VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Wood steering wheel glue

I have a wheel for the 1928 truck which will work with slight mods. It is currently taped at the joints which are loose. What glue or apoxy should we use to tighten up the ring? Thanks

Hide glue if you want to be authentic.

Regular wood glue if you want to be practical.

An epoxy such as US Composites #635 if it's in really rough shape/is missing chunks of wood (if you're missing chunks of wood you'll also need a thickener such as fumed silica so you can fill these areas).

If the wood is in decent shape, I'd recommend regular wood glue and linseed oiling the crap out of it after the glue sets. Hardest part is to remove the pins they used at the finger joints without breaking anything.

If you go the epoxy route, it may be best to 'wet out' the wood with the epoxy thinned with ~10% acetone before glueing it together, this will give you a better bond and help stabilize/strengthen the old wood.

-Tyler

When Lurch's steering wheel came apart, I used Gorilla Glue to put it back together. This was many years ago.

If I recall correctly, a friend helped (many hands are handy). Wearing gloves, we glued the wheel together, used plastic electrical tape around the dovetails, and then screwed it to the spider to keep its shape and orientation.

After the glue set up (I don't remember how long), I took the tape off. The next day, I lightly sanded the steering wheel and did not apply any finish. The remnants of the glue gave it an aged look.

After a few years of handling, the steering wheel now has a semi-gloss, worn looking finish.

Cheers, Dean