If I had to guess you've been doing this type of restoration work for over 50 years. The level of expertise is impressive, you must be in high demand. Thank you for sharing your talents
I think making of the mould is as impressive if not more than the steering wheel,luckily there’s people still around like this man to help keep the old cars on the road 👍
I am just in awe-no wait Thunderstruck! The level of craftsmanship attention to detail and Artistry that went into creating this one steering wheel or rather I should say a work of art, sadly very soon there will come a time when there won't be many people or anyone around who know how to do any of this stuff anymore. I originally watched this video because as a Master model builder I've always wanted to learn the process of casting resin parts however it's hard to find anyone who have these skills anymore and sadly most young people simply are not interested in working with their hands anymore, hopefully this gentleman has a son or an apprentice or an employee who can learn his knowledge and skills and continue this tradition!
I don't get amazed very often but I did here. You are a true artist in the whole sense of the word. I had a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker business coupe wheel done about 25 years ago from Hemmings Motor magazine in a bone color. I had no idea how it was done until today. There is a tremendous amount of work done there to achieve perfection. Again well done sir!
Thank you the nice comments. I am truly amazed at the response from the viewers. This is my second UA-cam video. I have been so busy making wheels and other resin projects. I have about 20 B role videos of other resin restoration projects. I will be making more…
A few years ago I reworked a 1958 Lincoln steering wheel in similar condition. Lots of cracks, and large sections of the knurled rim were completely missing. Without access to a full mold as seen here, I made silicone molds from the few knurled areas that were left, and little by little, grafted those sections in. It turned out pretty nicely, but certainly isn't the work of art on this video. Outstanding!
packing is a very important part of the delivery of the wheel. I got my inspiration from Apple. I want the customer to be impressed. No packaging peanuts.
the best (possibly worst for me) part of this is that he doesnt get 10 minutes into the video and then fire up his $250,000, 5 axis cnc mill. he is "just" a true craftsman with handmade molds and jigs with everyday hand tools. now im researching resin and vacuum chambers like i could actually do this. he makes it look so easy, which is a testament to his craftmanship.
I always enjoy watching a skilled craftsman at work. It reminds me of my time as an apprentice in the workshop, a very long time ago now. It was always a huge satisfaction to finish a job knowing that it had been done well. Not like in the engineering office where you never ever get acknowledgment for a job well done.
That is some magical work. I love the translucence of the resins that makes it look so factory original. I've had problems with warpage and shrinkage over time with my attempts at model parts. It's not as easy as this guy makes it look!
Great process video. I worked in the cast polyurethane business for over 30 years and the workmanship that went into producing these parts was phenomenal. I’d like to have seen a video of the production of the silicone tooling.
Fantastic Mr. Keith Lee!! The designers and stylists at Ford/Lincoln in those years would be very proud of your art. You are one of that team. Your work is truly fascinating. All merits and congratulations to you;
Wow, looks like it took a lot of experience to get to this level. There are all kinds of details in that silicone mold that could only exist from trial and error. Finished product looks great.
I totally agree,absolutely fabulous work, you must have spent countless hours working to reach this ultimate standard.The satisfaction you must get with every piece is doubtless immense. I hope you always charge plenty for your work. From one craftsman (carpenter) to another, many thanks best wishes from England .🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸
As mother used to say: "A stitch in time saves nine," and this video master class certainly proves that preparation, preparation, preparation is fundamental (and phenomenal!). Thank you for taking the time to put this video together - your skills and experienced know-how are greatly appreciated (and I hope you've got a good apprentice to pass on your talents to)
I applaud you for such a satisfying building project. I liked both the wheel and the cap. A lot of serious effort went into making the molds and casting them...and the look great! Thumbs Up
@@keithlee6724 When I watched the video Ii thought oh yeah there were a lot of failures going in the waste bin before the technique was perfected, not that there is anything wrong with that at all !
I am impressed! I feel like it's 1940, and I just walked into the Lincoln dealer's showroom! Amazing work! My brother had a 1946 Lincoln Zephyr that was in really nice shape. It was a pretty cool car.
Outstanding. Beautiful. I'm trying to imagine how captivating, entertaining and instructional this would be with spoken narrative explaining the details, the why's & wherefore's. What, how and why are major contributors to both education and entertainment.
Amazing craftsmanship, its better than the original standard item from the factory where they churned thousands and had no time to tweak the colors or finish. Those classics had some beautifull steering wheels, one of my favorite is the Mercedes-Benz ones from the 1960's to 1972, with its padded central boss and horn ring. Thanks for posting. 🐞
Hi Keith, you nailed it! I didn't see you use a vacuum pump. I'm surprised the finished product is so good! the old plastics shop I worked by evacuated the resin before they poured it. Rich
Most of my casting s I use a vacuum pump. However I have found if you use FRESH resin you can get by using just pressure.. if the wheel was translucent I would have used both vacuum and pressure. Good observation!!
I about shat in my pants when right off you started knocking the old resin off the metal frame. I had no idea at that point you already had the mold. I owe you one! 😅
Very Nice! Hours of work even after it’s cast ! Like it picks up the year and Lincoln in the casting! Attention to detail shows in the finished product!! One happy customer I’m sure !! Sometimes you do get what you pay for ! Once in awhile you get more than you pay for! Thanks!!
👍👌👏 Oh WOW, simply fantastic! What a beautiful , stunning result. Congratulations 🎉 What an effort although a lot of work isn't even shown. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health in particular.
Поразительный результат! Будто с нового Линкольна. Хотелось бы чтобы и в наших краях появилась мастерская по воссозданию таких вещей для старых автомобилей "Волга", "Победа" и им подобных. Спасибо за ваш труд. Было очень интересно наблюдать.
I once had a railroad passenger car from 1940 that needed replacement light lenses. The originals were molded glass with a magnifying feature. I needed someone to cast new ones out of polycarbonate. I knew it could be done but didn’t have anyone with the skill. This was the guy. Sadly, I no longer have the car.
I can answer that question obviously to make a 30-minute long video it's very obvious that he filmed hours of video and then sped it up to make this video in an assembly line there's no way that you could spend that much time to make a single part originally the steering wheel would have been injection molded using thermoplastic the entire process would have literally have taken less than a minute an originally the molds or dies as they're called would have been made of steel so is they could be repeatedly molded basically if you've ever built or seen a plastic model kit that's how they made these plastic parts it's the same process however considering the market and it's a restoration part the expense and time that would be required to have a steel mold made for an injection machine would be out of the question and so that's why plastic parts are now recreated using epoxy resins but originally it would have been molten hot plastic that would have been forced into a steel mold at extremely high pressure. Depending on the year of the vehicle so in the 1920s and 30s there was another plastic material called Bakelite but it's much less durable and more fragile than injection molded plastic so it is also possible that the original steering wheel could have been molded in Bakelite
You earned the right to engrave your name on the wheel like Nardi did. Worth every penny of what may be $5,000. I bet some more ornate wheels could get well above $20,000.
I don't know what it cost for the wheel but as far as I am concerned it is worth every cent. it would have taken a heap of trial and error to work out the process. It is a top shelf end product. Awesome.
If I had to guess you've been doing this type of restoration work for over 50 years. The level of expertise is impressive, you must be in high demand.
Thank you for sharing your talents
You can tell by the amount of resin coating his pressure vessel
@@ponkkaa That's what she said.
@@stoneybowmann 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I envy the person who gets to open the box - great craftsmanship. Finished product looked better than original
Very interesting and I really enjoy watching a craftsman work his magic. Thank you for not adding music, it's perfect the way it is.
Should be mounted on wall at an art museum ! Fine craftsmanship
Then how would they steer the car it goes on?
Lol
I think making of the mould is as impressive if not more than the steering wheel,luckily there’s people still around like this man to help keep the old cars on the road 👍
Agree. A mold making video would be great to see.
I am just in awe-no wait Thunderstruck! The level of craftsmanship attention to detail and Artistry that went into creating this one steering wheel or rather I should say a work of art, sadly very soon there will come a time when there won't be many people or anyone around who know how to do any of this stuff anymore. I originally watched this video because as a Master model builder I've always wanted to learn the process of casting resin parts however it's hard to find anyone who have these skills anymore and sadly most young people simply are not interested in working with their hands anymore, hopefully this gentleman has a son or an apprentice or an employee who can learn his knowledge and skills and continue this tradition!
Or a daughter even?
I don't get amazed very often but I did here. You are a true artist in the whole sense of the word. I had a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker business coupe wheel done about 25 years ago from Hemmings Motor magazine in a bone color. I had no idea how it was done until today. There is a tremendous amount of work done there to achieve perfection. Again well done sir!
Thank you the nice comments. I am truly amazed at the response from the viewers. This is my second UA-cam video. I have been so busy making wheels and other resin projects. I have about 20 B role videos of other resin restoration projects. I will be making more…
A few years ago I reworked a 1958 Lincoln steering wheel in similar condition. Lots of cracks, and large sections of the knurled rim were completely missing. Without access to a full mold as seen here, I made silicone molds from the few knurled areas that were left, and little by little, grafted those sections in. It turned out pretty nicely, but certainly isn't the work of art on this video. Outstanding!
Everything about this restoration is beautiful, including the packing.
packing is a very important part of the delivery of the wheel. I got my inspiration from Apple. I want the customer to be impressed. No packaging peanuts.
It had not realised just how much work would be involved. So nicely done. Thank you for sharing.
the best (possibly worst for me) part of this is that he doesnt get 10 minutes into the video and then fire up his $250,000, 5 axis cnc mill. he is "just" a true craftsman with handmade molds and jigs with everyday hand tools. now im researching resin and vacuum chambers like i could actually do this. he makes it look so easy, which is a testament to his craftmanship.
I always enjoy watching a skilled craftsman at work. It reminds me of my time as an apprentice in the workshop, a very long time ago now. It was always a huge satisfaction to finish a job knowing that it had been done well. Not like in the engineering office where you never ever get acknowledgment for a job well done.
An absolute work of art, I would hang it on my wall and admire it. Beautiful job.🎉
I have spent a fair amount of time wondering how you could go about recasting an old cracked steering wheel. That is amazing workmanship
That is some magical work. I love the translucence of the resins that makes it look so factory original. I've had problems with warpage and shrinkage over time with my attempts at model parts. It's not as easy as this guy makes it look!
I have a tips and trick video I’m making that might address problems resin caster face.
Great process video. I worked in the cast polyurethane business for over 30 years and the workmanship that went into producing these parts was phenomenal. I’d like to have seen a video of the production of the silicone tooling.
Unfortunately I never video taped the the process of making the wooden mold and the silicone mold. Over 12 years ago.
Fantastic Mr. Keith Lee!! The designers and stylists at Ford/Lincoln in those years would be very proud of your art. You are one of that team. Your work is truly fascinating. All merits and congratulations to you;
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us as a “younger” guy it’s important that these restoration processes don’t get lost.
Wow, looks like it took a lot of experience to get to this level. There are all kinds of details in that silicone mold that could only exist from trial and error.
Finished product looks great.
Excellent work done here, a lot of care is needed to obtain this level of restoration. Thanks for posting.
The Master Craftsman demonstrated his skills, abilities, knowledge, expertise, experience, dedication, integrity, honesty, accuracy, patience, and, above all, attention to minute details. Thanks.
Thank you! Your comment was the first. And made making i the video worth the effort
I totally agree,absolutely fabulous work, you must have spent countless hours working to reach this ultimate standard.The satisfaction you must get with every piece is doubtless immense. I hope you always charge plenty for your work. From one craftsman (carpenter) to another, many thanks best wishes from England .🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸
You are a true artist & obviously have a gift from God. Thank you for your time & efforts sharing this.
Thank you, Barry
Stunningly beautiful! So amazing to watch a true artisan plying their trade. I would marvel at your craftsmanship every time I sat behind that wheel!
Damn Keith. Been a bit since I've been on the H.A.M.B. This is a new level of respect for your ALWAYS "class grade A" work. Holy fugg' !! Beautiful.
One of the most satisfying displays of craftsmanship I've ever watched.
Simply amazing. Thank you for sharing. Whenever I see this level of craftsmanship I wonder how the factory made the part.
As mother used to say: "A stitch in time saves nine," and this video master class certainly proves that preparation, preparation, preparation is fundamental (and phenomenal!). Thank you for taking the time to put this video together - your skills and experienced know-how are greatly appreciated (and I hope you've got a good apprentice to pass on your talents to)
I applaud you for such a satisfying building project. I liked both the wheel and the cap. A lot of serious effort went into making the molds and casting them...and the look great! Thumbs Up
I’ve been casting wheels now for over 15 years. I had to make ten before I made a perfect wheel. No training or now-to videos. All gorilla learning
@@keithlee6724 When I watched the video Ii thought oh yeah there were a lot of failures going in the waste bin before the technique was perfected, not that there is anything wrong with that at all !
That is AMAZING Craftsmanship. Beautiful work.
Seeing and learning how things work is best and has been most enjoyable to me my whole life,👍🏼 thanks for sharing a part of your knowledge with us.🙏🏼
So very impressive. The amount of engineering to restore or remake these is really remarkable.
Unbelievable workmanship. You are a true expert in your field.
I'm just up to the part where you're grinding the frame and, I've gotta say - if you pull this off, it's a miracle!
I am impressed! I feel like it's 1940, and I just walked into the Lincoln dealer's showroom! Amazing work! My brother had a 1946 Lincoln Zephyr that was in really nice shape. It was a pretty cool car.
Fantastic craftsmanship. Thank you for showing your process, truly fascinating and enjoyable.
Beautiful! I would have loved to see the mold making process.
I made the silicone mold over 12 years ago, before I started video taping my work.
Excellent example of craftmanship. Thank you for sharing. I would have enjoyed watching you create the molds too.
Really nice work. Beautiful result.
Most importantly you’ve shown the ability to recreate things we don’t have to loose to time.
Excellent workmanship and packaging. People can learn a lot from this, including packaging something correctly, that seems to be a dying art.
Outstanding. Beautiful.
I'm trying to imagine how captivating, entertaining and instructional this would be with spoken narrative explaining the details, the why's & wherefore's. What, how and why are major contributors to both education and entertainment.
Amazing and what a beautiful steering wheel! Really cool to see the process. The mold is so cool, must be hard to make those!
WOW! Incredible skill and a huge amount of work for each wheel, what ever you charge its a bargain. 🍾🥂
Amazing craftsmanship, its better than the original standard item from the factory where they churned thousands and had no time to tweak the colors or finish. Those classics had some beautifull steering wheels, one of my favorite is the Mercedes-Benz ones from the 1960's to 1972, with its padded central boss and horn ring. Thanks for posting. 🐞
This is exactly what ive been looking for. Restoring old cars the little details matter. Keep em coming
Glad to be of help! I am working on more how-to's.
This is unquestionably a work of art.
Hi Keith, you nailed it! I didn't see you use a vacuum pump. I'm surprised the finished product is so good! the old plastics shop I worked by evacuated the resin before they poured it.
Rich
Most of my casting s I use a vacuum pump. However I have found if you use FRESH resin you can get by using just pressure.. if the wheel was translucent I would have used both vacuum and pressure. Good observation!!
Que 33 minutos mejor invertidos! Todo mi respeto y admiración para este gran artesano increíble su trabajo
Your skills are superlative, as is the finished reconstruction of the Zephyr steering wheel.
I about shat in my pants when right off you started knocking the old resin off the metal frame. I had no idea at that point you already had the mold. I owe you one! 😅
Very Nice! Hours of work even after it’s cast ! Like it picks up the year and Lincoln in the casting! Attention to detail shows in the finished product!! One happy customer I’m sure !! Sometimes you do get what you pay for ! Once in awhile you get more than you pay for! Thanks!!
Thanks! I appreciate that you noticed the details.
👍👌👏 Oh WOW, simply fantastic! What a beautiful , stunning result. Congratulations 🎉 What an effort although a lot of work isn't even shown.
Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing.
Best regards luck and health in particular.
Thank you so much. My second video. More to come…hopefully
Now all you have to do is build that car around the steering wheel😀 but seriously awesome craftsmanship would love to see how you make the molds👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
What a super craftsman, it is a pleasure to watch.
Thank you.
This is such a thing of beauty. There are so many things I want to make now. Thanks for posting this!
Поразительный результат! Будто с нового Линкольна. Хотелось бы чтобы и в наших краях появилась мастерская по воссозданию таких вещей для старых автомобилей "Волга", "Победа" и им подобных. Спасибо за ваш труд. Было очень интересно наблюдать.
Didn't realize there was that much demand for a Zephyr steering wheel.
Looks great.
Amazing craftsmanship! I really enjoyed watching the video!
I can’t begin to understand the skill required to do this….it’s magic
Superb ~ an absolute pleasure to see the finished product.
A glorious piece of museum-quality art.
Absolutely beautiful.
Well done Sir.
I once had a railroad passenger car from 1940 that needed replacement light lenses. The originals were molded glass with a magnifying feature. I needed someone to cast new ones out of polycarbonate. I knew it could be done but didn’t have anyone with the skill. This was the guy. Sadly, I no longer have the car.
If guy teamed up with a metal worker he could make fully customized steering wheels no old parts needed. Very impressive!😊
I do make machined hubs that will go on modern tilt columns
@ cool 👍
That is so cool! Never seen anything like this done before. Nice work.
Very nice, thanks for taking time to share your talents
My hat’s off to you, Keith Lee! That is craftsmanship at its finest
Thank you for the nice compliment
Undoubtedly, but, definitely, a unique, unprecedented, unparalleled, unmatched, an achievement masterpiece of arts and professionalism.
Thank you for the nice compliment!! It gives me the impetus to make more videos
Some next level experienced craftsmanship going on here. Wow!
Amazing craftsmanship. I wonder how they were produced back in the day? Probably not with the level of attention to detail shown in this video!
I can answer that question obviously to make a 30-minute long video it's very obvious that he filmed hours of video and then sped it up to make this video in an assembly line there's no way that you could spend that much time to make a single part originally the steering wheel would have been injection molded using thermoplastic the entire process would have literally have taken less than a minute an originally the molds or dies as they're called would have been made of steel so is they could be repeatedly molded basically if you've ever built or seen a plastic model kit that's how they made these plastic parts it's the same process however considering the market and it's a restoration part the expense and time that would be required to have a steel mold made for an injection machine would be out of the question and so that's why plastic parts are now recreated using epoxy resins but originally it would have been molten hot plastic that would have been forced into a steel mold at extremely high pressure. Depending on the year of the vehicle so in the 1920s and 30s there was another plastic material called Bakelite but it's much less durable and more fragile than injection molded plastic so it is also possible that the original steering wheel could have been molded in Bakelite
Beautiful work, sir.
A master craftsman using modern materials.
I enjoy seeing them restore older vehicles to their original beauty.
My goodness sir that was A work of art !!! What does that cost ?? A customer for that restoration
You earned the right to engrave your name on the wheel like Nardi did. Worth every penny of what may be $5,000. I bet some more ornate wheels could get well above $20,000.
I found that quite interesting, thanks for showing us without the sound effects. 👍
Exquisite work and craftmenship.
Well DONE, Sir! Very interesting process to follow. 😍🤓👍
That's professional craftsmanship!!
Awesome craftmanship. Master mold maker.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I don't know what it cost for the wheel but as far as I am concerned it is worth every cent. it would have taken a heap of trial and error to work out the process. It is a top shelf end product. Awesome.
Gorgeous work!
Very interesting process! Thank you for posting.
Excellent craftsmanship.
thank you for your kind comments
Excellent craftsmanship!
1. I didn't know this could be done
2. That looks incredible
A functional work of art!!! Well done sir 👍👍👍
Потрясающий результат ! Этот человек - мастер своего дела !
When you brought out that huge silicone mold I had to laugh....
Amazing work. Fun just to watch, even though I will likely never do this! Very satisfying.
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
gorgeous steering wheel and video.
What incredible craftsmanship?
Oh my that is just fantastic !! A true artist !!
What a beautiful thing! Congratulations!
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Lots of work but it looks great Nice work 😊
It was a very interesting process
Wow! That’s beautiful! Great job!
This guy's the WHEEL Deal!
A fantastic job but such a great deal of work too. I’m only grateful that I don’t need to buy one of these.
Beautiful,,, thanks for showing the process.
Thank you for watching. You tube is a new venture
Wow just fantastic artisan 👍
I am truly amazed at the response from the viewers. This is my second UA-cam video.
Wauw beautiful craftsmanship👌