Rebuilding '48 Chevy Woody

Final Assembly

2008-03-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I hope you found the information in this blog useful. I will be starting another '48 that Will include the installation of all locks handles, glass. A complete concourse restoration. I have completed full size measured templates for most of the parts of this car and will make them available soon.
If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me through my website.There is a link on the front page of this blog.

I also want to thank Greg for all his help with this project.

Lift Gate / Tail Gate Assembly

2008-03-22T16:07:00.001-07:00

The tail gate and lift gate are pretty basic in their construction. The upper and lower rail of the tailgate are set into the pillars on either side with through tenons. The middle stile is set into the upper and lower rail with tenons set approximately 3/4" deep. The quarter inch mahogany panels are fastened around their perimeter every 6 inches or so to the ash framework of the tail gate to keep everything stiff and square.
The lift gate was a bit more difficult because I didn't have either of the side pillars. The joinery is essentially the same as the tailgate, so using the curved back side of the rear quarter panel pillars, I was able to transfer the profile to the side pillars of the lift gate. The only other important aspect to figure out is the size of the rebate for the glass and that could be taken from the upper and lower rail as it is the same. While it is a basic type of joinery, care must be taken to avoid making mistakes. The cheeks of the tenons on the front and back side are off set to account for the rebates on the back side .
The only other reccomendation I might have would be to leave alittle material on the side pillars so they can be sanded down after being installed, to match the profile of the rear pillars.

Assembly Part II

2008-03-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't have any good templates for the roof rails that run the length of the roof, and support the bows. I used a spacer block that would ride along the top rail of the rear quarter panel to make this section of the roof rails. I made four rails for each side, cutting the top and bottom with a bevel to match the originals. They then are fastened together from the inside with wood screws to complete the assembly. I continued working my way towards the front of the car in this manner.
There are two areas along the roof rails where they are finger jointed together. At each joint the roof rails angle in towards the middle of the car. At the front of the cab the rails enter the metal pillars on each side of the windsheild, and attach to the header where the roof and the front cowl meet.
Once I finished the assembly of the rails I attached the front header the the cowl and roof assembly, fitted the tenon at the top of the center door pillar . I then attached the roof rails to the upper rail of the rear quarter panel using screws through the window grooves, through the roof rails, and into t-nuts. Finally I fastened the T shaped bracts that hold the lift gate header, rear pillars and the roof rails together.
I had the piece of sheet metal for the front of the roof, so I used it to locate the forward most bow. Taking measurements from the original, I fastened the rest of the bows to the roof rails.
I started in the center with the roof slats, attaching them to the bows with #8 x .75" brass wood screws instead of the nails used originally. It helps to lay out the strips first, without fastening themsince they will be spaced apart slightly at the back and touching at the front

Begining Assembly

2008-02-25T18:32:00.001-08:00

I started the assembly on the body by building the middle and rear supports for the rear deck. I then built the front support ( the one with the doors for accessing the bolts to the fender rails). I attached the large metal bracket at the rear that holds the rear main posts. I braced the rear posts in the proper position from front to back by bracing from the post to the fender rail (as seen in the picture. In order to hold the posts at their correct angle ( about 85 degrees from horizontal), I attached the lift gate header in position, then adjusted the posts from side to side until the angles taken from both sides, with a large bevel gauge, matched exactly. I made the cross brace from 1/4" plywood that was bolted through the center and screwed to both posts and the back cross support for the rear deck. This arrangement held everything real well while I built the rest of the rear quarter panels
I positioned the rear door latching post(the post that the door latches on as opposed to the hinge post) based on a number of points transferred from the original parts . I used the rear doors I had built along with the top rail of the rear quarter panel to accurately position the latching post. It is a good idea not to permanently fix anything until you are sure it is in the correct location. I had 95% of the car assembled before I drilled any of the through bolts that fasten the main joints together.
The structure of these cars is designed in such a way that the overall frame is joined with typical mortise and tenon type joinery that is held together with 1/4" or 5/16" bolts and blind nuts. This framework is then made rigid with the mahogany panels screwed around the perimeter at 2 1/2" to 4"on center to the frame.

Fender Rails

2008-01-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

The partial fender behind the front fender, and the rear fender are mounted to fender rails that are both constructed in a similar way. They both are designed to follow the curve of the fender, which would be difficult to achieve using a single piece of wood. Joining wood end to end this way is normally going to be a relatively weak joint. The only effective surfaces to glue are the face grain, as opposed to end grain, which is pretty much useless to glue. A finger joint like the ones found on these parts is quite strong. To give you a better idea you can look at the fact that you have about 10 sq. inches of face grain glued for every 1 1/2" of thickness.
I made what I felt was an improvement over the original design on the rear fender rails.They are made up of two rails laminated together for an overall thickness of 3".The original rails had the finger joints aligned across the two sections. I think this was probably due more to the necessity of efficiency in production. I kept the joints in the same location on the outside sections of the rails to maintain the look of the original. On the inside sections of the rails I staggered the joints so the finger joints on one section would be supported by solid wood next to it.
Both of these pieces were very deteriorated, so I started by making full size templates from 1/4" plywood. I then marked out where the joints were located on each piece. I set up the finger joint cutter so that when the fingers were cut on one piece the mating piece was cut by flipping it upside down to minimize the number of set ups and adjustments that neede to be made. Once I got the sections joind together, I passed them through the surface planer taking light cuts just until the joints were perfectly level. This would ensure the glue joints between the two pieces would be as seemless as possible.
The partial fender rails on the front doors are made the same way, except they are not laminated like the rear fender rails. Although they are thicker at about 2" for about 13 sq. inches of glued joint surface.
At this point I trace the templates I made onto the glued up sections ,and cut them out on the bandsaw, leaving a little material outside the line to remove with the belt sander , and hand planer. Once this was done I transferred the thicknesses from the original to the new stock , again cutting out on the bandsaw and finishing with the belt sander.

Routing With A Template

2008-01-14T23:41:00.001-08:00

Each of the doors has a curved groove that accepts the outside panel . It would be impossible to route this dado accurately by hand, so you will need to make a template that will guide the router's cutting bit along this line. These grooves are 3/8" wide, and approximately 1/2" deep .
There are two ways of using a template to cut an irregular dado like this. One way is to use a bearing guided bit like the ones shown earlier in this blog, except the bearing would be above the bit as opposed to below it. But a better way for this application would be to use a guide bushing that will allow your cutter to fit through it. As the guide bushing rides along the template the cutter makes a groove just off set from the template. To determine the amount of off set, you take the size of the bushing's outside diameter (5/8"), and subtract the dia. of the cutter (3/8"). Now you have determined the bushing is 1/4" larger than the cutter, you divide this in half . This will give you the off set of one side (1/8"). Knowing this, you will need to make the template Off set from the groove you want to make by 1/8".
Given the depth of the dado you are making, it will take a few passes to reach the full depth of 1/2". Guide bushing sets are available with about six or seven different size bushings to accomidate a variety of cutter sizes.
Most bushings will require your template to be at least 1/2" thick. Also another good way to determine the off set of your template is simply to set up the cutter in a bushing that fits closely but does not touch, attach a fence to a sacrificial piece of wood, make a shallow pass. Ensuring the bushing is staying in contact with the fence, as it will sometimes want to wander depending on the direction of your cut, measure the distance from the edge of the fence to the edge of the dado. This is your off set.
This technique is useful whenever you must route a dado that does not run parallel to any side of the piece being worked.

Replicating Complex Profiles

2008-01-14T22:04:00.001-08:00

For the rail that runs the length of the car just below the windows, it was necessary to start by recreating the profile without the use of a shaper knife specially cut for this shape.
Begin by using a profile guide like the one shown here to copy the shape from a good cross section of the original stock. You can also trace the profile onto a piece of thick card stock.
Once you have the profile, dimension the stock for the left and right sides. Use the profile gauge to copy an outline onto the new stock. Take into account the shape you copy onto the new stock will be slightly smaller than the actual shape , so be sure not to remove the line, but work right up to the line.
At this point using router bits and the table saw, work your way up to the line. Try to keep in mind what cuts will need to be made and do not cut away some part of the profile you will need to register against the fence for a later cut. Try to think a few steps ahead.
It is not important to follow the profile exactly, but each cut should touch the line you have drawn at some point.
Once you have the shape roughed out, using a block plane, take off the remaining peaks, working your way down to the profile line. Try to make long, even passes down the length of the piece to ensure a consistent shape.Finally a few cabinet scrapers and some sanding should yield pretty good results.

DOORS PART VI

2007-08-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

The joinery is the final step to preparing the rear doors. The inside of the doors is allon one plane, so it works best to lay out all the parts on a flat surface and mark out all your joinery . this will ensure that all the pieces stay in the correct relationship.

When cutting joinery on peices like this, lay out is crutial. You should mark out the joint on mating pieces at the same time. Use an ink pen with a very thin tip (.05 or .03) is best. When marking out the joinery you should show the cuts to be made on all sides of the joint. It also helps to shade in the areas to be removed so as not to cut on the wrong side of the line.

Once you have completed marking the joint , clamp the work in such a way that you can seethe cut lines on at least two sides of the work. With a better than average dovetail saw , I use a Scandvick, start on the top face, using your thumbnail as a guide begin your cut trying to split the line to the waste side. If you always keep this relationship between your cut line and your actual cut, you will have a joint that needs little, if any fitting. Once you have sawed 1/16" to 1/8" deep, keeping your saw in the cut, start to follow the line around the piece. Use this method all the way around the joint, and you should be able to create an accurate joint in any situation.

This is about as far as you will go until you can fit the door into the opening.

Doors Part V

2007-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

The lower potion of the back door is shaped around the back fender . Since the groove is neither parallel to the back, nor in a straight line, I put on this temporary fence on with some CA glue and then shaped the fence to allow for a slight inward arc.

Then using a router with a 3/8" bit I take two or three passes to get to the proper depth.

After getting the front side cut square, trace the smaller side and cut outward at approx. 10 Deg. I had enough detail from the original piece to lay out the adjoining faces. After all the rest of the sides are cut , flip the piece concave side up, and transfer the measurements from your pattern onto your copy. Its much easier to cut the line running it through the band saw upside down this way.

Doors Part IV

2007-06-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

These are the front stiles of the back doors. Start out with dimensioning the material to the correct thickness. I started out this project using a flush trimming router bit to copy pieces, but I am finding it works a little better sometimes to just trace the profile as closely as you can. Then using a band saw and a sander,

try to split the line.

Once you get the profiles accurately shaped, lay out for dadoes on the front and back and cut those parallel with the back side. Then to get this detail where the rabbeted section towards the base of the door slopes up to the surface, I put a stop at the end of the

fence and made successive cuts to remove all the material up to that point. Then cleaned it up with planes and files or sandpaper.

I laid out the joinery on the new stock, but I'll wait to cut it when I have all the pieces for the door finished.

Doors Part III

2007-04-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

The next piece to make is the rear upright stile of the rear door. There is a saddle type joint at the top that fits with the rear door header assembly, dadoes or grooves that line up with grooves in the header for the window channel.along with a handful of other grooves and recesses for window and lock hardware as well as frame joinery and interior and exterior panels. When laying out the curve of this part the original had deteriorated quite a bit around the lock mechanism so I wasn't really able to use the pattern making bits as before. Also these pieces taper a slight 1/16th to 3/32nds of an inch from top to bottom. To accomplish this I made a sled that held up the back end of the stock half this distance. I would run the stock through a thickness planer, dropping the blade slightly between passes. Checking periodically with my caliper, once the bottom thickness was achieved the top had the correct taper. Next I traced the profile onto the dimensioned stock ,restoring the fair of the curve where the original was damaged, and band sawed just shy of this line. I then used a oscillating sander to shape the piece until the line just disappeared. I compare frequently with the original.

Once I was satisfied with the profile, I started laying out the joinery at both ends as well as the mortises and dadoes on both sides. If you can, test fit any of the hardware you have available on the new piece to see how it fits. When marking out the rest of your milling operations, try to be redundant. By this I mean Check and recheck your measurements from different points. Also make certain that the joinery on the new pieces will relate and fit together as it should.

When you start milling the pieces try to think a few steps ahead. make sure you don't remove material you will need later to register against the fence or to keep the piece level on the table on a following operation. A good rule to keep in mind is to remove the material first from the centers of the stock and then from the edges. also remember that you are making a mirror image of each piece, not a duplicate so everything is opposite. Its easy to get a little mixed up with the number of different operations involved in creating each piece.

Doors Part II

2007-02-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

These are the headers on the rear door.I began by shaping the cross section of stock. This initial dimensioning is the most important, because all the other grooves and rabbets ( the stepped recesses on the left side of the stock) will be measured from the sides of the stock. Using a marking gauge (shown in "Essential Tools")mark off the stock to be removed . Next compare the dimensions of the grooves and rabbets ,with those on the original. The header is two parts that are screwed together from the inside to make the complete piece.

Making the Doors-Part I

2007-02-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

I started on the doors with the lower rails. As before I start with thicknessing the stock to 1.820" using my dial caliper. Next I bevel the back edge at about 7 degrees. The groove where the door panel fits is milled at the same angle.This groove ,however, is not parallel to either side, so I attached an auxillary fence to the stock and used that to mill the groove. This technique is useful anytime you can't use a side of the stock for placing a groove. Next lay out and drill the drain holes. Finish by laying out the joinery for the hinge and latching rails which is a mortise and tenon type of joint. Remember the old addage" Measure twice ,cut once", this mistake cost me about five hours to make up.

Essential tools

2007-02-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

Besides a good tape measure, these are a couple tools that are proving to be indispensable. The dial caliper I use measures in fractions of an inch in 64ths. It comes in handy for thicknessing stock, measuring grooves , and the depth of mortises. The other tool is a marking gauge and is good for laying out grooves ,the outlines of mortises, center lines, and finding one with a micro-adjust feature makes for precise layout.

Duplicating Parts

2007-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

To duplicate some of the simpler parts ,I would start by dimensioning the stock to the correct thickness. I would then trace the profile of the original onto the new stock and cut that out on the bandsaw staying a little proud of my lines. Next I clamp the two pieces together , and use a bearing guided router bit that will ride along the surface of the original piece and cut an exact duplicate from the new stock. Of the two router bits shown, the upcut spiral bit on the left is much better at cutting in various grain directions.

Door Templates

2007-02-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

This door was in the best condition of all four. In fact there were only a few pieces of the other rear door. The front doors were a good source for some of the original hardware . The left front door provided me with enough pieces to come up with almost a complete template.

Sorting Out the Parts

2007-02-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

The roof came to me mostly in one piece with the top rails of the rear quarter panels still attached. I started by removing the slats that make up the structure for the leather roof and setting them aside. Then, I disassembled the rest of the components noting the side (left or right) of each piece .I also numbered the ribs 1-6 from front to back.

The Starting Point

2007-01-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

The Woody arrived in pieces and buckets full of pieces. The first step in the process was cataloguing what was there and not there. Of what was there, I then had to figure out what went where and what was salvagable enough to make a template from.