[SampleMan]

A spoked wheel requires a lathe to turn the spokes.

Not really, but the alternative is very labor intensive.

[Beagle8U]

You are correct. Even into the 1800’s the tool called a “Spoke shave” had nothing to do with a lathe. It is a simple hand tool to make wheel spokes.

[HeadOn]

My 2 cents: Have you ever seen a demonstration of how to build a spoked wheel? Much more difficult than a solid wheel. If I went out into my shop right now, I could lay two layers of planks at 90 degree angles, fasten them together, and lay out a circle (wheel) to be cut out very quickly. Then, all there is left is to cut the outer circle, and a smaller one for the axle. I’ll bet, even way back then, you could do that in a short time.

As for a spoked wheel, you have to lay out the hub, and the outer wheel “just so”, in order to distribute the load properly, and then you have to deal with joining the pieces of the outer wheel together. In the case of chariot or wagon wheels, as we think of them, you have to fit a metal band around them. This was done by forging a flat ribbon of iron into a ring, “welding” it together, and placing it around the wheel, hot, to allow it to shrink the whole assembly tight.

Google up “Wheelwright” to get some good information.

You could probably cut corners, and make it a little easier to build a spoke wheel, but I’d lay big money the solid ones came first, based solely on the simplicity to make them.