Rather than try to form blocks of wood to the profile of the car, we decided on laminations. Each piece of trim on the car will actually be constructed of 14 layers of ash. This way they can conform EXACTLY to the shape of the body. Our buddy Nick is a master at this, and set up a series of straps to hold the laminations against the body. It kinda looks like some sort of a bondage device for motorcars.. Its like pouring concrete... All the time is in the forms, not the concrete. In this case all the time was in the strapping, not the actual lamination. The pressure blocks were cut on a bandsaw and sanded to match the body's compound curvature. This is really time consuming but necessary. Then Steve hit on a novel clamping idea ... RARE EARTH MAGNETS! these will hold to the body with 78 pounds of force, and they can be placed anywhere needed. No more need for straps. I ordered some today, and by next week we can give them a try.. You're gonna like this! Here's a final closeup of a lamination. In addition to the wood there are two layers of MDF, and two of laminate to provide even clamping across the piece. Next week will be fun.. Join us!
We're thinking steel wheels with either baby moons or some form of dog dish hubcap. No idea on the tires yet. Tevintage suggested a "softer" color for the body, and after some consideration I think he's right. We're looking at maybe a seafoam green now.
Strap on woody and 14 layers of ash? I think I saw this one on Cinemax... '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383
There were only 6 colors available for the "Country Squire woodie" in 53.. Fernmist Green, Seafoam Green, Glacier Blue, Polynesian Brown metallic, Sandpiper Tan, and Carnival red metallic. The Seafoam green looks nice against the wood.
We really expected to be working on the wood today, but our buddy Nick had a furniture delivery to an out of town customer. We decided to work on something else till he returns next week. Steve and I went to the Goodguys show in Spokane yesterday, and the "Bumper Shop" (yeah, I know)had a booth setup. I asked if he had any 53 Ford stuff, and yeah, he had a front bumper, rear bumper, and grille. The bumpers were very nice, but the grille.... not so much. I ended up with all three for a little over 800 bucks. The grille is driver quality which will work for my purposes. since we weren't doing woodwork today, we decided to put the chrome on the front end for a trial fit. with a little nipping, tucking and filing we got everything in place. We love the look. Its stock, but not quite. There's a lot going on here that most folks will never pick up on. The frenched headlights, the dropped front pan, the rounded hood corners, and the addition of chrome below the grille on a second front spanner. We know not everyone is gonna like it, but we're satisfied.
Back to the woodie part today. The rare earth magnets arrived, and we put a #8 by 2 1/2 inch bolt through each. Here's the set of magnets and bolts stuck to the side of the car.Theese buggers STICK !! Once attached, you can barely pull them from the surface of the vehicle. Then Nick fabbed up a board to connect across the work to the bolts on either side. These are now the clamps that will hold the laminated wood to the shape of the car body while the glue sets. Here's a photo of the laminated ash held against the car body. We used shims to tighten the grip on the laminated bunch. We could have tightened the bolts, but this seemed easier. Getting the correct setup is half the work on a job like this, and now we have it all figured out.we did a couple sample pieces, and they look sharp! Couple of months, and we'll have ourselves a WOODIE!
We are working away, but nothing really interesting to post photos about. Chuck has been doing bodywork on the left rear quarter and Steve and I have each been working on a front fender for the last couple of weeks. Meanwhile Nick our wood guy has been experimenting on the best ways to lay up the wood, and he was not even there this week. We should have some more post worthy stuff soon, so stay tuned to this channel for updates.
OK, the woodwork began for real today. Each piece of wood trim on the car is actually 12 layers of 1/18 th inch ash. Here's Nick cutting the piece for the front of the rear wheel area out of a stack of laminations. Here's a shot of the stack of pieces that will make the part. Once the pieces are cut, the stack is glued together laying on the glue between layers with a roller. Finally the stack is attached to the car where it will reside in final form. These are the clamps that were fabricated from rare earth magnets. This way the part can be clamped to the form of the body without having to make any true attaching points on the sheetmetal. It is Not glued to the metal. . Next week we'll remove this piece, sand and shape it on the edges, and glue up another piece.
That looks great,when everything is shaped will the wood be bolted to the body with a carriage type bolt or are you guys planning on using hidden attachments? HRP
In final form the wood will be bolted to the body with stainless carriage bolts. This is how the 53 woodies were done originally, and we 'll hold to that.
Looking better each time you post. Love the shots of how you are working out the wood. Very instructional for us neophytes. I vote for seafoam green. Thanks. TEB Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Nick began cutting all the needed strips of ash on the tablesaw. This takes a while. There are lots of em, and they have to stay organized. Meanwhile Steve, Dana and I were glazing and smoothing out all the imperfections in the body. This is gonna take a while because there are just so many patches, panels and chops. This is real pain in the butt work, but if you don't get this right, you'll always look at that little warp and wish you'd have taken a bit more time and got it right. This laying on the concrete floor and sanding is a lot harder in your late 60's than it was when I was 20. By the end of the day, I about had the rear fender smooth, Dana had done a beautiful job lining up the door and fender, and Steve had the front fender nearing completion. Nick has the next piece ready to glue up, and will sneak in later this week to glue and clamp it in place.
Here's the long wooden sidetrim being glued together on the car The magnets and crosspieces hold the wood to the shape of the body till the glue dries. This way the wood layers form perfectly to the body where they will ultimately reside. The two long wooden "rails" keep the laminations from bowing out between the clamps. After drying, the entire assembly is moved to the other side, and another lamination is set up. This is a slow process, but it is working beautifully! It'll take weeks to get all the pieces made, but we're not in a hurry. We just want it to be right. While Nick did all this, Steve, Dana and I kept block sanding and working out all the imperfections in the body. Here's a side shot with mismatched tires. Its really got the look we're after! Lots more block sanding and woodwork to go.. Try not to get too bored.
Hi Chaz: Thanks for the woodworking photos. It sure shows only the skilled need apply! TEB Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Those magnets must be strong! When you remove them, does it peel off the top layer of steel from the body?
It feels like that sometimes....Each little magnet (1in. x 2 in. x 1/2in.) holds on with 72 pounds of force. They're pretty amazing!
Due to the boss lady moving her flower shop I have been working 7 days a week and missed the most recent update,you guys are raising the bar even higher for anyone building what we call the redheaded stepchild of wagons,the 52-54 Fords. I'm stoked..go man go! HRP
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