Way kustom steering wheels

Okay, at the risk of boring this entire thread to tears, here's what I've done for this round
of "Chase the Cracks". I channeled fresh V-grooves into the cracks that weren't perfectly flush. After reading up on the internet and checking local stores, I opted for JB WEld, but bought putty as well -- hoping not to resort to it, but at this point, I'm open to whatever it takes. The only difference in the V-grooves I cut this time? I drilled small holes all along each side of the V's so that the material had more surface area to adhere to. It was a tip I found online. Anyhoo, really hoping this does the trick. Also picked up a variety of sandpaper and since I've gone this deep, will diligently utilize several grades as I finish. It's going to be the bomb, or I'll die trying. Hope all can learn from this. I know I will. I'll post some photos of the million dollar wheel once it's ready.

 

Sorry I don't have a pic of this wheel. A old friend of mine that use to race a fuel dragster had a cool butter fly wheel in his dragster, It had moose antler inlay on the handles. It had to be a one of a kind. Any one remember him?, Don Dixon from GA, I think he worked at the Atlanta speed shop for many years. JC

 

Dogdish, this is a really good thread. Hope it stays up.

 

Hope so too. Theres not much interest in this sort of stuff but it seems like there has been just enough to keep the topic going.

 

Let's stop worrying about whether this is traditional and call it for what it is: Custom.

 

Kustom. On a different note, I thought the design of this white wheel was really awesome and that people would dig it. Now that I'm building a couple more and decided to sell this one, it seems like nobody likes it. Oh well, if not than I'm gonna just keep using it because I think it's awesome.

 

I seriously doubt that nobody wants it. I must confess, though I think the one in your avatar is killer with that square horn section. You're putting up some serious eye candy.

 

Actually sold the white one last night. I couldn't agree more with you about the wheel in my avatar pic. The '58-60 horn buttons on those wheels are killer looking but super hard to find in good condition. I have a few and I'm in the process of making another wheel like the one in my avatar right now that will be for sale. I even dig 'em when they're still round.

 

I did exactly that on my dad's Mercury using a GM column...wheel is 60 Plymouth:

Here is the center of the Plymouth wheel showing the installed (before welding) adapter insert I made by turning down the middle of a throw-away late 70's GM wheel. I bored the Plymouth wheel to fit the insert.




Plymouth wheel installed on a GM column.

 

Nice work! Thats awesome!

 

Heres some progress on the "Moth" got the top section sanded out and in primer. The 'point' in the middle was a pain in the ass but I think it should be pretty cool when done.

 

Got anything that will fit a 56 caddy?

 

Not right at this second but I'm going out to the yard to pull some cores tomorrow. I can grab a caddy wheel.

 

pm sent

 

Just finished sanding the JB Weld Marine and I'm really quite pleased with how well it sanded. The V-groves were cut wider this time and I cross drilled the interior edges of the Vees, as suggested on a video I found online. It really seeems to have done the trick. Now granted, I'll probably discover other imperfections once I primer the wheel again. I'm going to try a high-build primer in hopes that it fills in the tiny imperfections better. I'll report back once it's re-primered, probably on the weekend. High marks for the JB Weld marine. And the cross drilling of the vees seems to have made a difference as my transitions seem to be much more flush. Will keep you all posted.

 

Hands down the coolist factory wheel ever made.
Except maybe the Chevy Spinners.

 

Still not sure what direction to go with this wheel, it's one of those things that has me kinda stumped as to what would be kool. I sold the "Lunar Moth" wheel yesterday, but was thinking of doing the "vee" shape on the top of this one. Wutchall think? Might make it look like a pretzel.

 

If you don't do it, who will?

 

Guess I'm the only one crazy enough to do it. Better get back on it!

 

This weekend, I'm planning my last round of sanding, touching up, etc and will hit the first of Dog Dish's creations with some high fill primer. I feel like I've learned my lesson about cutting corners. One point I keep forgetting to mention is that it's important to keep oils from your fingertips from getting into the steering wheel's material. Wipe down the wheel with mineral spirits before you primer it or you could find yourself having to back up a step. I've been humbled by this process and any attempt to short cut the process has resulted in more prep. I'll save myself a lot of work in the future by taking my time and using the right materials. The JB Weld marine worked excellently, BTW. Nothing gainst the epoxies but I got much smoother transitions with the JB. Using various grades of sandpaper also helped. I learned the value of cross drilling the channels of the vees before filling them. It gives the bonding agent more surface to grab onto. Also making the vess fairly wide. I'll post shots of the fully prepped wheel as I finish up. There won't be a single visible crack when I'm done. Cannot wait to put the wheel on my roadster.

 

Dog dish.. Love your work and imagination. I've got a stack of old wheels in the shop I thought were useless ... But I guess I should get to work on them now. Keep it up!

 

My patience and obsessive desire to make my wheel 99% perfect has been rewarded.
I spent the better part of the day finishing the prep work on the first wheel.
I sanded with 320 grit wet/dry paper, then shot the wheel with high-build primer. Once the primer was dry, then re-sanded the wheel with 320, hitting the little imperfections with 220 grit, then followed with a final pass of 400 grit wet. I just resprayed the whole wheel with etching primer. Still not 1000% perfect, but damn it looks good. I may do one more pass to hit every last little spot, but the rest is just gravy. I really should have done a thread on restoring the wheel, but the real credit starts and ends with what Dog Dish did. Now the biggest challenge I have is making sure the roadster build lives up to the same level as this beautiful wheel. I'll post up shots. Whew.

 

You're the one using up all the elbow grease on it. I'm to the point that I'm going to be taking a break from steering wheels for a while to do some other stuff like rebuild the front and rear ends on my car so I can make it to the drags this summer. I've also found a project or two that I'm going to pick up. Getting a '61 Impala and hopefully a couple 47-55 Chevy trucks.

 

True Dat!

 

holy crackin duck shit! Is that Allegro yours Blackjack??

 

I haven't finish sanded or painted it yet, but I'll try to snap a couple shots. The one thing that bothers me about it is that I had to use an outer ring out of a 70's something in order to get a 15" hoop that also had an adequate diameter...a lot of them were too skinny.

I also am having issue with a single hairline crack where I used epoxy and it didn't completely bond to one side of the notch I created. I am considering renotching it and trying again, but I have many hours into shaping this thing and don't want to go backwards. Any ideas on what I could use to fill the hairline? It only appears when the wheel flexes a bit because I am putting pressure on the wheel while steering it...

Also, anyone have any ideas how they center those steering wheel splined nuts in the molds before they pour the epoxy? And anyone know where you can get the correct GM splined nuts seperately?

 

I'd use a different epoxy and bevel out the crack more. The JB doesn't work the greatest because it's too soft. Locktite epoxy works pretty good. As far as getting the splined hub, getting it out of an existing wheel is the only way I know of. An 80's-90's ?Jeep or GM vehicle would work. Look for junk wheels that have bare metal spokes in the center and a lot of times you can get the hubs out of them to weld into other wheels. (AMC/Jeep are the same spline as GM. I'm thinking of changing the center hub on this buick wheel and running it in my '57 Chevy.

 

Great looking wheel!

 

I said I'd be happy when the wheel is 99.9% perfect and now it is. I just wet sanded the wheel with 400 grit, then followed with 600. It's as good as it's ever gonna be. I used different color primers all along the way and different grits of paper, both wet and dry.
In all, I sprayed four different passes of primer: white, gray, darker gray, and finally black, figuring its the least forgiving of flaws. As of now, I can see each one the the colors on some part of the wheel and it's as smooth as a cue ball. I put a ridiculous amount of effort in, but I've gotta say it was worth every step. Now I get to wrap it up carefully and box it up until the roadster is ready for its wheel. A huge thumbs up to Dog Dish for building the most badass custom wheel I've laid eyes on. The second wheel is a couple steps away from done, but I learned a ton and feel as if my patience and diligence has been aptly rewarded. Shots to come. And if I ever decide to do this again -- and I have a funny feeling I will -- I'll do a step-by-step thread and post it.

 

I used JB Weld Marine and it worked well. Maybe it's sets up harder than the regular JB Weld. LOVE my wheel, BTW.