Wooden steering wheel

I haven’t but there is a guy here in st louis who has but I can’t get him on lumberjocks. He is on woodnet and has no interest in adding another site to his bucket. (weird I know) There are several to be found on woodnet.

-- Wipe the blood stains from your blade before coming in.

DaveR (The Sketchup Guy) made a boat steering wheel.

I made one.I think the one I made was for a 1918 model T. I made the steering wheel by laminating the strips together so it would be large enough for the inside and outside diameter. I then glued some half lapped fir strips in the middle forming an x . Next I found the center and attached my trammel arm with router. after routing the outside circle , I then used round over bits to shape the outside edge. after the outside was to shape I then did a plunge on the inside diameter skipping over the cross members for the most part and then rounding over the the inside. after that I jig sawed the cross member of and then rasped and rounded over with my router table the areas were the cross members were connected.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

Thanks guys….went to woodnet but couldn’t find anything (maybe not looking in right area)....
A1Jim…..good idea with the lapped fir….did you bend the laminated strips and if so, how?
I’m thinking I have to make a circular mold 16” in diameter….then build up strips from there….that make sense?? or is there an easier way….

-- George..." I love the smell of a workshop in the morning!"

Here’s an idea. I’m not sure if this is the best way or not though.
Might ask some of the mortise and tenon guys here about how the wood moves.

I only had about 5 min. to draw before leaving to work, but I think you will get the idea.

The method used for the felloes on a ship’s wheel involves making three layers with the joints staggered. the typical small wheel like the one I made has six spokes so there are six pieces to the rim on each layer. the joints are thus staggered by 60°

For a steering wheel rim for a car, I would be inclined to laminate a ring by wrapping thin pieces around a form. This is essentially a lam-bent structure. If I were making it, I would rip out the strips and steam them to make them pliable enough to take the shape easily. I’d clamp them around the form until they dried. This would make it easier to trim the pieces to exact length. It’d also make it easier to handle them once they have epoxy slathered all over them.

I’d glue them up around the form a few layers at a time. Patience will be a good thing here. Glue up three or four layers, clamp them good and tight all the way around and go away until tomorrow. Then add a few more. Make sure you stagger the joints around the rim and that you get them closed up tightly.

After the wheel is all glued up, you can clean up and shape the rim.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

Hey George
My approach was similar to what bentlyj shows and if I remember right I used 1/8” strips that each layer overlapped the previous layer. There’s nothing wrong with DaveR s method a little more time consuming and a little more difficult to clamp. Ultimately you will have a strong steering wheel ether way. It will depend on what surface you want the lamination’s to show. Having owned a antique auto restoration business I’ve seen a number of approaches to the wood steering wheels, segmented and joined together,steam bent . laminated, wood over metal frames.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

A1Jim….the wheel is a “wood over metal frame”.....
but getting good ideas….
if I decide to build it…it’ll be a good “project” for LJ’s to enjoy…
pics will follow….

-- George..." I love the smell of a workshop in the morning!"

Don’t know if this will help but i made a bending frame on 3/4 baltic birch, 2” angle iron spaced 1” apart on a 36” dia circle, used 1/8 ” slats and c-clamps
i only did a half circle as they were for awnings, i’ll post them as a project cause i don’t know how to get pics here
i think you could down size it to work for the circle
don’t know about joining the halves

-- Ron, Missouri