In this post, I will make solid wooden wheels with a diameter of 13 centimeters. They are like the typical wheels you put on wooden loungers for sunbathing in the garden, but in this case, they are for the patio chair I made with pallet wood. I could have made them with pallet wood as well, but to save a bit of work, I preferred to buy a pre-planed wooden slat.
We must keep in mind that these wooden wheels will be outdoors, so it’s important to use waterproof exterior wood glue.
To make the wheels, I use a pre-planed wooden slat that is 5 centimeters wide by 2 centimeters thick. Then, with three pieces of 5cm wide glued on the edge, it is enough to make the two 13cm wheels I want.
I cut 6 pieces of 20cm long and make two small boards, each with three boards. Additionally, I have to cut three more boards of 32cm long. And just as I did with the previous two boards, I will glue them on the edges with special exterior glue to make another board with them.
Thus, to give them strength, each wheel has two layers, glued one on top of the other. Each layer is made up of three boards, with the boards of one layer forming a 90º angle with the boards of the other layer.
Once the glue is dry, I have to remove the glue residue, and I can glue the two small boards on top of the larger one (as seen in the image). The boards of the small ones are placed at 90º to the large board’s boards. This way, I get the piece from which I can route the two wooden wheels.
Routing circles with a jig:
To cut the circular shape to make wooden wheels, I use a simple jig for routing circles with the router (I also have a jig for cutting circles with the jigsaw). The jig for routing circles with the router is just a piece of fretwork plate screwed to the router base.
I put a 12mm straight bit and measure 6.5cm (half of the 13cm diameter) from the edge of the bit. At that distance, I make a hole for a screw that serves as a pivot to route a perfect circle.
The drawback is that this way, I only cut a bit more than half the thickness of the wheel.
And the rest I have to cut with the jigsaw, keeping the cut a few millimeters from the edge of the circle I just routed.
To finish making wooden wheels with this technique, I now have to use a trimming bit to copy the already made circular shape on the other half of the wood of the wheel. For this, I need to screw the wheel to a piece of board and clamp it to the workbench.
This way, I can use the router resting directly on the wheel. And to avoid leaving the edges too straight, I round them with a half-round bit. All that remains is to sand the wheels and install them on the pallet wood patio chair. I would install them on a lounger, but I still have to make one.
