Do pedals self-center?

What I am trying to discover is:

  1. Should there be ANY tendency to center in a set of hand-built pedals?
  2. How much mechanical centering force should exist?

I am looking for generalized guidance so I can try to build a set.

Can you recommend a particular example and/or online construction guide?

I’d like to hack something together that will be useful but not incredibly expensive.

(I would buy a set, but the Russian sanctions make that essentially impossible.)