Making a Sports Steering Wheel from scratch.- by Peter peter@escalemodels.com

Have you nearly lost your mind searching for the steering wheel that came stock with the kit you are building only to find that you have accidentally crushed it under your shoes? I know, you can go to many a website and order a steering wheel, but if you are like me and don't want to wait the few days or weeks for delivery, the following tutorial may help you build a sports style steering wheel within 15 minutes.

Tools and Products Required

The following tools and products are required to make your steering wheel.

• Solder (I used 0.127cm/0.050in for this example)

• Gap Filling Super Glue

• Tweezers

• Sharp Knife

• Clear Tape

• A fine File

• A mold for your steering wheel (I find the cap of Elmers white glue is the approx scale required)

• Pin Vice Drill and drill bit (optional)

• Your favourite Drink in an Aluminium can

Making the Steering Wheel

Firstly, stretch out a piece of solder to ensure that there are no creases or dents. Begin by tightly wrapping the solder around the object.

You should be left with a tightly bound ring with some minor overlap. The overlap is important as you will lose some area when you cut through the solder.

Cut the solder where the solder joins as illustrated below.

You are now left with a near perfect ring with a slight gap.

In the next step, place a small amount of gap filling super glue at the joint. Gap filling super glue will expand to fill any small gaps in the joint. When the glue has completely set, you may want to gently file the joint are to ensure a smooth surface.

Template

In order to create a template for your steering wheel, you can either draw the steering columns right on the aluminium or print yourself a template. The tutorial makes the assumption that you have printed to scale a template of a steering wheel. Once you are happy with the template, begin by cutting it out with a sharp hobby knife.

The aluminium in the picture below is a soft drink can that was carefully cut down using scissors. (Parental assistance is recommended for minors, take all care when performing this step). Use a clear piece of tape to place the template over the aluminium that you will be using. This aids in keeping the template steady whilst you gently trace over it with a knife.

Once you have scribed around the template, remove the mask and gently pass the knife over the aluminium, always cut away from you and never press to hard. Eventually the steering wheel frame will cut away.

The next step is optimal but I believe it adds that extra little bit of authenticity to your steering wheel. Using a pin vice drill, drill two holes on each arm.

On the reverse side of the steering wheel, gently score the hole area with some fine point tweezers. This is to replicate the grooves on the back of a steering wheel.

You are now ready to glue the steering wheel together, use gap filling super glue to ensure a tight fit.

Here is the unpainted finished product. It was made in 15 minutes for this tutorial, sure beats snail mail.

Here is one that I prepared earlier in its finished painted state.