[FONT="]Ill be the first to admit that this was a little crazy. It would make far more sense to just order a reproduction deuce shell for a couple hundred and be done with it, but thats not really what this was about. Im a student in the auto restoration program at McPherson College in Kansas, and as such have access to a well equipped shop and the desire to learn as much as possible while Im there. So this was really more of a learning exercise than anything else. [/FONT] [FONT="]This thread isnt really meant to be a how to make your own at home kind of deal, but if anyone wants to try it, this might give you some ideas. [/FONT] [FONT="]I must start by thanking my pal Ryan (oldsboy here on the hamb), who was kind enough to loan me his repro shell to be used as a pattern/buck. [/FONT] [FONT="]After much hemming and hawing over where to begin, I started with the inside upper corners, first bending them in the brake to form the lip that the insert will sit against, then using the hand shrinker to make the curve. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]Once that was close, I started forming the reverse curve, first using a hammer and a stake in the bench vise, then moving on the the planishing hammer with a lateral stretching die in the bottom and a slightly crowned die in the top. (I guess I didn't get any pictures of that part, I was having too much fun playing with the loud tool.)[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]At that point it was close enough to move on to the next piece, trimming and final fitting would come later. It may not look like much at this point, but I was pretty darn thrilled to have the first little piece done. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]The mirror-image piece on the other side was formed in the same way, then the two were trimmed and tacked together.[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]Now may be a good time to mention that it wasn't quite as easy as these pictures may lead you to believe. I'm not good enough at this yet to always hit it on the first try. Here are a few failed attempts on their way to the scrap heap...[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]The inner-side pieces were much easier to make, requiring that the metal only bend, not stretch or shrink. A hammer and stake made quick work of these, then they were trimmed and tacked. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]I moved on to the outer-sides next. These took some tinkering before I figured out the right sequence to make them. I ended up shrinking the upper corners, then smoothing the tool marks in the english wheel. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]Once the shape was close, I scribed the contour of the trailing edge of the shell. There is a ridge around the back where it meets the hood/sides, and this was formed by following the scribe line in the bead roller. This bead became a fold line where the back edge was hammered over, then additional tweaking was done by putting this edge in the hand shrinker. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]At this point it was pretty close...[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]With one side done, the other went much more smoothly.[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT]
With the sides completed, I started working on the lower inside corners. These were a bit trickier than the upper corners, and after the usual trial and error, I figured out that the flange could not be made in the brake, but rather needed to be curved. The bead roller was once again put to work, followed once again by the hand shrinker. I dont know how Ive lived without one of these theyre useful for almost any sheet metal project.) The curve was once again formed with the planishing hammer, then tweaked with a hammer and stake until it the fit was right. Once the other side was made, I couldnt resist clamping everything together to see how it looked. The outside-bottom pieces were fairly easy to make, first using the hand shrinker (seriously...the handiest little tool ever) to shrink the front edge, then the English wheel to stretch out the corners. These were made bigger than they needed to be and trimmed later. Both sides I had to stop and clamp it all together again, just to take a look. Everything still needed to be trimmed and fit together, but I couldnt resist having a look at all that shiny metal that was starting to resemble a deuce shell. (I spent way more time walking around my workbench looking at it like this than I should have.) On to the inner pan behind the shell. If youve ever looked at one of these, you know that this is kind of an odd shape. It needs to stretch in the middle, but shrink at the corners. I tried a few things (which I wont go into here, it wasnt pretty) before settling on the planishing hammer to raise the center. There is also a bead at the top of this piece, which was traced from the original shell, then run through the bead roller using the dies pictured. With a little tweaking on the pressure, these dies made the perfect step to match the original. Pictured here is the contact patch of the lateral stretching die in the planishing hammer that was used to form the eyebrow in the center.
On to the top. The shell that I was borrowing had the original-style hole for the radiator cap at the center. I wanted to make a filled and peaked center, so I had to get a little creative. I would have liked to have formed this part in only two pieces, but the area around the radiator fill hole is raised, preventing me from fitting my pieces flush against the shell. To get around this, I formed a left and right side, then a separate piece in the middle. The left and right pieces were formed by shrinking the edges, then smoothing and stretching at the corners with the english wheel. As with the sides, a bead needed to be rolled at the rear of these pieces as well. This picture shows the right-side after its trip through the bead roller and some additional tweaking of the shape with a hammer and stake. and the left. This picture shows the bead before being hammered over. With both sides done, it was time to move on to the center. I had to play with this shape a little to get it right, but in the end a little work with the english wheel and the hand shrinker produced the desired shape. I wanted a bit of a raised peak at the center, gently tapering toward the rear. This was accomplished with a sharp die in the bead roller against the flat part of a soft die. I slowly backed off the tension as I got closer to the back. Im happy with the way it came out. It has sort of a Rocketeer look to it. With all the pieces made, it was time for the arduous task of fitting the edges together. I planned to TIG weld all of the seams, so the fit had to be pretty good. This joint proved particularly harrowing I used a MIG welder for the initial tacks, as its much easier to keep the desired alignment with one hand and point and click with the MIG in the other hand. The chin was the first sub-assembly to be tacked together. It was then attached to the rest of the inner pieces. Kinda starting to look like something at this point then the sides and the outside pieces of the top and the center. This was kind of a big moment for me. I knew that there was a ton of work still to come, but I was thrilled to have made it this far. Its a grill shell!
With the bottom tacked in place it was time to TIG weld. The wood is there to serve as a jig to keep the whole works from turning into a pretzel while welding. The next step was to finish all the welds. I used a 5 grinder with 36 grit Rolocs to knock down the high spots. To keep from over-grinding the rest was done with a file, 80 grit paper on a block, and finally with 150 on a DA sander. The high and low spots were worked out with a hammer and dolly. Almost looks like a grill shell Not quite done yet. I had yet to make the part around the back where the welting goes and where the hood and sides would rest. After some trial and error, I found that one of the 90 degree bends could be made in the brake, then the piece could be run through the bead roller to make the raised part in the middle, then the finger-brake could be used to make the other 90. The curve was made with you guessed it the hand shrinker/stretcher. The sides were tacked on then the top and finally it was all welded up. That pretty much brings us up to date. I would be remiss if I didnt thank the metals instructor at McPherson, Ed Barr. Not only is he insanely good at shaping and welding, but hes an incredibly patient teacher. During this project, he was quick to offer suggestions, but stayed out of my way enough to let me screw up and learn from my mistakes. Thanks Ed, I couldnt have done this without you. My wife caught me making a few tweaks. There may be a bit more planishing to be done before paint, but Im calling it good for now. Here it is clamped in place on my Model A, where it will someday reside permanently. The car is just mocked-up at this point, if you look closely you can see the c-clamps and vise grips holding it all together. When a few of the vise grips are no-longer necessary, Ill start a build thread for the rest of the car.
Nicely done. I give more props to the man with skills and motivation than the one with a bottomless wallet.
Nice work! How long did it take to form? Is that a custom built english wheel with hoosier wheel and anvils?
Impressive isn't a strong enough word. So, will you be going into mass production ? If this is any indication, the rest of the car should be amazing. Don
Impressive work. I just gave my shrinker/stretcher a workout today so I know what you mean when you say it's just so darn handy.
Very impressive work on the grill shell. You understand what needs to be done to the metal and how to make it move where you want it to go. You are correct, if you are going to shape metal a set of Lancaster shrinker and stretchers are a must have tool. A set of stippled dies will reduce the marking of the metal and reduce cleanup time. Can't wait to see the complete build thread.
That's just plain and simple awesome work here! Can't hardly wait for the build thread of the rest of the car! I really like the peak on the top and I'm sure the completed car will be just as well crafted and thought out! Sent from my iPhone using TJJ app
Wow thats awesome, one thing I have often wondered about using an original as a buck is does the new part end up the same size or a little bigger then the original?
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