A few years ago I bought a hoop of mild steel one inch diameter tube. I used it to make a steering wheel rim and used the center hub and spokes from a 40 buick steering wheel. Now I want to make another, also in a 14 inch diameter but I cant' find anybody who sells them and I can't remember where I bought the one I have. Anybody know where I can buy just the tubular ring in 14" diameter?
Yeah me to! I looked and looked then got lucky and I found an office chair ottoman and cut the hoop off the bottom.
speedway used to sell them in the dirt track /racing catalogs . haven't gotten a copy of one in several years
most big citys have a idustrial metal fab shop with a 3-die roller that can coil a tube to get a bunch of rings cut. besides the tube cost, its around $100 minimum charge. but if you can sell the extras for $20 each yours becomes free.
We just make them by rolling stainless tubing around a GM brake rotor and weld it. This one is made with 7/8 tubing
The GM brake rotors have a groove in the middle where the vents are which the tubing fits into and it's not hard to bend. Cut an extra piece of tubing an inch long and split it to make it smaller and use it to splice the two ends together before welding. If you use stainless tubing, you can mig weld it with stainless wire if you want to polish it and use it shiny. We've made them from 15" down to 13".
I for one would dearly love to see a tech post demonstrating your method for rolling tube around a brake drum. I happen to have an old GM brake rotor handy, and would love to try my hand at making my own steering wheel.
Rocky, This may be a dumb statement, but I believe you said were yo bought it in your build thread when you made the wheel. I will go look also.....John
Nope I looked and its not there.....Sorry will keep my eyes open for one for you at the LA roadster show....
I couldn't find a shop in Cleveland that could do it. And that was my plan- roll the whole stick of pipe and sell the extras. I did find places that could roll big *** beams, and I found places that wanted to sell me the machine to do the tube. I'm trying to find something similar in 24" diameter exhaust tube. Hahaha
Several years ago I encountered a group of stainless steel rings in various diameters on an industrial job. I inquired about them and learned they were chill rings to back root welds on pipe. I understand they also are available in carbon steel as weld. A few of the welders on the project made steering wheels for their shrimp boats with these rings. The one I saw looked really nice. You might try an industrial pie supply outfit?
Over on YellowBullet.Com, a member posted a photo of a NEW steering wheel he bought/installed on his car. All steel or aluminum (that I forget), and he broke the spokes right out of it while backing the car out of the garage, for the first time. Must have been a Hoffman Group product! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Nope, not yet. And I have this killer 36 Caddy banjo wheel just begging for a hoop. I think I'll sweet talk mo Rust to see if he'll bend a stainless one up over a brake rotor for me.
I'll post it again. See post 5. Search for: boat steering wheel on ebay. Put the diameter in the search window. Example: 15 boat steering wheel. 14 and 15 inch wheels are common. Guys, ..this isn't rocket science but maybe just as complicated, for some.
That's not a hoop, that's a steering wheel that needs ,,, watch this The spokes you're paying for removed The center you're paying for removed The welds you're paying for polished out. All that just to get down to the bare hoop that was asked for in the first place. Only its reworked, has scars and 70% of it was thrown away. That bare hoop costs about $200.00 Ha, rocket science. That sounds like it.
The Jalopy Journal
