With the tax season in full swing, I decided to finally bite the bullet and invest in a racing wheel. But I didn’t stop there. Along with the wheel, I’m also constructing a racing rig, complete with a (hopefully) functioning seat. I have been inspired by SlowEddy from the GTPlanet forums. He himself was inspired by someone else, but I decided to go with Eddy’s due to the included diagrams and instructions. Considering I’m not very “handy” when it comes to tools, I’m keeping my fingers crossed this turns out well!

So with that in mind, I’ll be documenting my progress, complete with pictures. I’ll keep it to this one post in hopes that people will see this and be inspired. In the end my project may not look at “cool” as Eddy’s, but I’m sure the experience will be worth the while. Now then, here’s what we’ll need:

Supplies
DESCRIPTION QUANTITY
White PVC Tee 28
PVC 45° Elbow 4
PVC 90° Elbow 8
PVC End Cap 4
PVC Pipe 1.5″ 8
PVC Pipe 2″ 4
PVC Pipe 3″ 10
PVC Pipe 4.375″ 4
PVC Pipe 5″ 2
PVC Pipe 5.125″ 2
PVC Pipe 5.25″ 2
PVC Pipe 5.75″ 4
PVC Pipe 6″ 2
PVC Pipe 8.5″ 2
PVC Pipe 9″ 2
PVC Pipe 12.25″ 2
PVC Pipe 18.75″ 2
PVC Pipe 23″ 2

I would also recommend PVC cleaner and cement, a rubber mallet, miter box, and finally a saw. Oh, and a tape measure and some patience. If you have a power saw, it will speed things up greatly, but you shouldn’t have any problems with a regular handsaw. I live in a small-ish apartment but am lucky enough to have a basement large enough for this project. If you have a garage or basement, I would recommend using those, otherwise, a living room/spare room should work as well. Keep in mind the shavings alone are going to be a nightmare to vacuum up, and then there’s the carpet that needs to be protected. Simply put, use whatever space you have. With that, I think we’re ready to go…

If you’ll turn your attention to the yellow miter box in the image above, notice how it is plastic. Be very careful when sawing. My very first piece ended up ruined because I started sawing into the miter box itself. Thankfully I decided to start with the 3″ pieces first. Still though, quite frustrating. This ended postponing the project a few days while I researched what type of powered miter saw would be best for me (and my budget). I’ll be going to Home Depot to purchase one tonight.

FEB12 UPDATE: Front half of PVC rig is dry fitted. Need to cut a few 1.5″ pieces for the connectors. Still deciding if I’ll start the back half tonight or not, I still need to get laundry done. How late is too late to use a miter saw if the first floor neighbors’ bedroom is directly above where I’m working?

NOTE: all thumbs and fingers are currently accounted for.