A neighbor wants me to make a teak outer ring for his Corvette steering wheel. I can build it easily enough, but I am not certain that it will be very durable due to climate exposure. Fortunately, it is for a show car and not the family sedan. It will see limited exposure to handling and the elements. Does anyone have experience with such a project? Finishing advice is what I need the most.
Thanxx!! in advance.
Cadiddlehopper
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Most all of the older British sports cars, Triumph, Morgan, MG & Jaguars had woodin wheels and flat dash boards of great burls and such. A friend is restoring an old Triumph with a woodin dash with an unknown finish that is pealing, but it sure is thick a good .030 "
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Teak is very durable I would look to the boat builders to find a durable finish.Personally I think that an oil finish would be nice to drive with.My triumph has a teak dash with the thick plastic looking finish and it has crazed.It looks bad
Hoppy, I have re-bulit/re finished many of that type, for Jaguars, Alfa Romeos etc, and built one for myself from scratch.
The thing to note is that for strength they rely on on the aluminium frame within, and for rigidity reliance is placed on the fact that they are dished. The flat ones are "flappy"-not nice and anyway no good for a Corvette which needs a dished type.
So the wood part is usually rivetted and epoxied to the metal framing, ie sandwiched. On the more sophisticated one the metal rim is totally encased by the wood, and there is some mighty fancy joinery work there-you need to look at a quality one to see this.
I made mine from aluminium and plywood, being a rim with the three dished arms screwed and rivetted with the plywood. Then I went to a leather specialist who sewed and shrunk on a leather cover so that it was tightand no stitches were visible-that was the professional touch.
As long as that Teak is not the main stress carrier it will be fine, but I wouldlaminate it in thin strips and finish it with some sort of two part polylac or marine finish. Teak will look good.
Sorry, the photo is not great, with sun light spoiling things there-you can see that it is dished, ali spokes, black leather rim cover. This was plenty strong-one could push on the wheel from outside if there was need to push the car.The car? 1965 Mk1 Ford Cortina GT....
Philip & all,
Thanxx!! All information is appreciated.
The only part I must make is the outer ring. My neighbor has a metal chassis over which to attach the wood. The ones I have seen in pictures are quite delicate and assembled from many small pieces. The side facing the driver has nine segments. The joinery doesn't look all that difficult but there are many parts. I suppose I should have mentioned that he wants a clear finish which I want to be durable.Cadiddlehopper
They make boats and outdoor furniture and you don't think it'll be durable enough as a steering wheel? Huh?
Spar varnish is the traditional finish in boats. Poly should work well, too. You need to clean Teak with acetone before gluing or finishing it because of the wax content.
Teak is, of course, very durable. This part will be quite delicate and made of small parts, unlike like a chair or boat deck or gunwale. Glues & finishing materials may or may not be so durable. I would want to use epoxy or polyurethane for gluing, but what I should use as a finish I am not sure about. I hope someone who does this sort of thing will give me some guidance. Whatever it is should have a good feel to the hand and resist the effects of body oils as well as climate. The requirements are somewhat different from nautical applications. And it must please this neighbor.
Thanks for the note about cleaning teak. I had not remembered that. Maybe I should talk him into mahogany since acetone causes brain damage. Mine has too many miles on it to take much chance with acetone.
Thanxx!! again.Cadiddlehopper
I'm sure I have snorted too much of various fumes myself but I make sure that if I use it, either I use a suitable mask or there's enough ventilation that I can't smell it. Can you post a drawing or diagram of the design? I would be careful about the wheel's strength if small pieces are used. In a crash, the joints could break and the driver may get the column in the chest. I would think about using a stainless center with the wood on both sides.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
cadiddlehopper,
I did just that, built a wood steering wheel.. Making it was simple. attaching it a whole 'nuther problem entirely.
Finishing it was simple, I sprayed a clear laquer.
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