A Little Machine Turning

[countrysquire]

My semi O/T 356 originally came with only one option (likely dealer installed), which is a wood & aluminum Les Leston steering wheel. All the pictures of the originals that I had seen showed a machine turned finish, but the one on mine had been worn and/or polished away. The area under the horn button showed the original turned finish and gave me something to start with. The pattern seemed random, just as it is in the photos of other Les Leston wheels. I'm guessing that there was some poor bastard back in England doing these by hand all day. I had been wanting to do this for a while, and some good threads here on the HAMB gave me the direction that I needed. I'm planning on using a lot of machine turning the '32 roadster that I'm building, so I figured that it's time to learn.

Looking on eBay for some Cratex sticks, I found a seller who had a set of five 10mm diameter Cratex clone rubberized abrasive sticks mounted on 1/8" shanks. For under $5 shipped, how could I say no. I won't get into the details of how to do the process, as it is well documented here. One thing that I did notice is that the finish looked the same with or without a very light film of WD-40, but it did help show the edges of the pattern, making it easier to line up the abrasive tool for the next swirl. Took about an hour to do and seemed to really improve the looks of the plain-Jane interior.

[mctim64]

Nice job! Looks good.

[Paul]

I like it

[cactus1]

Cool!

[Mr48chev]

Wow, that looks great.

[Vergil]

Well done, may have to give it a go also...

[HealeyRick]

Very nice work on the wheel. BTW, Les Leston recently passed away. Here's his obit from Octane magazine. Dig the registration plate on the Elite:


Les Leston in his well-known Lotus Elite

Former Grand Prix driver and race-wear king Les Leston died on Sunday, May 13. He was 91. Born Alfred Lazarus Fingleston, Leston began racing with a Jaguar SS100 but it was in the half-litre Formula Three category that his star shone brightly during the early ’50s. He was runner-up in the British series in 1952-53 before claiming the ’54 title by half-a-point from Don Parker aboard a works Cooper at the Boxing Hill season finale at Brands Hatch. He also participated in selected sports car races aboard Peter Bell’s Connaught.
Leston made his World Championship Formula One debut aboard a factory Connaught-Alta in the1956 Italian Grand Prix at Monza only to retire. A year earlier he had established Les Leston Ltd in High Holborn, London, the firm initially selling car accessories and polishes. However, in time it would become internationally renowned for its fireproof overalls, helmets and steering wheels. Leston would make his second and final World Championship start aboard a BRM P25 in the ’57 British Grand Prix, the same year that he and Roy Salvadori drove their works Aston Martin DBR1 to sixth place in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Leston was fortunate to survive a huge accident aboard John Fisher’s Lotus 12 during the non-points ’58 Caen Grand Prix in Normandy. He subsequently throttled back on his frontline career to concentrate on his business interests. Nonetheless, he participated in several major rallies and was a regular in the embryonic British Saloon Car Championship in a Riley 1.5 and a Volvo Amazon. Yet it was for his efforts aboard his Lotus Elite that Leston is perhaps best remembered. Bearing the fictional registration number DAD10, which was a nod to Leston’s days spent as a drummer in a war-time jazz band, the car was a regular winner during the 1961-62 seasons. The diminutive Lotus ultimately bore a new nose re-profiled by Frank Costin, Leston’s battles with the similar car of Graham Warner entering into legend.
After selling the Elite, Leston would make only sporadic trackside appearances in a Royale F100 sports-racer and a Chevrolet Camaro before retiring to Hong Kong in 1973.

[captainjunk#2]

nice, much better than plain polished metal , good job

[LSR 2909]

Semi O/T?
It's not american or traditional hot rod.

[countrysquire]

I wasn't aware that Leston died recently. Wow, we sure have lost a lot of guys this year who've created automotive history.