How to Make a Wooden Steering Wheel

I've just finished another wooden steering wheel rim for a set of classic steering wheel spokes. Due to the fact I have a completely different workshop setup now the build of this wheel was very different to the one in my last video so I thought I would document it again.
The wheel was jointed using a finger jointer (tool linked below) and the shape was cut on a cnc router. If you have any questions about the process feel free ask in the comments below and I will try to answer them as best I can.
This wheel is going onto a Baby Bootlegger that is currently being built by Mike Grace in New Zealand, make sure you check out his build on Instagram (link below). This rim would not be the original design for these spokes but Mike wanted the same design as in my last video so that's what he got, only made much better than my first one!
I hope you enjoy the video and please remember to subscribe if you'd like to keep up to date with some of my other projects.
- Tooling used in the video -
Tool 1 - 1-9/16" finger jointing bit: shrsl.com/1ni4m
Tool 2 - 1/4" downcut spiral bit: shrsl.com/1ni4v
Tool 3 - 3/8" compression spiral bit: shrsl.com/1ni51
Tool 4 - 1/4" flush trim bit: shrsl.com/1ni57
Tool 5 - 1/2" radius rounding bit: shrsl.com/1ni5c
Tool 6 - 1/2" radius ultra guide rounding bit: shrsl.com/1ni5j
- Mike's Baby Bootlegger Boat Build -
/ mikegracenz
- My Website -
danleeboatbuilding.co.uk
- My Facebook -
/ danleeboatbuilding
- My Instagram -
/ danleeboatbuilding

[@peterbarrowclough7278]

A great,no nonsense video,great skills.

[@romeowhiskey1146]

One good turn deserves another. GREAT JOB.

[@dustoffthebible]

Absolutely awesome project

[@wokohedgehogs]

Beautiful job, love it.

[@jonhart6688]

That is like a piece of art...i would hang that on my wall...amazing job...🤩

[@user-yn3mp4gu3m]

BRAVO, BEAUTIFUL WORK!!!

[@hansslob6749]

Perfect, I would love to have something like that in my sloop

[@HamidKhan-po1px]

machines works so beautiful....

[@giacomodante614]

bravissimo Dan!

[@mrambitious1149]

I love the simplicity

[@mauivi1113]

Wow man. Biig job. For me it is total relax to see so perfect Jobs.

[@alexandervanwyk7669]

This is fabulous work. Ill consider to use a laser cut steel core covered with wood.

[@gehringer37]

Awesome work Dan!!!

[@vijuthomas7880]

Hi Dan, wow great craftsmanship....

[@dbc105]

That's nice work

[@timothykimari8154]

AMAZING

[@nobelhobel]

Awesome Job

[@marcio51100]

Maravilhoso...Parabéns...Congratulations....

[@robsonferreiradacosta1273]

Parabéns, excelente trabalho! 👏

[@darrenjones9180]

I hope your going to build boats now , I’ve done it for fifty years now and it’s very rewarding

[@luisbatista1103]

Yes we all have machines like that

[@sandroabreu7373]

Parabéns, ficou lindo,vou tentar fazer um para o meu carro

[@Sergey_Bryansk]

Отличная работа.

[@johndumke3801]

Very cool!! Can you make a teak wheel to fit a a standard skiff power boat - Bristol Skiff is the company?

[@cacaugondolo4132]

Man!! Congrats! Perfect work! Do you sell?

[@krisztianszabo7337]

Nice work! How was the middle part made and what kind of material made from? Thank you for your answer!

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

The spokes are cast aluminium and an original set from a car.

[@krusher74]

Great work! (try to find some music that does not repeat every 5 secs! i make you wanna go crazy)

[@alanbriggs2637]

Beautiful workmanship, but don't you need a teak oil or spar varnish on the finished wooden wheel?

[@amberabbott6106]

I'm in the middle of making one out of red oak for my triumph tr6. whats the diameter of your wheel and what are the dimensions of the trapezoid cuts of the octagon for the boards i'm trying to figure it out for my self

[@darrellnutt7739]

What model of wadkins table saw planner are you using? Thx! Great job!

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

The planer thicknesser is the FM24 model (1960's era) and the table/panel saw is an SP12.

[@fourpoint9]

Bad Chad needs one

[@j-bdekker4871]

I wonder, how well does that drumsander preform, i am a little on the fence on buying one or saving up a little longer for a widebelt sander. Any thoughts?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

It is a good bit of kit, I use it most days. It's only down fall really is that it won't handle a particularly heavy pass on wide stock and the sanding drums will often stop. Almost all of what I put through it is American white oak and if you try to take off more than about 0.5mm on a 400mm wide board it doesn't like it. I am running it with 80g on the first roller and 120g on the second but have put 40g on the first roller before now which will remove a bit more stock. If you need to take quite heavy passes then I would guess a belt sander might be a better route. I went for this machine over a wide belt sander because I couldn't find one that was a compact size!

[@palco22]

Great video and the list for the bits is wonderful but would it be possible to have a complete list of all the the tools (sanders, routers, planers etc. ) used and the approximate cost for each of these tools ? I'm interested to calculate the end cost for this great looking steering wheel ! ..........or maybe save some cash and just purchase a new car ! Beautiful work none the less.

[@CaptainRon1913]

I know it's a year later, but what are you talking about? These tools weren't purchased just to make a steering wheel, this is a working wood shop. You amortize the tools over years of hundreds of projects. Replacement sanding belts, and router bits are fairly inexpensive and last over many projects. I don't know about the metal spoke part, but the mahogany wheel probably cost $10 bucks plus his labor

[@palco22]

@@CaptainRon1913 Hi ! Don't mind my bitter sarcasm, it just mirrors my jealousy ! If I had a fraction of his workshop I'd be happier than a pig in mud, if you know what I mean. I just love seeing this level of work. Thanks for the reply and have a great day !

[@martindOO7]

Gorgeous. How I wish I had a few of those tools :) How much for one for an 1978 MGB

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

They certainly make it easier although sometimes I still do them the old school way depending on the style. Cost depends on the type of wheel and process for making the rim. If you want to get in touch via email@danleeboatbuilding,co.uk I can let you know.

[@holman26]

nice work dan would you ever envest ina spindle moulder

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

Thanks! In all honesty I've never done a job where I thought I might need one. It's all been pretty small stuff so I get by with a router table. Never say never though!

[@mcd22630]

What wood did you use to make the wheel. What kind of finish is applied? Thanks. Beautiful wheel.

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

I used Sapele, a modern Mahogany alternative basically. I didn't apply a finish as the customer is going to do that but it will probably be varnished.

[@hemidart7]

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding Varnish cracks Ive had many wood wheels and varnish always cracks stick with oil

[@user-kj5irkdjfhxj]

🙂👍

[@drewneven2088]

Nice job! Where did you get the metal centre?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

This was supplied by the customer that I was making the rim for. I think it was an eBay find.

[@nathgallagher9566]

I'm a classic car guy,, just wanted to share (it's a stock 1929 Plymouth steering wheel- metal center) 👌

[@camdobson5433]

What do you call the rounded bearing that you use on the roundover bit on the second pass? I need one of those!

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

It is linked in the product description.

[@TOP_L_A]

Добрый день. Я сейчас строю глиссер и мне нравиться ваше рулевое колесо! Можете поделиться программой для стана ЧПУ. Сам я не умею делать такие программы, рулевое колесо от автомобиля не подходит мне.

[@paolozampieri2691]

What CAD/CAM tool are you running on your Mac if I may ask?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

I use Fusion 360 👍

[@alexmikonnen8522]

Hello, do you take custom orders for the steering wheels?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

Yes, this one was for a customer.

[@berendlucasvanderweide]

Nice work! perfect mixture of cad/cam and handwork :) In fusion you could have also drawn a line at 45 degree to mirror the drawing of the pocket instead of copy and move. Are these the Amana tools with Spektra coating btw? (which i think is just NACO coating, not ideal for wood, but it looks spiffy) I personally don't like them. They tend to chatter awful in my opinion. The soul of the 2 flute cutters is rather thin, so the

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

Thanks for the Fusion tip, I'm learning stuff in it all the time and still have LONG way to go! Yes they are Spektra bits, I've got on ok with them but haven't tried much else for comparison. The three flute 3/8" bit scares the hell out of me running it at its specified feed rate, it's a bit too aggressive for my machine really. I'm still learning about tooling and feed rates etc as well as there is lots to learn. What is your preference of tooling for woodwork?

[@berendlucasvanderweide]

​@@DanLeeBoatbuilding Nice of you to answer Dan! There are so many way's you can work in Fusion, and as long as you get where you want it's more than OK. I'm struggling with it from time to time, and with complex assemblies i always find myself rebuilding it for a 2nd or a 3rd time. There are some base-elements you'll have to follow in order to make an entire assembly from multiple parts. For my furniture i also like to use mapboards btw. (it lays an entire design flat, somewhat nested, ready to be cut at a specified sheet-size). You know your machine the best. You can calculate how much spindle-power you'd need, that gives you a nice figure. 3 flutes in that size requires some authority in machining.. ;) With MDF you can go FAST. especially when aiming for a .5-.6mm feed per tooth. Running a 12mm 2 flute cutter at 14000rpm already results in 16m/min of movement. I have most of my cutters custom-cut, and some (3 flute roughers in 8 and 12mm) coated with DLC. i'm running 25mm birch plywood in 1 take at 12-14m/min at 14000rpm. (i mainly cut birch plywood, solid oak, walnut, beech and maple). I guess my favourite tools are down-cutters and compression cutters. And a roughing 3 flute down-cutter (it's using some chip-breakers at different heights to avoid a fuzzy finish on the wood) And an indexable 90 degree/ 91 degree cutter for cutting miters. they run smooth too! Are you from the UK? Scosarg has a nice CMT 91 degree cutter for not too much money. It requires a 20mm collet.

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

Yeah I know what you mean, I like the fact it sort of forces you to work properly in order for things to work right. I've started over a few times when a model just gets a bit "messy". Yes I'm in the UK, I've just had a look on Scosarg, I never realised they did so much tooling despite going there last year and they are at pretty sensible prices as well! I've not tried anything with chip breakers yet either. There is so much to learn with CNC, particularly when it comes to perfecting finishes and feed rates. It isn't just as straight forward as everyone (and me at first) thinks. I'd never heard of a 91 degree cutter before either, every day is a school day as they say!

[@user-hz3zg2hr2i]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@BellaLugoshi]

а вот время ДТП руки ломают дерево и 4 уса от руля входят в грудную клетку - брависсимо.

[@garybrooks1194]

👍👍👍. 😎

[@tonyschiffiler4816]

Do you cast the aluminum spokes too ?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

No, these are an old original set. I have thought about getting some reproductions cast though.

[@cskeise]

💙👊😎

[@osvaldocruz1178]

Daria pra você me mandar as dimensões..para que eu possa mandar um torneiro mecânico " fabricar a armação...

[@osvaldocruz1178]

Armação metálica

[@ubacow7109]

idk if I would trust jigsawed pieces to stay together over a single piece of wood in the case of safety

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

It's actually a lot stronger than cutting from a single piece of wood as you have correct grain direction all the way round the wheel. A single piece would give weak spots top and bottom where the grain would run vertically.

[@ubacow7109]

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding But arent nardi wheels made from a single piece or sometimes a single top and bottom piece?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

Maybe, there are lots of different ways of making them. Some have metal bar cores, some are wood sandwiching metal that is visible around the outside, some are steam bent and laminated as well. It's a process that has varied much over the years.

[@nathgallagher9566]

Just think about your bottom jaw hitting that at 40mph,, it actually needs to be a lil weak.. so it's not a death warrant. I have experience in that department. And can attest that this style of wheel well last a 60yrs if not more*

[@mikekirkelie4037]

Laminated beams are joined like that, and they hold up buildings. The glue is stronger than the wood, and how much force will be applied to the wheel in a boat anyways?

[@hemidart7]

looks nice but needs a steel ring core in the wood for strength just not safe with the way it is right now

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

If this wasn't a customers wheel I would challenge you to break it, I very much doubt you could. The originals of this era did not have metal cores in them.

[@hemidart7]

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding You obviously don't understand the g-force behind hitting the breaks let alone an accident. Originals!...They didn't think about those type things back then just like they didn't think of seat belts, also car went slower depending how far back you go . Hot to cold weather will crack them up Hard sun will shrink them make them brittle I've owned probably a dozen different ones over the year this is coming from experience

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

@@hemidart7 you obviously don’t understand the end use application of this wheel. It’s not exactly going to be fitted to a M3 for street racing, this is a period wheel and as such will be fitted to a period vehicle. In this instance a 1920’s style boat and for that it will be more than fit for purpose.

[@mikar3601]

What’s the music?

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

I use Envato Elements for my music, its just a track called ambient background I think.

[@mikar3601]

Dan Lee thanks! Great job on the videos and on all your beautiful boating projects. Keep up the great work!

[@1908Rick]

I guess having a few hundred thousand dollars worth of machinery makes it easy.

[@DanLeeBoatbuilding]

I'd say your a little over on your valuation there but yes having the right tools makes it easier, you still have to know how to use them though!

[@danielallen2000]

And the skill required to build your business and reputation in order to purchase tools.

[@satchelsieniewicz5824]

constrain your sketch so you dont have a fkup