using paper or thin sheet metal), station bucks, formers, profile gauges, profile templates and of course an original panel.
• The final process in the fabrication of a panel, after the correct surface contour has been achieved, is provided by the edge treatment such as flanging or wiring. There will be too much or too little metal in the flange, this will pull the panel out of shape after the flange has been turned, so it needs to be stretched or shrunk in order to pull the surface shape back to the correct contour. This is most easily done using Eckold type shrinking and stretching, but can be done using heat shrinking and for stretching, a hammer with a dolly of the correct shape - matching the desired flange shape at the point of contact with the hammer.
•  Working with an English wheel is easier for many applications than manually hammering the steel, and is usually more appropriate for smooth curves than using an pneumatic hammer, it may used for planishing to a smooth final finish after these processes.