Alright, I have been thinking about building an overhead console out of wood, lacquer it real good... what do you all think? Would it twist and split or do you think it would flex good enough.

It would probably be fine, but you pretty much need to drive a European supercar in order to have wood interior look good.

How about this 5666031 - Smittybilt G.E.A.R. Overhea...JK - Quadratec

or this Tuffy 103-01 - Tuffy Overhead Single ...ed - Quadratec

wood???? why wood? if your going to make it make it out of diamond plate or something like that.

Mmmmmm.............ever wheel it ? Just a thought, but do you want WOOD splintering over your head if things go wrong ?

Why don´t you improve your cage with a front T-section? You could install an overhead console in there.

I just like the look of wood. I just thought I would ask other people. I asked my dad about it too and he said it would probably twist and splinter ... I have many other things to do besides this, it just poped into my head and I figured I would ask. I really liked the Tuffy Overhead Single Compartment Security Console, thats kinda what I have been thinking about but the Smittybilt G.E.A.R. Overhead Console is cool, but the wrong year... do they have anything like that for a 99, I'll search but if you find it let me know! Thanks.

On my '02 TJ I had, I built a wood overhead console. Made of a 2x6 painted with Rust-o-leum black. Held a scanner & CB radio. I attached it to the loop on the windshield & rollbar with zip ties. Never broke loose in the numerous off-road trips. Plus cost was about $6.00. Looked cheap, but worked great!

I have the Tuffy double compartment and I love it! it holds both a CB and VHF radio! I would highly recommend it! The only downside is when I have my hard top on the top vibrates and makes alot of noise against the console, so I usualy stick some foam padding between the two and that takes care of it.

Double Compartment Overhead Console b...Drive Hardware

I think wood could hold up fine, if it's well constructed. My dad was always making stuff like that for Jeeps and boats and stuff. If it's thick wood, like solid oak, it will really take up a lot of the space and make your compartments smaller. If it's engineered wood, like marine grade plywood, then you get more space, and a lot of strength.

But I agree with the others: the aftermarket stuff is pretty nice, so you'd really want the wood for the challenge and pride of doing it yourself.

Marine grade plywood works fine. I made a prototype using this stuff years ago. The only problem is weight. It was a tad on the heavy side.

Another option, ABS plastic. Easy to work with woodworking tools, tough, and lightweight.