Long Shot - but just in case.


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Freshly Restored
Freshly Restored

Posts: 204

Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 4:14 pm

Location: Pacific NorthWest

Post Sun Aug 27, 2017 12:29 pm

Long Shot - but just in case.

So for the last month I have spent almost every free moment in the pursuit of reproducing the entire wooden structure of my 36' C-30 cab. There was very little of it left of what I'll call the violin cases (the main structure that runs along the doors from front to back). The rest of it was either warped, twisted out of shape with some so moldy and dry rotted (should have worn a mask) that you had to handle some of it with kid gloves to keep it from crumbling and loosing reference points. Anyway, I ended up with some really excellent patterns. The violin case patterns took me 5 tries (paper patterns included) to get exactly right. Probably would have been less if I had something to go by and I still had to take a little artistic liberty in the end. I was even able to copy the finger joints at the back seat top rail for depth and width. The shape of the finger joint it slightly different as mine is a straight cut. I wasn't going to try to go in to the gyration of originality there. My head hurt doing all the math just to figure out each of the cuts as it was. Then there was the pursuit for the best wood to use. I sourced from three different places in the end and some of the wood was better than the other. It is all White Oak but some ended up being plain sawn and not as high quality as my last truck load. I ended up finding 5 sticks of well seasoned (inside storage and all) White Oak with each piece weighing in at around 200 pounds. Wish I had started with that wood first. There is nothing wrong with the other stuff. It's just WOW, holy crap that's some nice wood and you can really feel the difference when compared side to side. I also made my violin cases just a bit different than the originals in the material design. From what I could tell. It looked like the boards where made of two layers of single finger joint boards. Almost looked like hardwood flooring material. I made mine out of two layers of solid material. Anyway, I'll let pictures tell the rest. My main point is this. If anybody needs to or wants to reproduce the cabs wooden structure I can provide either paper copies, plywood patterns, or I will reproduce an exact copy out of White Oak. If you need all or just one piece let me know. I can also reproduce the bump stops, motor mount rubbers (urethane replacement), any of the suspension pins, and the door latch plates. I use OA1 steel and do a proper heat treat and temper when the machine work is done. I promise to post pictures either here, on my wordpress page, or both by tonight.

And "Yes" I now see why guys replace the wooden structure with square tubing. I'm just not that guy. I'll leave it at that.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 2028

Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:52 pm

Post Sun Aug 27, 2017 1:00 pm

Re: Long Shot - but just in case.

If I've been an ass in the past I now kneel and worship! Your efforts are extremely commendable!
The "violin case" description is right on! I made mine from heavy plywood and steel emt tubing. Getting a good seal on the bottom of the cab is obtained with lots of caulking!
The wood vs. steel question is not a fair one. The wood that follows the cab door contours would be difficult to make out of metal. Not impossible, but... Sooo...for me...a hybrid of wood and metal. In my case I had all steel doors. :)
I had patterns, too. Where those might be now is a mystery, though.
I will certainly take you up on your skills and experience when I finally build my C-1.
Thanks, thanks, thanks!

Freshly Restored
Freshly Restored

Posts: 204

Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 4:14 pm

Location: Pacific NorthWest

Post Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:12 am

Re: Long Shot - but just in case.

Sir, I take no offense. I know the frustration of having people show up and ask what seems to be the same olde questions time and time again (still can't figure out why my roof wont come loose). Or questions that seem like should be olde hat, or being one of those people that just troll sites looking to start hate and discontent. My journey is living, learning, and teaching where I can. Anyway, thanks for the balance check. I updated the wordpress page with a few pictures. Enjoy!!!!

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