Racing Rig With Seat - One Piece of Plywood Build!

I have the logitech racing wheel, peddles and shifter; but needed something better than a chair and a table to use it. When I originally saw the one board challenge, I wondered if it would be possible to build a racing jig with Chair out of one sheet of plywood. Also, I wanted to keep the cost low and produce a quality and stable racing rig. So I did a little research on existing types of rigs and came up with this design.

Supplies for this project were very simple and light. I am a student and have access to my schools technology lab and therefore have access to a multitude of tools. I made a list below, but you can definitely substitute some of the machines for hand tools.

Materials:

• 1 Sheet of Plywood, 3/4" Maple Hardwood ($45 Lowes)
• Wood Screws 9 x 2 1/2
• MinWax Stainable Wood Filler

Tools:

• Cordless Drill
• Table Saw
• Disc Sander
• Palm Sander
• Band Saw
• Level
• Tape Measure

The hardest part of the project was coming up with a design and laying out the pieces on one sheet of plywood. I ended up making a model first to the sizes that I thought would be appropriate. I designed it based on a normal seat height, and then customized it based on my arm and leg lengths. I did some remodeling as we went along and tried to include some aesthetic value to the rig. I tried to incorporate the smooth arc wherever I could to give it the feel of a F1 car and give it a smooth feel.

This step is not necessary, but since I mentioned, it I thought I would share it. However, If you wanted to change the design or the size, this is a great way to make sure that you do not waste materials. I used some 3/4" cardboard that I had that allowed me to design it as if I was using real wood.

The way that this project was designed, was so that all pieces could originally be cut out on a table saw. After the rectangles were all cut, the curved edges could be drawn and cut on the band saw. For all the curved surfaces other then the (2) front sides, I used a cardboard template to trace on the wood. This way all of the curved surfaces were the same size and shape. For the (2) larger sides, I used a string tied to a pencil to connect the top and bottom points. Finding the center of the arc was a lot of trial and error of me moving my finger until the ends lined up with my measurements.

When making the curves and arches, I would cut close to the line that I had drawn and then I would finish it off with the disc sander or the spindle sander. If you do not have access to these machines, you can just as easily do it with a palm sander or portable belt sander.

One of the important parts of this project is to pre-drill and counter sink all screw holes. I used a cordless drill and countersink bit to drill all holes. Since we are working with plywood, I pre-drilled the holes to avoid splitting of the sheet material when driving in the screws. I also countersunk the screw heads so that I could putty over the holes when the assembly was complete.

You should always mark where you are going to drill prior to drilling. The holes need to be centered on the sheet of plywood that you are connecting to. Since the plywood is 3/4", I placed the board against the edge and drew a line. Then I went back and split the difference(3/8") and marked with an "X". This is where I pre-drilled my holes.

When puttying, it is important to putty not just in the hole but over the hole. Once the putty dries(I always wait 24 hours), you should sand down until all you have left is a perfect circle left. At this point you can stain or paint the project and the drill holes will be unnoticeable.

The assembly of the rig and is really as easy as it looks. As mentioned above, all holes are pre-drilled, countersunk, and the boards are screwed together using size 9 x 2 1/2" long screws.

Step 1: I started by attaching the front 2 sides with the front edge of the sides lined up to the front edge of the base.

Step 2: I then attached the top by placing it on top and drilling down into the sides and attached.

Step 3: Finally, I added the middle support. Be sure to use a level on this step as you could screw it on at a side to side or front to back slope. Although it would still work fine, it could look a little off.

The hardest part of this project was to cut the seat bases. The initial cut was not that hard. I drew a 10 degree angled line and cut it out on the band saw. Afterwards I sanded the edge as smooth as I could, like you saw in previous steps. You could repeat this step for the other side or use a table saw. I used the table saw for this step and just lined up my angled side with the fence and it cut the opposing side at the same angle.

For the seat back, I drew in a 3/4" space that went 10" down the seat base at a 10 degree angle as well. I cut these two spaces out using the bandsaw. I did this step so that their would be stability for the seat back and so that I would not have to have a vertical seat base.

I attached the seat base by drilling into the side of the base. This way all the pieces could be flush with the ground and easier to attach then drilling through the bottom. The Seat was screwed on from above down into the seat sides. This added for more stability.

On the bottom corners of the seat back, I cut a 7" x 3/4" cut out of the lower sides so that it would slide in to the slits. I then screwed it in from the back of the slit and into the back of the chair seat(I still need to sand them some more).

The shifter was an interesting issue at the end as I had originally planned it one way and then realized I had designed it with the shifter going the opposite way. Unfortunately, unless I want to drive in reverse, this wasn't going to work. So the two options were to keep the existing plan and adjust or redesign with it coming off the wheel assembly. I went with the redesign as their is more stability with the seat base then the wheel assembly.