instead of using poultry wire

Gerard

Gerard

Well-known member
If you are replacing the top of your Model A ? I came to this idee because I was not happy with the gauge size of the poultry wire I get from a local supplier. By coincidence a friend called for some help with his Tiger Moth wings for recovering. When I was sewing a wing bag with " CECONITE " I thought well this material could do the trick for my A also . Ceconite is a material what could be glued and tacket to wood or steel and with a iron shrinked to a tension you disire . After that a thin watery coat of of nitrate dope is brushed on . No rust anymore and I think better then poultry wire

Question : as I know that there are some other a/c mechanics amongst us here on the barn ,I like to hear your thoughts about this ( maybe crazy) idee .


Gerard
 
You can do the same thing with heavy muslin for 1/4 the price and no dope needed. It's 100% cotton and will steam shrink. I don't know why folks have in their head to use "chicken wire" in tops. It gives little or no support and doesn't spring back. Once stretched, it just sags. Not to mention the rust. The Ceconite is a good idea but pricey and messy if you happen to splash the dope on the paint.
 
I also considdered the Old fashioned Egyption cotton and water / red dope process but the control of the material tension is somewhat doubtful for this particular job. With Ceconite you control tension instantly and it works fast as wel.

You are right about splashing dope on paint , but with correct masking it must be possible. The price of Ceconite ? yes not very cheap but it depends what you want to achieve in the end . Thanks for the response .
 
My question is,...were you considering using 'Poultry Wire' on your Coupe?

Regarding A/C, if you are referencing air conditioning in a Model A, it is an idea that has been done many times. Some installations have been very subdued and the results very acceptable. On the opposite side, I have seen a home window unit retrofitted to a door window on the car, and a 120 volt gas-powered generator mounted on the luggage rack to power it. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
My question is,...were you considering using 'Poultry Wire' on your Coupe?

Regarding A/C, if you are referencing air conditioning in a Model A, it is an idea that has been done many times. Some installations have been very subdued and the results very acceptable. On the opposite side, I have seen a home window unit retrofitted to a door window on the car, and a 120 volt gas-powered generator mounted on the luggage rack to power it. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

.
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Good morning Brent, I am not talking about my coupe but a 4 door Murray I am restoring now. And I am seriously considdering using Ceconite ( have that on hand ) to put in my top instead of poultry wire.
If it works on aircraft wings why not on a Model A.
 
I used 1/8" baltic birch instead of the chicken wire and screwed it down with #6 1/2" screws on the spars and around the edges in countersunk holes evenly spaced. The baltic birch was cut to fit where the chicken wire went. Then coated with several coats of spar varnish. The benefits are that it does not flop around due to wind and could install insulation directly to the wood undeside by glueing with 3M adhesive. The vehicle is quiter and a lot cooler due to the brown leather top. It is a '28 Leatherback.
 
Gerard, I understand.

As far as using Poultry Wire, I use it after we have stretched it by using "manpower". Then we staple it adequately followed by drill cloth, then cotton (the real stuff) and the long-short grain material. I guess it is all in how to want to do it.

Commenting on installing Birch wood, my question is how do you deal with the proper compound angles involving the correct shape of the roof? Does your car actually have the correct shape in the roof bows?

.
 
Brent, Birchwood is no option to me , some guy's in the Diablo model a club have used Masonite instead and by looking at their video " how they did it " I have to say it looked reonaseble to me. But dont like masonite or the other. I have replaced all my top wood with new from Classic wood and the fit is perpect ( with some fitting and sanding )
 
Speaking of using plywood for the top of a model A. Back when I was in college (a very long time ago), my brother and I bought a 29 tudor that was being use as a small chicken coup. The top of the car had a piece of galvanized sheetmetal over the top and sheetmetal screws holding it in place. It was pretty crude. We decided to use plywood instead of chicken wire to redo the top. My grandfather, who had done a lot of woodworking and was a former manual arts teacher (woodworking), said you couldn't use plywood on the top as had compound curves on it. Being as young and know-it-all as we were, we decided to do it anyway. It turned out very well. We had to trim down the perimeter wood and top bows a little to accommodate the thickness (1/4") plywood. Thinking back on it now, we were a little stupid to even attempt it, but it did work well. I would never do the same thing now, as I want to restore my model A's as they were originally built.
Rusty Nelson
 
I used original-style "chicken wire", and it worked out fine. One bit of advice: Get a pneumatic stapler that shoots 1/4" wide by 1/2" deep staples. I tried using the original-style staples with a hammer, and it was very tedious, and half the staples would get bent and have to be pulled out. With the air stapler, the installation was a breeze. I used one from HF, like this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/nailers-staplers/18-gauge-2-in-1-nailer-stapler-97524.html

(Hey, it's on sale for $19.95!)

An air stapler is also great for upholstery work, but you would need a different model, one specifically for 1/2" staples.

Air staplers totally blow away the traditional spring-driven Arrow staplers. They drive the staple more powerfully and quickly, with less risk of impact damage to the work. I can't believe that 5 million Model A had their interiors and upholstery done with tacks and hammers!

Doug
 
I bought a rubber coated 'chicken wire' style fence for my backyard plants at Home Depot. Don't know if the dimensions will work or not but there is no rust problen there.

Mike
 
I used that orange snow fence/safety fencing stuff. As I remember it had 1" squares in it. Been on the car 10 years or so and worked great!
 
I have recovered airplanes in the past and I think it is probably not a good idea. Even ceconite treated with the full number of coates of buterate and silver dopes will deteriorate in the sunlight over time. The best you could hope for is 20 yrs if the car is kept in the garage(hanger) out of the sun when not in use.
 
Bill Goddard said:
I have recovered airplanes in the past and I think it is probably not a good idea. Even ceconite treated with the full number of coates of buterate and silver dopes will deteriorate in the sunlight over time. The best you could hope for is 20 yrs if the car is kept in the garage(hanger) out of the sun when not in use.
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Hi Bill, the question was : to use ceconite instead of chicken wire. Followed by cotton / horse blanket or whatever the owners pref is and of course then the long grain black top material.
 
Having been in the business of recovering aircraft for many years, I agree with Bill. Ceconite (trade name) or the generic dacron will continue to shrink, even with non-taughtening butyrate dope. That means that the top bows will bend and distort at least the headliner. Dacron also does not retain its strength and may not outlast the roof covering. Poultry netting is much cheaper and will likely outlast most owners. Gar Williams
 
Brent, I think the "A/C" is for air craft in this case. Ceconite is what's used to cover "Ragwing" aircraft today. Originally it was Irish Linen.
Terry



BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
My question is,...were you considering using 'Poultry Wire' on your Coupe?

Regarding A/C, if you are referencing air conditioning in a Model A, it is an idea that has been done many times. Some installations have been very subdued and the results very acceptable. On the opposite side, I have seen a home window unit retrofitted to a door window on the car, and a 120 volt gas-powered generator mounted on the luggage rack to power it. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

.
Click to expand...
 
1930artdeco said:
I bought a rubber coated 'chicken wire' style fence for my backyard plants at Home Depot. Don't know if the dimensions will work or not but there is no rust problen there.

Mike
Click to expand...

I have no way of knowing if it's original or not, but my piece of chicken wire is heavily galvanized and shows no sign of rusting . Yet...
Terry
 
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