The assembled simulator rig with carbon seat, steering wheel, pedals and monitor arm sitting in a pickup bed

Personal buildDrawing 4 of 47

Forged-carbon F1
rig

A sim racing rig built around a forged carbon seat I shaped myself. I started with a plywood box and a lump of clay, and there was no CAD file. There's a second rig too, which is the one I use, and it doesn't have the carbon seat at all.

StatusSeat and rig built August 2023. Second rig photographed April 2024
MethodPlywood buck, carved foam, clay plug, hand laid forged carbon
TimelinePlywood box to demolded shell in eight days
ShopA home garage, hand tools and an open mold
Not recordedSecond rig's build date, materials and current status

Sheet 02 of 05/Why

Starting with a pencil line

There's no CAD anywhere in this project. The seat's shape started as a full size pencil line that I drew on the inside of a plywood box.

A black forged carbon racing seat shell standing upright, its surface marbled with chopped fiber — *PL 01*The finished seat shell, eight days after the plywood box was cut.

A plywood box filled with rigid foam carved into a seat curve, with brown clay packed into low spots — *PL 03*The box filled with expanding foam, then carved back to the drawn profile and packed with clay.

A sim racing rig built from dimensional timber, with a direct drive wheel base on a raised deck, pedals ahead of it and a black bucket seat behind — *PL 11*The second rig from the side. It has a wider base and a real seat, and the pedals are far enough out to sit at a proper driving angle.

Sheet 03 of 05/Parts

Issued as separate drawings

I split this project into parts. Each part below has its own page, with its own sections and pictures.

Part 01 / 02
The carbon seat
I went from a plywood box and a lump of clay to a forged carbon shell in eight days. Along the way the clay plug cracked, about four hours after I smoothed it.
4 sections →
Part 02 / 02
The rig I use
This is the rig that's still assembled. It doesn't use the carbon seat, and it's a better rig without it.
2 sections →

Sheet 04 of 05/Next time

What I'd do differently

I'd change two things. I'd use oil based clay, since a thick layer of water based clay was always going to crack, and I'd design the frame alongside the seat instead of building it around a finished part.

Sheet 05 of 05/Source

Inspect the work

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Forged-carbon F1rig

Starting with a pencil line

Issued as separate drawings

The carbon seat

The rig I use

What I'd do differently

Inspect the work

Forged-carbon F1
rig