I made my own steering wheel.
I made my own steering wheel.
I designed and made a steering wheel from scratch for my 5er and filmed it.
Here's the youtube video detailing the whole process. It's about 40 minutes.
https://youtu.be/3HEZS95IaM8
Some images of the process:
CAD modeling on Fusion 360
I prepared dimensioned some blanks of Claro walnut from which to mill the wood grips
Cutting the steering wheel on a waterjet
Milling the walnut grips on a 3-axis router
Rounding over the hard edges
I had a metal finishing shop bead-blast and anodize the wheel
Making a walnut/aluminum/walnut sandwich
I added an inlay to the wheel as a center indicator. I used some 1/4" aluminum tube and found a wood dowel that matched the interior diameter.
Steam-bending walnut strips to fill the gap between the two grips
Applying finish
Final product
Here's the youtube video detailing the whole process. It's about 40 minutes.
https://youtu.be/3HEZS95IaM8
Some images of the process:
CAD modeling on Fusion 360
I prepared dimensioned some blanks of Claro walnut from which to mill the wood grips
Cutting the steering wheel on a waterjet
Milling the walnut grips on a 3-axis router
Rounding over the hard edges
I had a metal finishing shop bead-blast and anodize the wheel
Making a walnut/aluminum/walnut sandwich
I added an inlay to the wheel as a center indicator. I used some 1/4" aluminum tube and found a wood dowel that matched the interior diameter.
Steam-bending walnut strips to fill the gap between the two grips
Applying finish
Final product
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- Posts: 9380
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Nicely done. It's amazing what one can do these days with computer controlled routers, water jets, etc. I think I would have gone with a little thinner rim but that's just personal preference. It would have been easy enough to include finger grips on the back side too, if desired.
Now you need to make a matching shift knob.
Now you need to make a matching shift knob.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
WHAT? That's just crazy cool. Kuddos man. And I can't seem to get to any of my deep projects in the pandemic.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Geez that’s super dope!!
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Wow, where's the emoticon for jaw drop? I guess bow will have to do. Out of a solid walnut slab? Wow, I've never even seen one of them. How many hours did it take? Having the right tools obviously helps, but still, amazing.
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- Posts: 929
- Joined: Oct 26, 2017 3:36 PM
- Location: Palatka FL
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Exceptional! Congratulations.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Very cool!
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
That's impressive. Great job.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Very cool.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
You obviously have considerable knowledge, experience and tools. But just how many hours do you have in it? Not that many or afraid to try to total it?
BTW, I just noticed you're local.
BTW, I just noticed you're local.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Real Nice!
I have access to a CNC and more at work, and my lazy ass didn't take advantage of any of it during the slow covid time.
I have access to a CNC and more at work, and my lazy ass didn't take advantage of any of it during the slow covid time.
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Probably 20 hours not including the 3 hour class I took to learn to use the waterjet but I'm going to use it for a lot of projects in the future. Thanks for the compliments!
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
Yeah the wood grips are three boards glued together, so six pieces of walnut in total for the wheel. Most people would make a hexagon or octagon with a band clamp but that reminds me of prewar cars and boats, I wanted the grain running in the same direction the car is traveling. Thanks for the compliments!
Re: I made my own steering wheel.
this is legit, nice work! I love seeing the pictures and the process, I have been thinking of trying this myself with my freshly built MPCNC (3-axis router made from 3d printed components).
Bryan
Bryan