Guide Rollers

The first of eight guide rollers is finished. These are the rollers that hold the 10ft diameter front wheel in place. There are a set of four that carry the gravity load of the front end of the ship and four rollers that carry the lateral load as the ship is turned left and right.

The inside of the wheel is made from 7/8” diameter round tube. To accommodate this, the rollers have a matching radius cut into them. Cutting the radius was not simple. I spent two days making a tool that would allow me to do this.

More photos of the Radius Turner’s construction.

The material the rollers are cut out of came from a counterweigh for a industrial robot. I torch cut them into rings then turned the outside edges to the right diameter.

The steel was then rechucked, holding the outside edge. From this position both the outer radius and the 1 1/2” internal bore for the axel can be cut without having to rechuck.