I had no idea of the number of layers involved in these pieces; certainly requires the skills of a master woodworker! Did you mention where you found the magnets and what they are called? Is this a typical application for them (metal to wood)?
They are "rare earth" magnets.. I found them on a site called "MAGNET4LESS.COM" These are generally used in wind turbine applications . Their site has literally hundreds of magnets available. These came pre-drilled for the studs... About 8 bucks each.
Yeah, we did but it was just a lot of sanding and blocking.... Waaaaaay boring and not very photogenic!
Now that you have all these folks excited about a '53 wagon maybe someone will want this:http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4609345331.html
We're still gluing wood.sanding, glazing, and blocking this pig. Here's a pic as of today. It'll take another month of this before its ready to paint, so there's not much to post about. Next week I can do a tutorial on "blocking for paint" if anyone is interested
Chuck,are you guys bolting any of the wood in place or just doing sections and using the magnets to hold it in place while shaping them? HRP
Danny, the wood is glued up a quarter inch larger than the final width. After it is shaped against the car with the magnets it is removed and trimmed to its final width. The joints in the wood pieces will then be doweled together , rounded over, smoothed, radiused and sanded- then lastly clearcoated. Finally the entire assembly will be bolted back onto the car over the mahogany panels with stainless steel carriage bolts as was done back in the old days. I hope that makes sense.
Nick is gluing the wood up a section at a time, after they are all glued they will be finished to shape. We will fit everything before final paint, then remove it for paint. then glue on the paneling and bolt on the rest.
Today was a day of experimentation. We have a pile of mahogany veneer here that's at least 25 years old , so we thought we should try out all our theories about attaching the real mahogany wood to the body of the car. This wont be a decal as the 53 Ford "woodies" were back then. We took an old auto hood and tried various adhesives to attach the veneer to the steel. Here's several of the mahogany "patches" glued onto the hood. Of all the various adhesives we tried so far, 3M 90 did the best. Weldwood contact cement worked well until we laid a layer of clearcoat on top and then the glue loosened. The lighter color wood behind is a section of ASH that forms the border. we clearcoated it as well. While we were doing this, Nick constructed several more ash borders for the doors. He's over halfway done with this process now. Where the veneer meets the edge of the door it is sanded to an "eased " edge and the lip will be handpainted to match. This way you cant snag the veneer by accident and chip or tear it. Then, on with several coats of clear Here's a shot of a piece of ash next to the mahogany. This is just 2 of many coats of clear... This is going to work! We're excited!
Man oh man,you guys have nailed the look,,just a few coats of clear looks great so I'm guessing the gazillion other coats of clear will be unbelievably beautiful. You,Steve & Dana have done impeccable work thus far and bringing in Nick to help with the work load has just enhanced the Strange Days credibility. HRP
Hi Chaz: Thanks for more updates on the woodworking. Just my opinion I think less of a color contast between the inner and outer sections of the wood is a better look. TEB
OMG!!! Please keep showing us more. I'm sure this Is going to be marvelous as Ricardo Montobond would say! Give me some more wood!
I believe Chuck eluded to trying to make the wood appear that it was something that was available for 52-54 Fords,,especially since it was never offered on Ranch Wagons and the plastic stuff was only offered on the Country Squire. HRP
Danny, We are really lucky to have Nick giving us a hand on this one. Nick and I have been friends for probably 30 years and actually worked together at one time. We always have checked in on each others work over the years and go grab lunch together every now and then. One hell of a lot of the woodworking skills I have were learned from Nick. He's simply the best there is in these parts. When he offered to help us we couldn't have been happier. tevintage, You may be right about the color contrast of the woods. Traditionally ash and mahogany were the woods most often used and we haven't enhanced or stained either one (although that certainly is an option) Here's a photo of a woodie I stole off the Hamb a few weeks ago. The colors are almost spot on to where we are heading. I think you'll agree it looks pretty snappy to say the least. We'll certainly hold final judgement till further down the road , and we certainly respect and appreciate your input!
Interesting you would post that particular photo, this is what I had envisioned when I saw your most recent post. HRP
Hi Chaz: Thanks for the reply. I am sure any choices you make will be well thought out and executed. I heartily agree the 49/50 woodie you posted is outstanding! Is that the Seafoam green that you referred to earlier? TEB
It hasn't been above zero here for over a week, so I've been trapped in the shop. Usually we only work on Sundays on the wagon, but I took a day or two early this week to attack the dash. First I stripped it of everything and then marked the old face for removal.You can see the sharpie pen lines where the cuts will be made. After cutting out that section, I welded in a new piece to smooth out the dash Here it is after some more welding, grinding, and finishing I also formed a new glove box out of aluminum to replace the old cardboard one. I'm gonna go with SW wings gauges so I drilled holes for them in the new dash Here's kinda a preview of that side. I still have to cut in the stereo and an ignition switch, but the look has really cleaned up! Meanwhile we are still blocking the car to get it ready for paint, and Nick is still forming the wooden parts for the "woodie" sides.
I really like the dash restyling,are you going to remove the old clock pod or use something in it's place? I'm really getting antsy waiting for more of the wood work to be completed. HRP
I'm trying to locate a new clock for the pod. SW doesn't make a clock in the "wings" series as near as I can tell. PT cruisers have a analog clock that would be a pretty good match (Black lettering on white) and autometer makes one with awful fluorescent red needles that I could possibly break into and re-paint. In other words I'm still hunting!
It's been a while since I checked in. I'm in awe of the work you guys are doing. Adding a top notch furniture maker to the team certainly adds another dimension to your over the top skills. The magnets sure look a lot better than the strapping. Laminating the ash is the way to go rather than trying to shape the pieces. That would have driven you nuts(er). I'm anxious to see your version next to Danny's. I think just a touch of metallic in the paint would add some extra zing. Carry on, mens!!!
Well, we took a day off from blocking the body and decided to deal with the inner fenderwells. Because our skirts are molded to the body, we need to make this as wide as possible for tire removal. We purchased a set of wheel tubs from Competition Engineering to do the job. Here's a picture of the old fenderwell removed and the top of the tire showing inside the car. The new fenderwell will extend from the frame to the outer body. We first constructed a pattern from cardboard to make sure the fit would be alright.Here's what it looked like after hot gluing it together Here it is set in place...an OK fit. Then we transferred the pattern to the steel and bumped it together with a body hammer Finally the metal tub is positioned in place. This is 14 inches wide at the widest point to aid in tire removal. There's still a lot of fitting and welding to do, but this is gonna work!
Look great Chuck,will you still have room for the back of the seat to pivot forward or will you have to relocate the floor attachment point? HRP
It just barely fits, but there is room without relocation of the mount. Now I have to find a set of seats. Like a dumbass I threw away the old ones when I thought I'd go the "Street Rod" route with this build.
The Jalopy Journal
