I made a new set of narrow wheels for the Ranquel because I need to save a few grams here an there. So I took a few pictures of the process to share with you guys.
First I cut a few discs of 3mm plywood and mount them on the lathe to clean the edges.
With the hot wire cutter I made the 66mm diameter wheel out of 17mm styrofoam board. Glued one plywood disc on the center with white glue. With a 6mm wooden dowel I cut the axle and bored a 2.25mm hole for the landing gear wire. Glued to other plywood disc with CA and then to the styrofoam wheel.
Last step is to cover the styrofoam with 1mm EVA rubber and trim the excess once dry.
Each wheel is 69mm in diameter, 20mm wide and weights 6g.
I saved 4 grams with the new wheels. I can save an extra 5g if I solder the motor wires instead of using banana plugs.