Use this Wheel Shaver to make your wheels round. It's as easy as ABC! 

The Pro Wheel Shaver XT2 is a hand operated mini lathe designed for precisely truing Pinewood Derby car wheels. It is used in combination with the Pro Hub Tool. First use the Pro Hub Tool and correctly size your wheels to make sure that they are going to work free and not bind as you turn them on the Pro Wheel Shaver XT2. If there is a fitment problem use the Pro Hub Tool as designed in it's instructions and video to correctly square and true the hubs and flanges before you start this operation.

First we want to install the Pro Wheel Shaver onto the Pro Hub Tool and set the depth of the tool to 1/2 of an inch and then lock it with the provided Allen wrench. Next go through each wheel and try to identify the wheel with the largest amount of runout or the largest high spot on the wheel. This is the wheel we are going to start with. Once we have identified the wheel with the highest spot, gradually add depth by using the knob to bring the blade in until we are able to lightly touch the wheel with the blade and start to shave that high point off the wheel. You will notice that the blade will hit then miss. This is our starting point in our cut. Add a small amount and repeat. Hit and miss. This is the runout in the wheel that we are correcting making this a precise wheel. We want to start by doing all four wheels. Small amounts are what we're looking for as we use the tool. This prevents digging and helps the tool maintain a high accuracy level. After we have worked our way through the first four wheels, back to your first wheel again, add a small amount and continue the cut. You'll notice as the cut is made our first step is to achieve roundness. In some spots the cut is all the way across. In some spots the cut is only on the edges. And in some spots the tool doesn't even cut yet. This is identifying the lack of concentricity in the wheel. Again after a setting is made, move to the next wheel. We're trying to work these wheels in stages so we can maintain all four wheels an identical size.

Once we begin to establish roundness with the tool, move in brisk short strokes around the wheel. Once we've established that the wheel is round, the cuts will get lighter and fluffier as we close in on the final cuts. The goal is to still keep our outside diameter as large as possible of all four wheels yet maintain a high accuracy and concentricity to the hub center of the wheel. Once you've reached your final setting and your final cut, the tool will stop cutting. Gently remove that wheel and move to the next. Again you will do these in stages, four to five times sometimes depending on how far out of round your wheels are, until you get the wheels perfectly round and smooth. Once you are completed, the wheels should have a nice smooth straight cut all the way around and be ready to be put on the mandrel for finish polishing.

Once we've completed the tread surface of all four wheels, we now want to loosen the tool and readjust so we can use the edge of the blade to true the inner edge of the wheel where it will contact the guide strip on the track. This will ensure a smooth straight running wheel especially when used with a rail rider alignment configuration. At this point we want to take our ruler and we want to move this setting to 1 inch 1/16th and re-lock the tool. Reinsert a fresh wheel, bring our blade down so the edge of the blade which has a machine cutting edge on it is past the inner edge of the wheel and we true the inner edge of the wheel square to the tread face and perpendicular to our hub bore.

Once this setting is established, we can easily move wheel to wheel without making an additional adjustment. Once complete, Derby Works recommends use of the Pro Wheel Mandrel for holding the wheel that you just completed, use the mounting cone toward the face side of the wheel, mount it in a drill and turn it at a slow speed using a fine sandpaper and a polishing compound to your liking to finish your tread face and inner edge of your wheel to prepare.

One performance tip with the Pro Wheel Shaver XT2 is in the blade area. Some people change their blades, sharpen or modify or sometimes it just works out that way in manufacturing we end up with a loose blade.

One simple tip to fix the blade is loosen the tool halves and remove the blade. Take two pairs of pliers that you can oppose the nose with and hold the base or top of the blade securely with and slightly bend them putting a slight bow in the blade. Reinsert the blade as it was in the tool, tighten the screws for the halves and all the play has been removed from the blade and you will notice a slightly increased load on the handle caused by the drag of the blade in the slot. This will keep the blade from backing off or moving when making your cut.

Also a tip for the Pro Wheel Shaver XT2 is to add a small amount of oil at the base and the head of the spring along with a small amount on the screw. Run it back and forth to work it in and this will assure a smooth action, a good set and a long life of the tool.

The blade from the Pro Wheel Shaver XT2 can be redressed or resharpened. Over time from cutting plastics it will tend to dull and the edge will wear. As you look at the blade you will notice one side is flat. This is the cutting side. The other side has a taper to it. This is the back or the trailing side. The tip of the blade has a very small edge that is at a 15 degree angle. The best way we've found to redress this is to use a honing stone. This is a two sided honing stone. We use the fine side of the stone. We apply a little bit of lubricant. Spread it around evenly. And with the tip of the blade held at a 15 degree angle, straight firm strokes will redress that edge and bring the flat rear trailing edge to a good sharp cutting performance again.