Speedy Steve, You could probably find some locally grown wood with an attractive grain. The process is nearly identical to that of a strip built canoe. Mahogany is actually planted as an ornamental here, I just have to keep my eye out for people removing them. Model.A.Keith, What make of car is #250 plate LXR 8? I'm interested in the front suspension.
july08, Not much here in B.C. except cedar and fir. Worst part is that I need to find a wood that will bend without breaking. The good part is that I can cut it in strips and then rip them in 1/2 and put it through the planer until it's an 1/8 of an inch thick. That's not so hard to do as long as I use a thin saw blade with 60 teeth or more. I'll check with some of the deck builders and suppliers next week. The place where I looked is a high end cabinet makers hardwoods store. They wanted $8 a square foot which $4 a square foot when I put it on the body. Using luan plywood as a first layer would make it doable. My aunt lives in Punta Gorda. A beautiful part of Florida.
OldFox, What make of bike? If you get some mediun density fiberboard {MDF} and stack it up to the thickness of your fender width and glue and screw it together and cut it to the curve of the fender shape you should be able to make fenders. You will have to match the curve of the fender as well. Then if you get some bendable 1/8" plywood {boat wood supply places should have it.} and then put one layer with the grain lengthwise on the mould then another with cut with the grain crosswise then another lengthwise with a good quality water proof glue between them and then vacuum bag it together and let it dry. Then a layer of wildly expensive, super nice veneer on that to make the crowds go crazy. The vacuum pump and a bag is not inexpensive but it will be available to do fenders for your cars when you build them. I'll put an address for a supplier below. http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...s8XIDw&usg=AFQjCNHS1PBKxCQX0Rih4xlayjOcueCqVg You could put a smaller steel tank inside a wooden one and fill it with foam to hold it in place. It would make people wonder wouldn't it.
On site above look at the sidebar on the left and go to section 5. Vacuum forming is the title. Lots of good ideas about mould making.
Bob, I guess wherever we are or whatever we do the 'grass is always greener' but i confess in this case I am a lucky guy. Keith
It's a 1982 Yamaha Vision. In doing research on what sorts of custom tanks (specifically wooden) that people were making, I came up with what might be a solution. http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/epoxygas.htm Just make a wooden tank, seal it to the steel liner which attaches to the bike (made form the inside of the old tank) and then run this stuff around inside. Now I'm thinking of something like an old wooden barrel. I'm still in the planning stage of this project, I was going to fix and flip the bike until the fuel tank came back from cleaning looking like a wheel of swiss. Those tanks are made of pure unobtanium these days because they all rust out and if I'm doing a custom tank, I'm going to make it interesting. Which means a project. Is there a better thread around here for this two-wheeled sort of jibberish? Although with the cyclecar guys around I know I'm in the right group aesthetic for discussing design.
OldFox, Could I suggest this forum We are a motorized bicycle forum with a lot of us making bikes into look alike antique motorcycles and board track racers or PM me and we can get out of everyones way. These bikes are great pit bikes when your at a car meet. Lots of the fellas own motrcycles or they did. Look up fasteddy when you get there. http://motorbicycling.com/
A good idea, in any event; but a body designed around even the largest of people needn't result in a very big car. Flab is possible - and avoidable - in packaging as much as in human anatomy.
The Jalopy Journal
