35 minutes ago, dutchzcarguy said:

OH.. man... we have a saying here in the netherlands..  go ride a bike!  meaning: Go away.. leave me alone.. sort of..

I didn't read all of it (To tired)  but the only thing i want to say is: I used some REAL (mahogany) wood for my wheel!! (Look left in the circle!)... and Nissan DID NOT !!

the END!

Translation..

go ride a bike!  =  Ga toch fietsen!

Hope you didn't use any glue or put any petroleum-based varnish or lacquer on your REAL (mahogany) wood wheel, as that would make it.... 'plastic'.... wouldn't it? 😉

 

By the way, if you don't like a thread, some of its content and/or posts from a particular member, you have a couple of useful options available to you:

First of all you can IGNORE the thread completely by clicking the red button at the top of the thread (I recommend classiczcars' very own soft porn 'Boobs' thread for some, er, slightly stimulating diversionary 'reading' for people not here for car-related content...) or you can use the IGNORE USER button on a member's profile (that's mine on the immediate left of this post). By all means feel free to test this function. Unfortunately I can't tell you how it works because I've never used it.  

Oh and, Happy New Year!   

If the goal was to answer the title question then the simplest answer is "neither".  Nothing left to discuss.  It was fun.

On 1/1/2023 at 10:51 AM, HS30-H said:

Nissan called it wood. Izumi called it wood. Little old me will call it wood too. 

 Hi Alan, 

 Mr.Matsuo too. When I asked Matsuo-san “wood or plastic” 20 years ago, he explained how our wood steering wheel was made. Matsuo-san said “ real wood is pressed with liquid like plastic in a very strong force. Wood but same time plastic. That is what IZUMI doing”. Matsuo-san’s  statement is for how, not for what we should call it. Matsuo-san was surprised and delighted, then said “ what a enthusiastic discussion (in the classiczcar.com), you guys are OTAKU, interesting!”

When Matsuo-san talked about steering wheel, he always say” ウッド　ハンドル” (wood steering wheel). This may sounds incorrect for someone, but do we really need to say in a different way and advise Matsuo-san not to call it wood? Probably he would say “I didn’t even think about there is a point of view that it should not be called or regarded wood steering wheel. You guys are great! But I still call it wood steering wheel”…

I feel very comfortable that Nissan and Izumi called it “wood”. I have never felt I am cheated. Alan’s anatomy, that is fascinating and the pictures speak themselves.

This picture was taken 8th May 2003 in Mr.Matsuo’s studio. Matsuo-san told me and showed me a lot of interesting stuff to me. A Memorial Day for me. 

Kats

On 8/7/2022 at 3:08 AM, kats said:

Hi Alan, that is a great anatomy of our steering wheel. It is wood !Even it appears wood more than I  expected.

I remember when I asked if our steering wheel is wood , Mr.Matsuo said it is wood compressed with a very high power added some plastic (or a kind of material) . 
 

Alan , do you see “compressed “ phenomenon like Mr. Matsuo said ? I think Datsun 510 has a same steering wheel, I am curious about if there are any discussions about same thing among 510 owners ?

I want to ask it directly to an engineer of IZUMI but maybe impossible…

Kats

I think the " plastic" added to the high pressure wood chips forming was prob a kind of glue

Now with AI, I asked how it was made it came up with this 😁😂

• Real wood fiber, fine wood dust, and organic filler were blended into a two-part thermosetting resin binder.

• This yielded a moldable slurry that retained the warmth and visual density of natural wood while offering superior dimensional stability and impact resistance.

1. High-Pressure Compression Molding

   • The steel rim skeleton was placed into a two-part precision steel cavity mold.

   • The wood-fiber and resin matrix was forced into the mold under high pressure and heat.

   • During the thermosetting reaction, the mixture hardened around the steel core, forming a seamless, solid rim with molded finger divots along the backside.

2. Trimming and Fine Machining

   • After curing and demolding, automated and hand operations removed parting lines (flash) along the perimeter.

   • The rim section was precision-sanded to achieve smooth contours.

1. Staining and Protective Coating

   • The composite material was stained to achieve its rich reddish-brown teak/mahogany appearance.

   • A clear, durable lacquer/polyurethane topcoat was applied to seal the wood fibers from moisture, palm oils, and UV breakdown.

2. Spoke & Hub Assembly

   • The central aluminum/steel spokes were brushed or painted in a satin black/dark graphite finish.