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String wrapping a steering wheel

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by ricknroll, Mar 31, 2011.

  1. johnod
    Joined: Aug 18, 2009
    Posts: 799

    johnod
    Member


    Thats an absolute beauty.
    I don't want to hijack the thread, but if there is a place/thread where i can see more please PM me if thats better.
    Thanks for the pic

    john
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2012
  2. Check out this site, there are some tutorials there. I basically just copied what I saw there. Let me look to see if I can find something better though. I spent last February in the hospital recovering from the removal of an intestinal tumor, so I had plenty of time to learn :) The nurses did find it odd that I was constantly fiddling with a steering wheel, lol.
     
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  3. striper
    Joined: Mar 22, 2005
    Posts: 4,498

    striper
    Member

  4. banginona40
    Joined: Mar 5, 2007
    Posts: 773

    banginona40
    Member

    I wrapped the the cross bar of my '40 steering wheel with some hemp cord I found at local crafts store. Got it nice and tight and then painted it with white glue.
     
  5. RustyNCA
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 410

    RustyNCA
    Member

    Well, here is the wheel I just finished wrapping. Now trying to decide do I just run it uncovered. Or do I need to finish it with something? I drive the car alot, so do I just let it get dirty and age, or stain it or dye it darker?

    Thanks
    RustyNCA

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  6. That is cool, I'd let go natural, or stain it to match your jacket... er door panels?
     
  7. johnod
    Joined: Aug 18, 2009
    Posts: 799

    johnod
    Member

    If it was mine I'd also stain to go with interior. Dirty white is not a good look.

    Any chance of getting some pics of your car, i like what I see and want to see more.
     
  8. RustyNCA
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 410

    RustyNCA
    Member

    Well, after lots a playing around with different colors on some sample pieces, I think I have decided to go with a flat black on the string. All the browns were ending up with a dirty green tint to them.

    Here is just a couple of the car, I will send you more.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  9. TR Waters
    Joined: Nov 18, 2006
    Posts: 1,439

    TR Waters
    Member
    from Vermont
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    Traditional alright.
     
  10. johnod
    Joined: Aug 18, 2009
    Posts: 799

    johnod
    Member

    Very cool car.
    Re - dye, try leather dye,I've never used brown, but black fixes/hides a multitude of sins.:)
     
  11. RustyNCA
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 410

    RustyNCA
    Member

    After testing a bunch of different colors and ways of dye. I ended up using SEM flat black leather/vinyl spray. It all just ended up looking dirty, and I have used the same stuff to change a set of seat belts in our olds from tan to black years ago, and it still looks pretty good, so I went with that.

    Thanks for help guys.

    Cheers
    RustyNCA
     
  12. 28dreyer
    Joined: Jan 23, 2008
    Posts: 1,166

    28dreyer
    Member
    from Minnesota

    This was done for gripping, not for beauty.

    Used a cotton clotesline like small rope from Home Depot I think, and used the tuck under method. No glue or coating. Just let the sweat, dirt and oil soak in, I dont like gloves. Easy and quick to re-wrap if it gets too dirty or a bit loose as the right side has in the one photo.

    The wrap can be rotated to tighten it and put the tucked in overlapped cord bulges on the bottom.
     

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    chriseakin and kidcampbell71 like this.
  13. Lone Star Mopar
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 3,811

    Lone Star Mopar
    Member

     
  14. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,378

    sololobo
    Member

    What a killer post, I have been intriqued with this since I first saw it in an old stock car in the fifties. Thanx to all for the info posted. sololobo~
     
  15. GARY?
    Joined: Aug 15, 2005
    Posts: 1,631

    GARY?
    Member

    Yeah, that little silver bullit looks like a blast!!
     
  16. johnod
    Joined: Aug 18, 2009
    Posts: 799

    johnod
    Member


    What's the steering wheel?
     
  17. RustyNCA
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 410

    RustyNCA
    Member

    It is a 62 Oldsmobile Starfire Wheel from what I was told. I bought it here on the H.A.M.B. and got lucky and found the center cap on fleabay.

    Here is what I started with.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I don't have a finished photo, but here is the wheel right after I finished the string.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  18. willymakeit
    Joined: Apr 13, 2009
    Posts: 1,326

    willymakeit
    Member

    Different and Im going to use it.
     
  19. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I'm gonna be the only one that doesn't like it. I should keep quiet but I won't.:D

    I never saw it on a hot rod until the craft shows started with the macrame stuff. I never saw it in the 60s. I don't know exactly when it started but to me it's just a cheap way to cover up cracks. I prefer to restore the wheel and paint it. Ive done a few and I prefer a shiny painted wheel. JMHO
     
  20. RDP
    Joined: Dec 3, 2010
    Posts: 242

    RDP
    Member
    from Kansas

    Good info. I have a Willys army jeep steering wheel that is real skinny and I was going to wrap it with something. Now I know what to try.
     
  21. That sounds like a do-able thing, don't forget to post a pic of your progress?
     
  22. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,086

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    I just wrapped my wheel in my 46 ford with the bigger clothes line rope, its just under 1/4 inch diameter so the fancy coxcombing didn't really work to well as the wheel is very narrow and the rope fairly fat so it was very hard to read.

    I unwrapped it and started over just keeping it simple and 100 feet and 90 minutes later it was wrapped. I did it to get the girth of the wheel up so it instead of making it look fancy but i do like the looks of it and after driving it only a little bit i can say that it did help quite a bit in keeping my hands happy.

    before wrapping it I could feel my fingers strain turning at low speed and parking now with the fatter wheel its all but gone, i suppose if i want to fancy it up i could take a smaller twine and do a pattern on top of the existing rope?

    anyhow just wanted to post that it did work for me :)
     
  23. gtnrkix
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 709

    gtnrkix
    Member

    Pic please, Tim.
     
  24. Yeah ... pic's, if you please.
     
  25. 40FordGuy
    Joined: Mar 24, 2008
    Posts: 2,907

    40FordGuy
    Member

    CB,...I'd leave it there...... A work of art, for sure.

    4TTRUK
     
  26. Cool! Subsribed.
     
  27. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,086

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    I'll post one in a bit after I upload them
     
  28. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,086

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo1_zpsf36ae17d.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    ok so here you see the stock wheel and that its about the size of the tip of my pointer finger.

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo2_zps78c26981.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    I had thought about installing a necker/suicide knob and looks like i wasn't the first one with that idea when i got a closer look! hah

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo3_zpsf63c06df.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    here you can see that i just wrapped it as close and tight as i could manage and how much bigger it made the rim of the wheel. Doesn't seem like much but it sure helped.

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo4_zps1ca78808.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    this is what i ended up with in the intersections. I tried to do it like the one posted on here with the lopes around the bar and then lace it back and forth to look more seamless but with a fat cord and at least another couple of yards to pull threw every little twist and turn it wasn't working for me after a few repetitions in. It also didn't look very uniform because of the cord size.

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo5_zps8f9ef225.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo2_zpse2bc258e.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>


    the left had side were I finished just after/under the intersection looks better in person, For some reason in the photos it looks like a tangled phone cord. I'll probably mess with it some more later to get it a little better looking. I tucked the end in when i started, used a square knot when i joined the two 50 foot lengths and wrapped over the ends to make it smoother and then at the very end used a knot like this

    <a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/user/timm95/media/photo1_zpsd890bcb9.jpg.html" target="_blank">[​IMG]</a>

    to cinch it tight and kinda wove it around and tucked it in. thats probably why in the photos it looks lose as it doesn't stick with the 'grain' of the rest catching the light i guess?

    anyhow, I used some of the links in this post to understand how the patterns work and it seemed pretty easy. I have hundreds of hours of experience on looms weaving and my wife is a knit a holic so it wasnt to foreign but i really feel like i need to see a video of some one doing it, theres gotta be a trick with pulling all the remaining cord threw every move you make.

    I used 100 feet of 7/16 cord and did not glue or coat it at all, I did start out making a single french cox comb but after about 5 inchs i could tell that it wasnt going to read very well with the small rim being wrapped and the fat cord being used. Like I said in my first post the looks were some what secondary to getting a fatter wheel. I may get some smaller string/cord and weave a fancier design over the top of what ive already done so i can have the look and the fat wheel function ill keep you all posted on that i suppose.

    one that i do have to add though is with the single french design it took roughly 5 feet of cord to wrap about 4 1/2 inches of the wheel. If your going to get fancy with the design and use the smaller stock get ALOT of it
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
  29. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,086

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    Wow! Just went for a 20 minute drive threw town, started snowing so I headed back home ... But anyhow the wrap made a staggering difference. Much much easier to steer in town now.
     
  30. MARVIN CT
    Joined: Sep 17, 2010
    Posts: 55

    MARVIN CT
    Member

    Got bored this winter so repaired the cracks with some old two-part epoxy I had and wrapped with some corded string. A few coats of clear urathane and good enough. Marvin,ct
     

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