How to Make Wooden Wagon Wheels

If you are making a wooden wagon as a project, then you can use toy wagon wheels or you can make your own wooden wheels from scratch. The latter can look very impressive, and they will also add to the home-made feel of the wagon. Plastic toy wagon wheels, such as those which might be suitable for use with a wagon project, are often very expensive for their size, and you could save money on the project by making your own. If you want to make your own wooden wagon wheels, then this is easily done by following some basic instructions.

Step 1 - Measure the Wheels

Work out how large the wheels need to be in order to fit onto your wagon project. You should then take a piece of string which is just more than half this length. That is the radius of the wheel and will be used to measure out the circumference. Place the string onto your wood, and keep it there using a tack. Attach a pencil to the other end of the string using some tape. You are then ready to draw out the wheel. Push the pencil around the wood, marking a circle as you do so. The pencil should go all the way around until it ends up back at the starting place. You should now have a perfect wheel.

Step 2 - Cut out the Wheel

Using your drill, make a hole in one spot on the marked out wheel. You need to make a fairly large hole so that you can squeeze in the saw. Push the blade of the saw into the hole made by the drill, and then start cutting the circle. You could use a power tool, such as a jigsaw, for this, but you could also use a hacksaw, so long as the blade cuts a regular surface on your wheel.

Step 3 - Complete the Wheel

Although you have cut out the wheel very carefully, you will still need to sand it down and make sure that it is fully smooth. This can mean that you have to sand down the edges of the wheel, in order to take off any rough sides. You should also use the occasion to check that the wheel is as close to round as possible, and there are no straight lines around the circumference of the circle.

Step 4 - Add the Axle

Once the wheel is polished, you can then add the axle. Using your drill, make another hole, this time in the center of the wheel. This will be where the tack was, so you should be able to locate it easily. The hole does not need to be so big this time, as you will be able to push through a piece of doweling, or simply a screw which can then be used to attach the wheel to the axle.