Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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I used to watch some guy named Norm Abrams (I think) on a TV show called New Yankee Workshop (I think) and always marvelled at the woodworking skill this guy had. He is a Master Carpenter, and had a special tool to do everything in the shop, and made jigs to hold every item he built. The reason I mention this is because I am far from this guy in my woodworking skills, but I have to admit the past few days of cutting and shaping wood for the T have been fun and a pleasant change from burning myself with hot sparks and lifting heavy pieces of steel. I see why some guys really enjoy working with wood.

So, today I did more of the interior wooding, and got just about all the pieces cut and fitted. Once they were in place I numbered each piece so I know exactly where it goes back when I start glassing them in. Resin kicks in about 15-30 minutes, so you have to keep moving quickly, and I won't have the luxury of trying to figure out what goes where.

I also drew a permanent marker line around each piece of wood so that it is very clear to me where it should lie, again to speed up the process. The final part of that is a chart I quickly drew up showing where each numbered piece goes, so I can refer to it as the glassing moves along. I will precut lots of pieces of mat the same width as the stringers so I can put those under each piece of wood to bed it in and hold it firmly to the body.

Here are some pictures of the things I mentioned above.


Don

Some of the stringers fit tight up against the body, and need no further attention. However, some have a big gap behind them because a T body has more curves and twists than the south end of a northbound cat. So you have to make the stringers thick enough and shaped properly to fill those voids. In some cases I had to laminate two or three pieces of wood together and shape them to conform to the body. I did this with stainless screws from the backside and resin between the pieces to glue them into one. Then I could belt sand them into the proper shape to fit tight.

This stuff doesn't have to be furniture grade woodwork, but the tighter fit you get the better the final job will be. I also didn't want the backrest flexing from constant leaning against it, so I built a backboard to go between the body and the piece of plywood backrest. I will glass that in to make it a very solid assembly when done.

My plans are to have all the glassing done by the end of the weekend, so that next week I can concentrate on getting the body off of the frame and begin finishing up the frame.

That's the PLAN, anyway..........

Don

Don great wood working . Watching this for ideas on a few for the A that need replaced .

Thanks Bob. I am enjoying this woodworking so much I am seriously thinking about building a teardrop trailer to tow behind the Dodge truck. I have always liked them, and it seems cool to be able to open the back and have your galley right there and all.

Maybe I'll become a drifter.


Don