DIY wheel stand -- complete!

[pearlbluesoul]

Hey all, first time poster here. Just completed my wheel stand build and thought I'd post. Pretty cheep to make, spent around $65 on all the bits. It's made to be used from a couch, but has expansion available to add a real seat later.

The steering wheel and shifter are mounted to separate planks of MDF, and the pedals are inverted for better feel. This Has adjustments available for steering wheel angle, shifter angle, and pedal spacing. All cables can be routed through the chassis to keep it clean and prevent cord trips.

If someone wants plans shoot me a PM. I have a parts list but no plans drawn up yet. Kinda made this up as I went along.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78974509@N05/sets/72157629802583649/

Dunno how to upload photos here yet, so pardon me if this doesn't work quite as expected!

 

[MSTER232]

Hey all, first time poster here. Just completed my wheel stand build and thought I'd post. Pretty cheep to make, spent around $65 on all the bits. It's made to be used from a couch, but has expansion available to add a real seat later.

The steering wheel and shifter are mounted to separate planks of MDF, and the pedals are inverted for better feel. This Has adjustments available for steering wheel angle, shifter angle, and pedal spacing. All cables can be routed through the chassis to keep it clean and prevent cord trips.

If someone wants plans shoot me a PM. I have a parts list but no plans drawn up yet. Kinda made this up as I went along.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78974509@N05/sets/72157629802583649/

Dunno how to upload photos here yet, so pardon me if this doesn't work quite as expected!

Welcome to ! I like your setup, but to upload photos, you need to put them on a image hosting website (which you've already done) and then you need to copy the image URL. Then you paste the image URL into your post, and then wrap it in IMG tags, like this:

Then you will be able to upload photos directly to . I hope this helps!

 

[toymdngn]

Is this the same PBS from mr2oc?

Edit: Looks like it! Welcome.

 

[stevenfilms]

Are the pedals stable, considering they are mounted on just wood? Look pretty good, and cheap.

 

[bs13]

Your stand looks good. Is it stable? Do the clamps keep the wheel and shifter from moving? What type and size are your clamps?

 

[pearlbluesoul]

Toymdngn: yep, wow....haven't been called out from a MR2er in a looooong time. LOL

Steven: the pedals are solid. I was using two pieces of L aluminum and they were super bendy. Not so with thE MDF. Nice n stable

Bs13: stand is very stable, even without using compound to bond the PVC. The wheel and shifter are held in place by conduit hangers. 1.5" (the dia. Of the PVC). And likewise are very solid. The trick with using the MDF planks for the wheel is to counterbalance as the bulk of the weight is in the front. The shifter is very light so it can be mounted further back for better reach/shift angle. The parts that contact the floor are open joints (a cross and T respectively) and grip the carpet very well. If I did it for use on a non-carpet material, I was planning to use rubber stoppers and bore holes in the joints to push them into as feet.

To make this stand requires a Dremel with a cutting kit (model 565d). You can use just the bit but to get an accurate cut it's better to use the kit with the shroud.

 

[bs13]

Thanks for answering my questions pearlbluesould!

A couple of more questions and I'll leave you alone. So you used the dremel and kit to cut the mdf planks? What is the type of board and the dimensions of the planks you bought?

 

[pearlbluesoul]

hmm....I know it's 1/2inch thick, I think by 6" but I will know for sure when I audit my parts list with my receipts. I couldn't get a small cut of MDF at Lowes (they had either big bare sheets of it for ~$30, or 10' primered planks for $5), so I had to improvise. However, the kit I mentioned is for cutting soft materials and it worked just fine. I could even cut in one pass if I turned the speed up on the dremel despite the thickness.

I sent this to someone asking for plans, but the tools list looks like this:

Variable speed drill
Dremel with 565 cutting kit
T square (most helpful tool, bar none. Try to get a long one (most drafting classes should use it)
Drill bits up to ~6mm (preferably with smaller sizes to help with the steel drilling parts)
2 C clamps or equivalent wood clamp for clamping the T square when making cuts
Phillips screwdriver to disassemble pedals
10mm wratchet
13mm wratchet and hand wrench
Rubber mallet (to assist assembly of PVC, can be super stubborn)

 

[pearlbluesoul]

Hey, finally audited my parts list. The setup came in at 60 bucks! Not too shabby.


The MDF is actually sized at 21/32"x7.25"x6' (odd, right?). The spacing of the holes for the pedal mounting holes is actually just slightly too narrow to fit the board, so you have. To shave around 1/4 of an inch off the top to allow the bolts to pass. In the pics of the pedals you'll note the top edge OS brown from where that was cut.

I have. A full PDF with the parts inventory done. Will be making plans and a how-to later this week.

 

[bs13]

Thank for the extra info PBS. Was this the board you used? http://www.lowes.com/pd_6305-157-LB...&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=mdf&facetInfo=

P.S. Please don't go to any more trouble on my account. I really want to build a stand like the steadiplay stand but if I can't get the proper tools a PVC stand is my 2nd option. I have done a little bit of plumbing work in the past.

 

[pearlbluesoul]

No trouble at all. I'd just prefer accuracy. You improvise where you want, ya no? Thats the beauty of a DIY build!

Thats the right kind of board, not sure bout the size but if you have the pedals you can work out the dimensions. The width of the board is important since the longer you make it the more flexible it will end up being. If you do go more narrow then shave the overall width of the stand. And, the more narrow the stand the less stability there will be.

Will have plans ready on thursday!