Shaping new wood to fit

Ctillberg

Ctillberg

Junior Member
Hi All
Beginning to shape new front pillars and header wood in my 29 Leatherback.
Having gotten this car in a partially deconstructed state, I'm unsure as to how close these pieces need to fit.
Can anyone share some pics of a finished state of the front corners of a leatherback - or maybe all sedans look the same?
thanks a bunch.
 

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Ctillberg said:
Hi All
Beginning to shape new front pillars and header wood in my 29 Leatherback.
Having gotten this car in a partially deconstructed state, I'm unsure as to how close these pieces need to fit.
Can anyone share some pics of a finished state of the front corners of a leatherback - or maybe all sedans look the same?
thanks a bunch.
Click to expand...


Whether you are working on Model A wood or a piece of wooden furniture the joints need to be as tight as possible to insure the structural integrity of the whole piece.
If there is 'slop' in the joints it will allow the body to shift making the door fit impossible to hold among other things. Don't know if this is helpful or not. Jay
 
Sorry, Mine's a 30 Town Sedan, but I did make a lot of my body wood. It helps to know that Henry Ford was a Toolmaker like myself. I say this , not to brag, but to give an idea of the skill levels necessary. The preferred wood is Ash, occasionally Maple and Walnut are used. Oak can be used but I wouldn't use it. Henry Ford worked close! The original prints had +/- .010. some sizes don't require that kind of accuracy, some do! There are very few angles and surfaces on the wood that are 90 deg. Square. And a few pieces are "keyed" into the adjacent pieces. These "Keys" (Tabs, Tongues) are angular and you must have an angle gauge in addition to a good machinist scale and Vernier Caliper. I don't mean to scare you but you should know what you're up against. If you'd like to see some pics of my attempts to make the wood for this car. Go to my profile, scroll down to "My A" and you'll see them. They're badly out order so go thru the whole batch.
Terry



Ctillberg said:
Hi All
Beginning to shape new front pillars and header wood in my 29 Leatherback.
Having gotten this car in a partially deconstructed state, I'm unsure as to how close these pieces need to fit.
Can anyone share some pics of a finished state of the front corners of a leatherback - or maybe all sedans look the same?
thanks a bunch.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys, great advice, particularly re: joint fit. I will have to build up the older tenons to be snug in the new header. I'm curious how closely the steel header cover and front post covers should line up and fit together when mounted on the wood. Are they perfectly fitted together - the pic in my post shows them not really close. Not sure when that corner looks like when it's finished.
 
How do you know that the header is original?I Knew mine wasn't only because it was made of pine. This was my first A and I didn't know spit from beans. I could have duplicated what was there, and been wrong. The new header I bought from Classic Wood was much different from what was there. I would purchase the header if nothing else. It's one of the more complicated pieces of all. Also, The header is like a "soldier course" on a roof. It sort of controls a lot of other things.
Terry


Ctillberg said:
Thanks guys, great advice, particularly re: joint fit. I will have to build up the older tenons to be snug in the new header. I'm curious how closely the steel header cover and front post covers should line up and fit together when mounted on the wood. Are they perfectly fitted together - the pic in my post shows them not really close. Not sure when that corner looks like when it's finished.
Click to expand...
 
All of my wood I'm sure was original, doesn't appear there have been any restorations done. My replacement parts are from ford wood, and the match up fairly close to what has come off that isn't dust. Structurally I think I'm close, except I'm struggling with dry fitting the steel. I understand the new wood will need some sanding etc, but I'm trying to get those steel parts to line up and I'm not sure how perfect they need to be....once I glue and screw the joints together, then that's it.
 
Ctillberg said:
All of my wood I'm sure was original, doesn't appear there have been any restorations done. My replacement parts are from ford wood, and the match up fairly close to what has come off that isn't dust. Structurally I think I'm close, except I'm struggling with dry fitting the steel. I understand the new wood will need some sanding etc, but I'm trying to get those steel parts to line up and I'm not sure how perfect they need to be....once I glue and screw the joints together, then that's it.
Click to expand...

The joints and the metal need to fit tightly together on both accounts. Think of it in this scenario. How would you feel about the drywall in your home if it had a gap between it and the stud/rafter wood? How strong do you feel the house would be if the wooden joints were full of mismatched gaps & voids? A Sedan body's construction is even more crucial because of the road vibrations/twisting, and a body that is setting on a weaker foundation.

FWIW, I have found that deteriorated wood has shrunken due to moisture content being lost. We have noticed this by comparing print dimensions with the old deteriorated wood. If your new wood matches the original wood in dimensionally, I think I would be concerned.
 
OK then, Be careful of your door opening sizes when you determining the length of your inner and outer nailing pieces (Stringers?) That run the length of the roof. Also, With these pieces. Watch the outer curve. When my stringers were in place there was more of a curve in the wood than the roof panel and the panels had to be forced over and I was told to use very small wood screws instead of nails to fasten the panel's end to the header.
The center posts (between the doors) have reliefs cut into the bottom sills and the outer stringer/nailer (Topwood) to locate and secure the center posts and the bottom angle bracket/brace. The top of this angle bracket must be flush with top of the sill. It cannot protrude above. Preserving the door openings is critical but very easy to over look when you have the doors open. I believe that the clearance is 1/4 " larger than the door. This is not gospel, but it was something like 1/8 all around. I hope this helps!
Terry
 
Details, Details! I'm getting away from the concepts and into actuality now. First off, yours is a 29, I have a 30, big difference? I don't know! Your outer nailer/stringer looks as thought you can save it. I got the impression that all your wood was shot. Since you've already made and fitted you new header, my only suggestion is to fill up the gaps. Either with a small chip of wood or some commercial filler. The twisting and pulling will be held to a minimum.
Terry
 
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