|
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
What Is a Wonder Wheel and How Do You Use it?
|
||||||||||||
| The Wonder Wheel can be used to add texture to Intarsia projects. It works best on softer woods, however it will work on hardwoods too. It will burn more than carve on the harder woods. Using soft wood like Western Red Cedar, it will carve and burnish the wood in one stroke. I found it easier for the tool to be stationary, then move the piece of wood to get the texture I want. Many times the pieces I’m texturing are small and it is hard to hold onto the part in one hand and use a rotary power tool in the other hand. For the last six or seven years I have been adding more texture to the intarisa projects. |
||||||||||||
 |
The wheel is 6” diameter and 1/2” wide. The 1/2” wide surface is flat when it arrives from the factory (shown upper left). It needs to run at least 3450 RPM, 4000 RPM maximum speed. It is important to follow the rotation arrows on the wheel. We use the diamond wheel dresser (shown left) to dress the wheel to a “V” shape. Keep in mind the wheel dresser is very aggressive. As mentioned before use it for roughing in the basic shape. For a finer edge, use a piece of coarse sanding cloth/paper (from 60 grit to 80 grit) stapled to a flat piece of wood to dress the wheel (below left). |
|||||||||||
 |
The “V” shape seems to work for most textures. Using firm pressure you will sand the sides to a point or a “V” shape. Keep moving the dresser or sandpaper. Be careful, it will get hot if you stay in one spot for too long. Once you have the “V” shape it will not take as long to re-sharpen it. The wheel will burn and polish dowels or any piece of wood used for eyes. To get the best results go with the grain as much as possible. Once you have a sharp corner it will need to be re-sharpened from time to time using the flat board with the sandpaper stapled to it. If you find the wheel dances around, or is hard to make it go where you want it to, it may need to be re-sharpened. |
|||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
| As far as using the wheel for various textures, for example, a bears rougher coat. I would make a series of short deep strokes, keeping the wheel sharp to make chisel type grooves. On a project with a soft coat like on a Collie or a horses mane, I let the wheel get a little more round and make long, flowing strokes. The amount of pressure applied is important also. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to make a texture that will show up. Putting texture on a bear you may want to apply very little pressure around the eye and nose area to give the impression of a smoother coat. As you get to the sides of the face you can add more pressure which will make it look like a coarser, thicker coat. The texture is a nice contrast to all the smooth pieces of wood. When I add texture I basically cover the entire surface with a series of grooves. | ||||||||||||
| It works great giving detail for a rope (shown on the left). This is the I-167 Great White Shark pattern. The white wood is aspen, the burn from the Wonder Wheel really helps define each rope segment. When I add texture I like to continue the texture around any exposed sides.
The Wheel works great for feathers as shown on the wing to the right. This saves time by eliminating the need to cut each segment of rope or each feather. The fronds on the palm branches and the texture on the trunk of the palm were created using the wheel. The burnish doesn't have as much contrast on the light to darker shades of wood. It may appear to have more contrast however, as soon as you put the finish on the part it will blend in more. |
 |
|||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
| There are some limitations, it is impossible to make tight circular lines, it is best to make a series of dashes in the circular direction to achieve the curved lines as shown on the elephant on the right.
The photo on the left shows putting texture on a donkey ear. It is rounded toward the inside cut out area, you can only texture so far in before you hit the other side of the ear. Also if the diameter of the wheel is larger than a dip sanded in the wood there is no way the wheel can texture inside the dip. |
 |
|||||||||||
| There is a slight dip above the elephants eye (the darker part toward the top of the head) I was not able to get the texture in the lowest part of that dip. | ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||