14 inch Rim Blow wheel.....opinions please

[Mach1 Driver 560]

Thank you.  The rim is thicker in both dimensions, and smaller in diameter.  Just what it needs.  It feels good, and steers faster.  Looks pretty much like the rim blow it replaced, and that is all I wanted.

 

 

What are the rim dimensions and diameter again?

[Black_69_FB 49]

I'm wondering if there are any guage visibility issues with the smaller diameter?

 

Love the way the wheels turned out, and the idea of bypassing the expensive rimblow component. 

[SA69mach 39]

What are the rim dimensions and diameter again?

New wheel Dimensions:

Overall diameter - 14 3/8"

Grip (WxH) - 7/8"  x  1 1/4"

 

OEM wheel dimensions

Overall diameter - 15 3/8"

Grip - 5/8"  x  1"

[Rsanter 152]

That was great work. Looks really nice

I would like to see more of the jigs and fixtures you used for shaping the wheel and putting the finger grips in.

 

Also

I have a poor condition 70 wheel and center pad that I could make you a deal on if you want to do another one and sell it to make some money

 

Bob

[SA69mach 39]

I'm wondering if there are any guage visibility issues with the smaller diameter?

 

Love the way the wheels turned out, and the idea of bypassing the expensive rimblow component. 

 

I am 6', normal build, and no visibility problems.  The wheel is just not small enough to start that issue, at least for me.  and it is a tilt wheel, so, that offers solutions if you are very tall.

 

Thanks, it is functional, practical, and looks good enough to be in a Mach1, in my humble opinion.  One of those things that you don't notice at first glance, it fits the rest of the car.  I have all the rim blow switches and have no problem cutting the channel for it, as I have done that before.  Same for the thin groove around the outer edge of the grip, as I have done that on previous wheel, and laid in the chrome strip.  It was not expense or effort that stopped it. 

I just saw it with the pad assembled and it looked cleaner.  The center horn was supposed to be an additional horn switch, but I like it and don't really enjoy the rim blow switch when I need to sound the horn.  I used to mock it with my buddies, you know, shaking a fist at some imaginary drive and then squeezing the little rubber horn switch - haha.  No good for road rage addicts.  And I don't miss the horn switch at all on this wheel.

 

So I will tidy up my rim blow wheel and pack it away.  The smaller wheel is a winner, and staying on the car.

[SA69mach 39]

That was great work. Looks really nice

I would like to see more of the jigs and fixtures you used for shaping the wheel and putting the finger grips in.

 

Also

I have a poor condition 70 wheel and center pad that I could make you a deal on if you want to do another one and sell it to make some money

 

Bob

Thanks Bob.  Page one of this thread has a lot of pics of the jig.  Flat melamine sheet  2' x1.5', because that's what I had. Stuck some 1/2" strips underneath it to left it up for clearance of the center rod.   Some all thread 1/2" x 1'.  and 3 nuts and washers to suit.  Drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the sheet, use two nuts and washers to fix the threaded rod in place.  The other nut and washer is just used to hold the wheel at whatever height you need, off the flat base.

The clamping was done with common spring clamps, with vise grips for critical hard spots like the ends of the wood strips.  Timber takes a bend easily enough when steamed or soaked, and dries in whatever shape you leave it in.  I used a big bucket and set all the strips on the inside to cure.  You will find the ends resist the curve, but those straight ends are just cut off when you fit and assemble for gluing.  Just use the nicely curved sections of timber and discard the rest.

 

Cutting the finger grooves is simply a dremel with a small sanding drum fitted - the dremel ones, nothing special.  I went through a few this time, maybe the speed was too high, so lesson learned.  I transferred the spacings from a section of old rim, which I laid on the outside of the raw wood rim.  Nothing too exact, just pressed down on every mark and kept control of the tool.

Note- I taped some spacers onto the dremel tool to get exact height/depth of cut.  That is key. 

The rough shaping and final shaping is all done with a hand sander.  I tried a router to start, but I preferred the sanding.  YOu need to take off the square feel and shape, especially on the top of the grip.  That can become very uncomfortable if it is not round.  Not rounded off square - it needs to be round.  Same with the finger grooves.  Just sand them at 45* until it looks even both sides, then finish shaping to leave a little ridge of peaks.  Fine paper to finish, and lots of hand sanding/smoothing.

 

I used PC-7 epoxy to fill any gaps.  It cures black, but looks ok with a stained wheel.  I guess you could use a white epoxy, or lighter color. 

 

Nothing special, or expensive.  this is a diy project for anyone.

 

Will PM you about the wheel Bob.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I like that steering wheel for the 1969.  Nice work.  I know the rim blow wheels are rare.  My Mach 1 has one, but to me, I never saw it as something that great so the center button horn is just as good.  I don't have a tilt column so my left knee either gets wedged between the steering wheel and door panel or turns on the turn signals every time I shift. 

[Rsanter 152]

Thanks for the explanation. I was really wondering about how you got it to me round and even. I was thinking a setup with a router but I guess you did it all by hand

 

I have a couple 65/6 wheels I have wanted to put real wood on and make the grip larger, so I figured I would steal ideas from you

 

Bob

[SA69mach 39]

Thanks for the explanation. I was really wondering about how you got it to me round and even. I was thinking a setup with a router but I guess you did it all by hand

 

I have a couple 65/6 wheels I have wanted to put real wood on and make the grip larger, so I figured I would steal ideas from you

 

Bob

Be my guest.  Let me know if I can help you as you go.  Are you going smaller, or stock size with the 65/66 wheels?

There are a number of ways to make a 'wood wheel', but the strongest and most stable, by a long, long way, is laminated hoops. 

Best of luck, take your time, have fun. 

[ray1970 88]

Should I use maple or walnut?

[Rsanter 152]

Be my guest. Let me know if I can help you as you go. Are you going smaller, or stock size with the 65/66 wheels?

There are a number of ways to make a 'wood wheel', but the strongest and most stable, by a long, long way, is laminated hoops.

Best of luck, take your time, have fun.

Stock size and general appearance but with a larger grip.

I thought of the laminated layers a while back but I have also though of one hoop of wood steam bent with a tapered joint line used on the wood Shelby wheels.

 

I also though about using the thin edge banding wood that is preglued. If I did that I would make a plywood buck with the ID I wanted the wheel to be and then just keep banding around to build up the thickness.

 

I may try a prototype like you did and then go from there.

 

Bob

[SA69mach 39]

Should I use maple or walnut?

Nice work on the hoop Ray.  That is the hard part done.

 

Use the timber with the nicest grain, the closest grain.  Selection of timber for such a small visible area means you are looking for straight grain, no knots or imperfections.  Cutting the strips thin helps in the bending process.  My 'laths' of oak were all  less than 1/16" in thickness, and that is about as big as you can go.  If you don't keep them thin, you risk cracking and breaking during the bending process, wet or not.  There is a limit to how tight a curve you can make, and it depends on the thickness and moisture content.   You will see what I mean.

You lose a lot of material when cutting the timber, due to the saw blade.  Cant be helped.  You need about 10 laths for the whole thing, counting on a few errors.  Thinner is better, but uses more glue and more time.  Curing time is the reason this takes so long to make a wheel.  More, thinner strips takes longer, but makes a stronger wheel.

 

So, decide on your timber by grain, and uniformity.  Imperfections will just snap the lath as you bend it, no matter how steamed or soaked or thin it is.

Please keep posting your progress and pics, you are going great....

 

LR

 

edit - you are going to need a good table saw to get uniform thickness laths.  I will be using a thicknesser machine next time, as there was some variations that kind of multiply with each layer if you are not careful.

 

White timber would look cool!!

[69RavenConv 286]

Should I use maple or walnut?

 

Maple might look nice with a white interior. Walnut would blend well with the faux wood-grain of the deluxe interior (especially if it was the walnut variety). I think oak could be stained to match the faux teak. Any would be nice, I think SA69mach's oak looks great.

[SA69mach 39]

Stock size and general appearance but with a larger grip.

I thought of the laminated layers a while back but I have also though of one hoop of wood steam bent with a tapered joint line used on the wood Shelby wheels.

 

I also though about using the thin edge banding wood that is preglued. If I did that I would make a plywood buck with the ID I wanted the wheel to be and then just keep banding around to build up the thickness.

 

I may try a prototype like you did and then go from there.

 

Bob

 

The inside hoops are the easiest to make, since they hold themselves in place when you have cut them to size, and gluing.

 

The tricky pieces are the thin ones used to build up around the metal hoop..  I use epoxy on any pieces that are glued to metal.

 

The pre-glued strips might be great, and save time. 

 

The one piece bending is a nice idea, but too tricky for me.  The best I could hope for would be two pieces, then finger jointed into a circular shape and then trimmed.  it would take a lot of calculation to make a complete circle in one bend.  The end joints would have to be pre-machined, and glued in the curing process.  I looked at that method, but the shape and orientation of the metal hoop makes a solid timber circle very hard to fit onto that.  Especially since the hoop is not truly circular.  You would need to split it into an upper and lower half and then channel in a relief for the hoop. and the spokes.  Although, you could easily scribe the hoop onto the upper, and then transfer it to the lower.....Hmmm, you might be onto something.

[ray1970 88]

Hard to believe how round a steering is NOT. 

 

Getting out later to make a wood chose and  get epoxy.. My make a small steamer for the strips.

Than its off to get the table saw up and going.

Have not used it much after I almost lost 3 fingers about a year ago....They don't work as well as they did but there still there..

Lesson learned.....................The hard way.... 

[ray1970 88]

No wood till Monday....Not many places nearby that have more than pine..60mi.round trip to get what i want.

Felling a little jiggy...

[SA69mach 39]

Nice jig Ray.

 

Note that I used a different method to build the timber hoops on the second wheel, and it was much easier than the first method.  The jig you have, with precise spacing from the base board, was used when building the outer hoops first. 

I found making the inner hoops first was the way to go.  I made three full hoops inside the metal ring.  When cured, you can lift and adjust the timber to get the exact height.  You would be wise to cut down the center pad to fit at that time and then set the center pad in place, and adjust the hoop to make a correct fit, so the timber is slightly above the height of the arms of the center pad.  If you follow that?

The first wheel I made, I feel the center pad sits too high against the timber grip.  If you glue it to the metal too early, you cannot adjust for height.  These parts all have to work together to get correct and pleasing proportions.

You also need enough material below the metal hoop to ensure the finger grooves don't bottom out onto the metal.

 

If you leave the inner hoop free to move you can do all checks and fittings, and then epoxy it in place when you use the thin timber fillers over (and underneath) the metal hoop.

 

I simply cut a timber strip lengthwise and used the two pieces above and below the metal, with epoxy as the adhesive for the thin fillers.  Once you have cut to size, you know upper and lower will both fit.  The strip will stick up and below, but once cured, it is easily trimmed flush with the rest of the timber. 

 

then build up with fillets until the timber is slightly larger than the metal hoop.  Then sand the timber back so it is all completely flush with the metal, all the way round.  You will then get excellent fit and adhesion, and no unsightly epoxy filled gaps in the timber hoop.

 

The outer hoops is the time to use a compression device, to snug the hoops in tight.  Make sure you measure precisely and test fit until perfect.  Slightly too small is better than slightly too large for the outer hoops.  perfect fit is ....well....perfect.

 

Hope this helps.  As always, you do what you think is best, these are just tips I learned along the way.   

[Black_69_FB 49]

I am 6', normal build, and no visibility problems.  The wheel is just not small enough to start that issue, at least for me.  and it is a tilt wheel, so, that offers solutions if you are very tall.

 

- - - - - -

 

I used to mock it with my buddies, you know, shaking a fist at some imaginary drive and then squeezing the little rubber horn switch - haha.  No good for road rage addicts.  And I don't miss the horn switch at all on this wheel.

 

That, and if you have manual steering you're always inadvertently honking the horn when making a turn from a stop. When I was much younger and had my 69 Grande with the 429 shoehorned in, there was no room for PS. People thought I was very friendly with all the honking.

 

I'm 5'11" so should be about the same with guage visibility. Guess I could always install the old rimblow and make a cardboard template like you used and test fit it.

[SA69mach 39]

That, and if you have manual steering you're always inadvertently honking the horn when making a turn from a stop. When I was much younger and had my 69 Grande with the 429 shoehorned in, there was no room for PS. People thought I was very friendly with all the honking.

 

I'm 5'11" so should be about the same with guage visibility. Guess I could always install the old rimblow and make a cardboard template like you used and test fit it.

That's funny/  I never thought about the manual steering and the fun a rim blow would cause.....

 

So, you are inspired to make a wheel too?!  Cool. 

 

I should get serious and set a fixed price to modify the wheels into "14 inch" wheels.  Hand finished, laminated oak. option of center horn button.  option of rimblow switch.   option of full timber or Deluxe replica with faux metal strip....... lol.

 

 

[ray1970 88]

As I seat here working on my steam box thinking about what I didn't like about the stock wheel. 

 

1. Rim blow was just a bad idea with manual steering....... Never cared for it no matter what steering I had. 

2. Pencil thin rim.

3. To big... It was like driving a tractor. And always in the way.    

 

I like the look of the stock wheel but don't care for the look of what I have now..... But I do like the feel....

[ray1970 88]

Got my steam box mostly done today...Needs a little fine tuning...steams wood what more am looking for?

[SA69mach 39]

Nice.

[ray1970 88]

The wood is in house.

black walnut.  Why black walnut? Not looking to make a statement with a wheel that looks out of place.

The aftermarket wheels I looked at in the past were just a little to overbearing......It just me........

 

Let the cutting begin.

[ray1970 88]

If all goes bad............... Victim 2 out of 3...............

[SA69mach 39]

Nice Ray.  Just take care with the saw.  Please. 

 

It will be interesting to get some times and heat numbers to see how long it takes to get that sawn maple to a pliable, useful state.

Beautiful timber for color and grain.  I hope it has the properties to allow for tight bends.

 

Looking forward to your progress.