when to buy body wood

1930artdeco

1930artdeco

Well-known member
OK, I have all of the power tools that need to cut and shape wood for when I dig into my car. I may need a spindle drum sander for the curves. My question is this, if I make my own wood pieces when can I buy the wood? 1, 2, 3 years in advance-it will stay in the garage so out of the weather. I am thinking of using ASH.

Thanks,

Mike
 
The longer you let it age in the environment that it will see service, the more stable the wood will be.
 
Mike,

To answer your questions directly- Yes, you can buy the wood well in advance. And, as mentioned above, there is even a slight advantage to that as the wood will become more stable over time in storage. Yes, it has to be kept dry, etc.

I have done complete wood replacement in fordors twice. And I've done a coupe and tudor and a couple pickups. The first fordor was the most stressful Model A related job I've ever done. I jumped feet-first into the second one thinking the first one was difficult because of my complete inexperience. I was wrong. The second one was just as difficult. I now no longer am interested in fordors except the late 31's.
 
I was thinking of getting a kit but have heard that I have to extensive reworking of the wood. And if they machine it short I am screwed and either make my own or send it back. So I have been slowly acquiring the power tools (when the price is right) needed just in case I have to make my own pieces. I know roughly what pieces need to be replaced now: header, center door post, the long subframe pieces, and the roof rails and ribs. Hopefully nothing more than that.

But I am shooting to start this project next summer, I won't get to the body wood for about a year after that at least. So I am thinking that if I have to make the pieces myself then I might as well buy the boards now and squirrel them away. They can stay in the garage and dry out if needed.

It is one of those projects I am looking forward to/dreading. I am a mechanic by nature not a sparkie, welder or wood worker. But I have had to learn and if I take my time (i.e. months in between house projects) I seem to do ok.

Mike
 
JayJay-I have been following that thread for the same reasons. I know it is going to a giant PIA. But it will be a fun puzzle-I hope.

Mike
 
1930artdeco said:
JayJay-I have been following that thread for the same reasons. I know it is going to a giant PIA. But it will be a fun puzzle-I hope.

Mike
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Well, best of luck. I was (maybe still am, but I've sold most of my stationary tools to make room in the shop) a fairly competent cabinetmaker/furniture maker before I got back into the Model A hobby, and this is much more than I would want to undertake. I am restoring a 1930 Murray Town Sedan but I got really lucky in that the wood is very good. Only the header has some degradation but I can fix that with epoxy and fillers.

And, FWIW, ash would be my first choice of wood. One of my work benches is an ash laminate that I made in the 1970s and it's holding up great. You will probably want to have a selection of 6/4, 8/4 and possibly 12/4 to work with. Laminate with marine epoxy, I use the West System epoxys and associated fillers.
 
JayJay, The wood that I know is bad is what dad told me about when he restored the car years ago. I am hoping that I can just beef up the center post as it rotates a little when I close the pass. door. The header is original and toast, the sub floor boards one is shorter than the other. So I am hoping what wood I have to replace is easily accessible and easy to do. Besides it gives me an excuse to buy more tools and create a wood shop;)

Mike
 
I didn't cut or rework anything for my tudor. I got it from Snyders. I had another kit, from a dealer across the state, and it was like that...cut, fit, etc. I took it back. It was not a pleasurable xchange, and once I laid it out I called. They suggested I cut it, etc. I said nada! I don't think they wanted it back. More to the story, but I will spare you the details.

I did put a few coats of linseed oil on the kit and let it dry a few days before installing.

FYI, that top will sprad like a turkey breast when you take the ribs out. Put some tie-down straps on it or something. Ribs go back in the same day. A helper is advised.

Some things are just not worth fabing yourself. It's your car, and I wish you luck either way.
 
I generally use hard maple. Ash is good too. Maple is a bit easier on tools and less splintering. Any oak isn’t for me for body structure.
 
Gene that is good to know. The kit is the best way to go but If I have to at least I have the toys to create the pieces.

Mike
 
1930artdeco said:
OK, I have all of the power tools that need to cut and shape wood for when I dig into my car. I may need a spindle drum sander for the curves. My question is this, if I make my own wood pieces when can I buy the wood? 1, 2, 3 years in advance-it will stay in the garage so out of the weather. I am thinking of using ASH.

Thanks,

Mike
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Mike, IMO the answer to your question(s) is only answerable when you first know the moisture content of the wood itself. If it is sawmill-fresh lumber, the moisture will be higher than what kiln dried material will be. If it is kiln dried, you can buy it one day and cut it the next IMO.

I personally buy our Ash, White Oak (-used for body sills only), and Maple straight from the saw mill in 5/4, 8/4, and 12/4 thicknesses. Generally speaking, when we pick it up, it will be in the 25% - 30% range depending on how long the log set on the yard before it was sawn. We seal the ends and then stack it on sticks to let it dry to about 15% - 17% since sometimes we steam it. For us, we have a dedicated area in the warehouse that sees temps in the 80s during the summer, and I generally plan on 6-8 months of drying time to get it into the high teens percentages. Again, thickness plays a factor in this. Depending on several factors such as your quality of joinery and whether you seal it, it has been our experiences that as it dries out a little more afterwards, we really don't see it move enough (-if any) to be detectable.
 
Most wood from hard wood sources is already dried and ready to use. A person pays more for a product like that than they would if they saw milled there own lumber since the curing process has already been done.

I used to make repairs on the old Parson's wood main rotor blades and some of them were fabricated back in the 1950s. As long as the helicopter is well hangared, the blades will last a very long time. They require inspection and recovering every five years or so if they are used regularly.

The deteriorating factors for wood is sun light and rain water. If it is kept in the dark and is only exposed to moderate humidity then it will last for a very long time with little or no deterioration. Some paints or wood preservatives are better than others but any is better than none.
 
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