ravenblackfrs Senior Member



Join Date: Sep 2012 Drives: 2013 Raven Black FRS Location: Atlanta, Ga Posts: 628 Thanks: 415 Thanked 119 Times in 98 Posts Mentioned: 4 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)

Quote: greighn Originally Posted by I got tired of waiting for the "official" armrest from Toyota so I thought I throw one together. It was actually fairly easy and only cost about $25 in materials, some of which I already had lying around the house. One word of caution, this method does require a little bit of sewing (you know, with a needle and thread). I figure if you guys and install a new exhaust or a turbo unit, you can certainly handle a needle and thread!!



Materials:

1 foot of black vinyl fabric (from my local Jo-Ann's fabric store). They have a large variety of different colors and textures. I chose the Whisper Black, which has a nice matte finish. It costs $21.99/yd but you only need a foot long section to make two or three of these.

A piece of 1/2" MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)

A 1" thick piece of foam cushion (from Jo-Ann's it was their "Chairpad" foam sold in multiple thicknesses and sizes.) You can change the thickness of your armrest by using thicker or thinner foam.

A spool of heavy duty upholstery thread and a needle.



Here is what the vinyl I chose looks like:





I wanted mine to be a rectangle and to leave the gap at the front open for a cell phone or MP3 player power cord to exit. I chose the size of 6.5" by 16", which covers the entire opening and then some.



First, cut the MDF to 6.5" x 16". Same with the foam (using the MDF as the template). Sand the MDF on all sides and lightly round all the corners to avoid sharp edges.



Lay the foam and then the MDF on top of a vinyl, with the black face down. The vinyl has a white fabric backing. Mark the outline of the foam/MDF with a marker so you will know where to cut the corners.



Now, cut the corners as shown. You can then gather a corner inside out and sew from the corner down about 1 1/2" (or the height of the combined foam and MDF). After sewing all four corners, turn the vinyl inside out and put it black side down. Now insert the foam followed by the MDF.



Start at one of the narrow ends and pull the vinyl taught and lay the edge on the back of the MDF. Using a heavy duty staple gun, secure the edge of the vinyl to the MDF (The MDF is incredibly hard to staple into. If the staple doesn't penetrate the entire way take a hammer and finish the job.)



Next, do the opposite end and then the two long sides, pulling the vinyl taught before stapling. Try to avoid any bunching or sags. You can always pull out the staple and try again if it's not quite right.



Once all the sides are done, the next part is always the hardest for me, the corners. Try and remove as much material as you can at each corner and fold the remainder over and staple it to the MDF. You want to have a nice flat fold, not a thick bunch of vinyl at each corner. I was partially successful!



Here is what it looks like from the top:



Here is how it looks sitting in the car. I am still looking at how to best secure it, possibly with a hinge so I can easily access the contents of the space below or use the cup holders. I'll post some picture if I come up with anything interesting on that topic.





Is there any functionality to this thing? Did you attach it with hinges or anything? More pics please. Looks good though. I was thinking about doing one, but without padding. Just maybe some plush leather (thick heavy duty leather) Cup holders would be cool, but not sure if its practical cause ur elbow kinda sits right where you'd want a cup holder. Is there any functionality to this thing? Did you attach it with hinges or anything? More pics please. Looks good though. I was thinking about doing one, but without padding. Just maybe some plush leather (thick heavy duty leather) Cup holders would be cool, but not sure if its practical cause ur elbow kinda sits right where you'd want a cup holder.