Hey, what's that? A stock 71-73 tii wheel I found in a shelf in summer of 2015. A slotted three-spoker. Spokes rusty and the foam... Gone. And now, what to do with it? Paint the spokes, yes, but the foam? I'm not familiar with replacing or shaping foam. Oak sounds some similar, so let's go oak.

 

The wheel's core:

 

 

 

Hm... A kind of oval steel profile around. I started a first try to find out what's doable:

 

 

 

Continuing:

 

 

The pic above is taken from another project; just to demonstrate what's going on. The oak is really very old (its provenience is known, it's pre-war), but some areas have been eaten by worms and some covered with soot since mom's house burnt down several years ago. The house is ok again, but I had to choose the needed sections very carefully. Here's the rim in the groove:

 

 

I had to do this two times, one for the front and one for the back. The gaps are turned to the centers of the opposite sections. Glued everything together:

 

 

What a monster. I let it dry over night. The next morning I started to fraze the borders:

 

 

 

Reminds me somehow to a boat rudder. Can you hear the Evinrudes, too? The funky arrangement I used:

 

 

Not free of danger. But it lead to this:

 

 

This was still more dangerous:

 

 

At this point I had to stop. Since I'm not a carpenter, coloring and clear coating wood is not my profession. I gave the wheel to a buddy of mine who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody that can do it. This guy did it- but it took more than ten months. In September 2016 my now wooden wheel returned to me- colored in mahagony with a distinct stitch into red. However, the paint job including the spokes was done very well- nothing to nitpick. We checked it out in a 72 verona:

 

 

but the color combi is not good. The verona's owner refused it. Afterwards, I installed it in a lapisblau 74 to have another impression:

 

 

 

Sold in the very same minute to the owner of the 74.

 

I think everybody who has got some solid wood, some spare wood and a good frazer can do this DIY at home. This is my alternative for foam. Thank you for watching!