Probably, every motorist was thinking about how to distinguish his car against the background of others with the help of various body kits, spoilers and other tuning elements. Yes, it is possible that these details will add sportiness to your iron horse, however, this will not increase comfort and power. Therefore, it is worth considering a more practical option for tuning, for example, an additional armrest.
Such a thing will not only hide a lot of “trifles” (keys, documents, etc.), but also make the interior of the car more interesting and unique. And about how to make an armrest in a car, our today's article will tell.
Preparation for work
Where to start manufacturing this element? It is best to start with measurements and drawings of the car armrest. Before performing work, carefully measure the distance between the seats on the front row, and then write the data into a notebook. Based on measurements, you will receive a future picture (drawing) of your armrest. Remember that this scheme is of particular importance, since it is from these values that you will manufacture the part. It is also worth considering that the distance between the seats can vary significantly even with similar brands and models of cars. Thus, if your friend has exactly the same car (by make, model), then you should not take measurements in it. Be sure to calculate the distance only on your car.
It is important to remember that in addition to the backs of the driver and passenger seats in the passenger compartment there are such important details as the hand brake lever and seat belt. When measuring, consider these features, as otherwise the armrest will not allow you to properly fasten your belt or turn on the “handbrake”. After all this, you can safely get to work.
How to start manufacturing a car armrest?
Everything is very simple - for work you need to take some kind of sawing tool on wood (for example, an electric jigsaw) and a wood sheet.
The latter can be obtained from the old cabinet door from chipboard. It should mark all important measurements according to the drawing and cut along the contours.
And now the assembly
A more complicated process will be the assembly of the armrest. To do this, you need to mark the part and drill holes for screws. Further, pota are made in the box. At the final stage of assembly, the outer side of the structure is ground with coarse sandpaper. But this is not the end of our armrest manufacturing work. We still have to sheathe the entire structure with fabric sheathing.
Decorative cladding
How to sew an armrest with your own hands? The best place to start is with material choices. The final choice here depends on the brand and prestige of the car. For example, if you make an armrest on the Gazelle with your own hands, then it is most reasonable to sheathe it with dermatin. The same applies to domestic cars. The made armrest (VAZ 2107) with your own hands is also recommended to sheathe the cheapest material. For more pathos and chic, you can use Alcantra. It is not recommended to use leather as upholstery - it is very expensive, and besides, not every car enthusiast copes with it by sheathing the armrest with their own hands.
As for the color of the material, for most cases black armrests fit organically into the car's interior. If you want to be original, experiment with the colors of the skin - most often black and gray shades overlap in the elements of the interior of the cars.
The sheathing process itself occurs along the contours with the help of an arched corner of PVC. As a rule, this work takes away from the motorist no more than 20-40 minutes of time.
We make an armrest on a VAZ with our own hands: making a cover
The entire armrest design is almost ready - only the lid remains. She needs to pay special attention. The armrest should not be rigid, therefore, to give it softness, foam should be used. If this was not at hand, then as an alternative, ordinary body sponges are quite suitable. Only one armrest will require no more than 4-5 such washcloths.
So where to get started? First of all, glue is applied to the particleboard surface, after which sponges or a piece of foam rubber are placed here. After the adhesive has dried, the washcloths are sewn together, and the excess pieces are cut off with the help of office scissors.
In order for our armrest to be as even and elastic as possible, it is necessary to cut a rectangle from thin felt and nail it on both sides of the structure.
At the next stage, the felt is glued to the lips and sheathed.
How to install hinges and furniture magnet?
In order for the lid to not constantly open during riding, you need to hold it with something. We’ll hardly install a lock in the armrest, but the furniture magnet is just right. After installing this element, you can proceed with the installation of the hinges. We fasten them with self-tapping screws.
Then all the elements go through the alignment procedure, and the cover is finally screwed to the main part of the armrest. But that is not all. In order for the magnet to hold the cover, a small metal element (plate) must be installed on the back of the structure. We place it strictly above the magnet, otherwise it will not bring any functionality. At the final stage, the sharp edges of the armrest are sharpened with a file. The same goes for the cover.
How to install a do-it-yourself armrest in a car?
This is perhaps the most responsible task for the car enthusiast, because the convenience of use and the duration of its operation as a whole depend on how correctly the box is installed. The task is complicated by the fact that during installation, the car owner can easily spoil the details of the interior. It is also unacceptable to use the so-called "collective farm tuning" inside - this will only aggravate this situation.
How to mount the armrest with your own hands in the car? For the very installation of this element, you will need to have the following set of materials:
- One polypropylene tube with a steel inside.
- The M8 hairpin is 100-110 centimeters long. We will need it for fixing plastic in the passenger compartment (in all cars, the plastic is kept on very short bolts under a decorative plug, so we will lengthen them).
That's probably all that you should buy to install the armrest in the car. By the way, in order to achieve reliable mounting under the decorative plug, it is recommended to drill another hole (in total you will have 3 of them).
Installation steps
Cut holes are inserted into the holes. A metal plate is placed on the back of the plastic and then the whole structure is screwed on with a wrench.
Next, a rectangle is cut from a plywood board, which is then sheathed with dermatin. Several holes should also be drilled in it. We mount the part in place and put on the polypropylene tubes. Next, a hole is marked and cut out on the box, after which it is installed in place. It should be fixed with reinforced washers and nuts. Everything, at this stage, the question of how to make the armrest with your own hands can be considered closed.