Wheel made from hard wood (4)
I believe the answer is:
helm
'wheel' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'hard wood' is the wordplay.
'hard' becomes 'h'.
'wood' becomes 'elm' (elm is a kind of wood).
'h'+'elm'='HELM'
'made from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for helm that I've seen before include "Steer (a boat/ship)" , "Part of ship" , "Steer (a boat or ship)" , "Tiller, steering wheel" , "Steering mechanism" .)