Thread: Hotrod carpentry---

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I really wanted to title this "How do ya like my box", but I thought the moderators might shoot me. Now that I have the Marguard lexan sidewindows made for my roadster pickup, the question arises, how do I carry them around? My original thought was to make a two compartment bag of soft cloth and keep it in the back of my rpu, but the more I thought about them sliding around in there, and the chance of setting something heavy into the back and breaking them, the less I liked that idea. I decided to build a very shallow box instead, that will actually screw to the bottom of the truck bed to keep it stationary. The inside of the box will be lined with felt, and there will be a divider panel covered with felt that lays between the two windows. I made up the perimeter frames from 3/4" x 1 1/2" pine, with 1/8" Luan mahogany as the main panel material. I had a peice of brass piano hinge laying around that was long enough (37"). The box will fit crossways in the bed of the rpu just ahead of the tailgate. I put a dark stain on the pine to bring it to the same colour as the mahogany, then coated everything with spar varnish (2 coats on, one to go yet).---Best part of it all---I was finally able to justify buying a belt sander!!! I've wanted one for years---just had to wait for a project to come up that justified the purchasing of one. I will post more pics as this thing comes together.----Brian

Brian -

Whoever said ...."a hotrod is never done", must have had you in mind when they made that statement.

So---My foray into the world of hotrod carpentry has ended succsesfully!! The box is finished, the hinge installed, and my two side windows fit into it perfectly. (Almost too perfectly---I added a second strip of aluminum channel to the top of each side window to keep them from flexing at 70 MPH and it was almost enough to make them not fit into the box.) I still have to add a layer of felt to the inside bottom and top of the box, and I will machine up a brass latch on my milling machine. This box will get screwed to the bottom of my pickup bed to keep it from sliding around in there, and then I will have my side windows with me anytime I need them. (The rpu has a locking rigid tonneau cover).---Brian

.........nice box...........

Finish carpentry is really not my thing. I've built a couple of houses and cottages in my 62 years, and I am okay with framing carpentry, even drywall, but I'm a lousy "finish" carpenter. I have a friend (the fellow who is riding with me on the "Canadian Rod Tour") who is an absolute magician on the fine work and finishing of furniture. I just lined the box with felt.---certainly wouldn't want to do that for a living either. I was okay right up to the point where I had the inside of the box and one side of the felt coated with spray on contact cement. Then I called my good wife out to the garage to hold one end of the felt while I held onto the other, and tried to lay the felt EXACTLY into the bottom of the box without touching the sides.--Its good enough for me, but man, I wouldn't want to line coffins for a living---or anything else that was on public display.

Well acturly---I think that brass billet piano hinge is cheap Chinese shit metal with a very thin coating of brass electroplated onto it. I am going to use some REAL brass (left over from one of my model steam engine builds) to make a latch for it. Funny----I never thought too much about it while building the box, but its damn near impossible to buy a latch for a box thats only 1 3/4" total thickness. I ran all over friggin town to different hardware stores and craft stores looking for a simple lunch pail type latch---they have them for boxes 3" thick, but nothing for a box this size, unless I want to order them from Lee valley tools for a kazillion dollars each. Oh well, this is part of why I bought the lathe and mill last year.--I'll post a "latch picture" when I get it made.

We have a latch!!! I milled a couple of peices from brass and made up a knurled knob from aluminum exactly the same as the knobs I made to hold the windows in place on the car (works as a spare in case I lose one.) This seems to work great, was more or less free, and gets the job done.

Wow, nice job brian! Id like to see how it all looks in the bed and with the velvet inside! Good work!

Cool Latch.

Well boys---Thats all she wrote!!! The project is finished. The storage box for my sidewindows is built, lined with felt, and screwed to the hardwood floor of the truck. Now when I take those big jaunts away from home, I don't have to worry quite so much about inclement weather on my trip home. This has been a kind of "instant gratification" project, as it has went quickly and succesfully. Total cost, storage box included has been about $300.

Nice job Brian! Looks almost factory!

You could fool me, Brian. If you're not good at finishing, there are a lot of "pros" who are absolutely lousy. That is nice work. And, the idea factory that is your mind continues to work quite well.

Originally Posted by Rrumbler

You could fool me, Brian. If you're not good at finishing, there are a lot of "pros" who are absolutely lousy. That is nice work. And, the idea factory that is your mind continues to work quite well.

Rrumbler---Thanks for the kind words. I like your term "Idea factory". Every design engineer who works with the design of prototype equipment for 44 years as I have would take that as a great compliment!!!