Cip1.ca VDM reproduction steering wheel... no longer listed

SingleWheel · Samba Member Joined: April 08, 2004 Posts: 184

WOW!!! That is very cool...
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flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:27 pm Post subject:

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:01 pm Post subject:

I am still working away at the Bamboo bits of the wheel and the dry assembly before I go to the epoxy stages.

Here is the jig for the pieces that will become the end flanges of the inner spoke. This section is bent laminated to match the main wheel hoop I.D.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I have yet to find a local source for the West System Epoxy. The closest source is Vancouver, B.C., but they sell the Carbon/Kevlar material too so I might as well purchase them from the same source.

Gordo.
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flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:20 pm Post subject:

The Carbon finer cloth and epoxy bits arrived today.

It was expensive so I better make this work.

Gordo.
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Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

Fredrok · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:05 pm Post subject:

Really cool Gordo, many of us watching your progress and admire your ambition!

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:48 am Post subject:

I tried the epoxy out on a few pieces of the bamboo to get an idea of it's properties and cure times given the conditions it is being used in. For this piece I used the epoxy with no fillers added to gauge how it filled minute gaps in the layers.

Here is the same piece after a bit of massaging to see how the layers will look in the finished shape. It was also to see how the epoxy handled sanding and finishing. Really the piece just reacted as though it was a solid piece of bamboo.

I chose the West Systems Epoxy based on it's usage in the boat building community. The 207 hardener is specially formulated to have little or no blush and will harden to a water clear finish. It makes it the best choice for use over wood.
This is left over epoxy that hardened in the container. It is about 1/2" thick and the clarity is amazing.

I will be testing the use of fillers in the epoxy today, then it it onto the real pieces.

Gordo.
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Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

dawerks · Samba Member Joined: September 15, 2010 Posts: 2349

Nice! And valuable information, thanks!
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esde · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 3:44 pm Post subject:

I used that west system epoxy on a 16' cedar boat, it is great stuff, and pretty UV stable. If it is too cold or hot when you mix it, it can cloud a bit, FYI. Between 70-90 seems ideal.

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 7:48 pm Post subject:

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:54 am Post subject:

The first pieces of the steering wheel have been epoxied, clamped and cured overnight. I was a bit anxious this morning taking the clamps off as I was not really sure if the pieces would retain their shape.

Well, I was very pleased with the results. The pieces kept their shape exactly and are extremely rigid, much more so than a solid piece of wood.

Looks as though this thing might actually work after all.

I will begin to laminate the main hoop and the centre flanges today.

Gordo.
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Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:27 am Post subject:

I just popped the first of the hoop sections off the form this morning.

Even the joins in the pieces came out well.

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Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

64 ragtop volks · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:03 pm Post subject:

That's coming along great.cant wait to see it finished.are you making just the one???

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:11 pm Post subject:

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:30 am Post subject:

The last hoop section came off the form this morning. This one came out even better than the first, with very nice joins on the overlap. I added more of the anti-sag filler to the epoxy mixture this time, so the Bamboo strips held more epoxy on them before being clamped.

Now each piece will need to be thickness planed in a milling device using a router. Like this: http://youtu.be/TpU5dZlW2pg

Gordo.
_________________
Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 7:14 pm Post subject:

At the end of my day at work, I had a few minutes before they turn the lights off on me, so I welded up the metal portion of the wheel.

I tacked each piece while in the jig and flipped it in the jig after each tack to ensure that it did not warp with heat. Then I completed the welds. Seemed to have worked, it's straight.

Now I just need to thickness plane the bamboo bits and begin to fit them together, before I router the groove for the metal core.

Gordo.
_________________
Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:25 pm Post subject:

Just this:
http://youtu.be/pXPRzP4_i14

Gordo.
_________________
Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

TinCanFab · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:41 pm Post subject:

Very nice work! I can't understand why most repop wheels are missing a steel center? It's like they are designed by people who have never driven a car. The hard part is getting the style, shape and the casting mold to be a close copy, but how hard is it to pour in the plastic around a steel ring? Rolling Eyes

Anyway, it's a good thing because you are going to be much happier with your well thought out creation
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Ran When Parked · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:27 pm Post subject: Cool

Nice work.

flemcadiddlehopper · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:46 pm Post subject:

Well all along I thought I was building a copy of a copy of a VDM steering wheel... But, like in sculpting, when they say," the sculpture is in the material, you just have to let it out" ..... Mine was let out.....

Anyone for some Kool-Aid ? really it is not a "Cult" thing.

Gordo.
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Everybody Dies....Some Never Live.

Retrograde Garage. Vintage Aircooled, and others.

'69Custom · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:23 am Post subject:

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1965 Ford Mustang
:2gunfire: F-U-M-P!
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Please excuse any typos as my iPhone doesn't speak English very well.


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