I think I have enough wood to do the supports inside the cab and the entire floor of the box! The wood smells like walnut but who knows.
Don't smell like pussy, er willow...... It must be some kind of iron wood. Wood work tools are NOT happy cutting this stuff. And the smoke doesn't smell like walnut.
... ipe wood is walnutish and hard as hell on tools. Its great rugged stuff though. Brazilian walnut so to speak. Common enough to maybe make it to your wood stash.
It came as dunnage between steel beams for a building. No idea of it origin. But holy crap is it hard!
It sounds like it is similar to Apitong which is a wood from the rain forest that is very strong, used in the floor of semi trailers. It is also very hard on cutting tools because it grows so fast it draws sand into the wood as it grows. It is a very dirty wood that is similar in appearance as mahogany and if you get a sliver from it, it will get infected, so be careful, the Ipe may or may not cause similar problems.
Must be the IPE stuff. Hard as hell, no sand, smells like walnut. Full day of blown electrical breakers and smoke from the saw blades. Got enough cut for the box floor and the inside the cab wood. Buddy is bringing his planner in on Monday and I can finish skimming it down. Now that the kids stuff is winding down I hope to get a bit more done.
I have a hunk of eucalyptus that came as blocking in a wind turbine I got from Australia about 30 years ago. It's been sitting around here and is as solid as when it got here. As long as it doesn't smell like the "piss" fir we ran through the mill I used to work in you'll be fine. That was a bad place to show up for work with a hangover.
I've got some finned "valve covers" for that plymouth 6 hanging in the garage with no home for them (at least, I think I still have them). Yours for the price of shipping.
Had enough of this wood crap for a bit and I need to get the dash in so I can fit the steering wheel and seat to the pedals. I don't have a 34 dash and couldn't find one I could afford. I do have a 30 something Chevy dash that I got on a trade years ago. But it wasn't quite wide enough. It was an inch and a half too narrow.
But with all the bits and pieces a got when I bought the truck there was another old rusty dash which appears to be a different year but it has some of the same contours.
So I hacked it apart and tomorrow(hopefully) I can get the parts blasted and start tacking them into place. Gotta love cutting up Chevy parts to fix an old ford!
It has been very hot here this week. Great for drinking beer and sitting by the pool, not great for building hot rods. But I have managed to get some work done. I spent several hours with a wood planner getting the box wood thinned down. It is getting there but it is super slow. I am giving up on the planner and going to run it through the milling machine. I put some linseed oil on a few pieces. It is gonna look wicked but holy is it hard!
I have also been trying to resurrect my tortured grill shell. I don't want a 32 and nobody re pops a 34. This one is a 33 but it is what I have. It was very twisted. The chin was broken off and the bars were badly bent and stretched. I cut the bars out and screwed the frame to a plywood buck to get it sort of square. The metal was not responding to the hammer and dolly, so I heated it red hot to anneal it which looks to have released some of the twists and dents too. I have a plan to replace the bars. Some of you may not like it very much, but you probably don't like the Plymouth motor either... And no it will not be spider webs, or a 32 insert either.
That is all for today. Too hot. Great day to take the kids skim boarding and check out the crop of Yummy Mummies at the beach! Lol
OK, you have us on the edge of our seats, hope you don't make us wait too long to see what you have in mind.
I worked on the grill last night for a few hours. It is going to be a big job. I think the result will be cool though.
LOL last spring I de-arched (not a full reverse) I did with two pieces of railroad track and a 4 pound hammer. Makes my shoulder hurt just to think about it. This is one of those cars that can only be appreciated by someone who has actually built a car. it is a master piece.
The Jalopy Journal
