28 floorboards progress

[John Duden]

I am going to make 10 sets of the 28 plank style floor boards, here is a sample of the dovetail I made today, it will need a little more work to get it just right but here is a sample against the original.
The sample is made out of walnut, the floorboards will be made out of maple.

[John Duden]

One more

[DougVieyra]

Now THAT'S a product that is LONG over-due !

In my December 1928 Phaeton, my rear floor board was is excellent shape and left alone. However, while the bottom of my front floor board was also in excellent shape, the diagonal foot boards did have some flaws and in need of some boards being replaced.

I took an adult wood shop class to build a number of products specifically for Ford Model A's - and rebuilding my '28's floor board was one of them. It got me intimately familiar with the (at least my) spliced plank floor boards. So I can readily appreciate what you are doing.

Doug Vieyra, Eureka Calif

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by John Duden

I am going to make 10 sets of the 28 plank style floor boards, here is a sample of the dovetail I made today, it will need a little more work to get it just right but here is a sample against the original.
The sample is made out of walnut, the floorboards will be made out of maple.

John,...I do appreciate you being industrious. Your photos are of
"tongue and groove". A dovetail is an interlocking system. Here is
a photo..... this is from "1crosscut"...here on the Barn.

[DougVieyra]

You are right, D.J. Good observation.

It was in 1978 that I did my floor boards, but your photo of a 'Dove Tail' did remind me that that is what I had and that is what I did - Dove Tail. Of course when installed one can't tell the difference; but the extra strength of the Dove Tail over a standard Tongue & Groove is significant, if the board is stressed in anyway.

Doug Vieyra

[John Duden]

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It is the toung and groove but tapered, so it is a sliding dovetail.

[Bulligen]

Do They have the steel support braces underneath? I have a Dec 28 Pheaton and it appears that the wood is original, it has the braces.

[wrndln]

When I made the two sets of planked floorboards for my 28 special coupe and 29 phaeton, I couldn't find the correct dovetail router bit. I ended up buying a 14 degree-3/8" bit and had a machine shop mill it down a little. The router bit I bought was 3/8" at the tip, it should be about 5/16" at the tip. I am attaching a picture of the bit and one of the joints I made. One thing I learned was you need a very good router table and run the bit though through the wood in both directions. Running the wood through both ways, makes sure the male and female cuts were perfectly centered. If the router fence is just very slightly off, doing it in only one direction can cause the joints to not fit well. Don't ask me how I know this. The wood should be 11/16" thick, so the oak, maple or other hardwood needs to be run through a planer to get it to an exact 11/16" thickness.
Rusty Nelson

[John Duden]

They do have the iron supports, we made the cuts using the table saw, no router bit

[Bob C]

How can you cut a sliding dovetail on a table saw??

Bob

[Tom Wesenberg]

John, the correct router bit is hard to find, but I finally found mine at Tried and True Tools in the Twin Cities. I then made my own router table. As Rusty said the boards need to be run though from each side to keep them accurate. I'm making 3 sets, which I started about 12 years ago, then set them aside to do other projects. I bought nice 11/16" Maple boards from Menards.

[wrndln]

Bob C,
I think it would be almost impossible to make a decent dovetail on a table saw. I have done a fair amount of woodworking and if there is a way to do dovetails with a table saw, I would like to hear about it. The main problem I see is a table saw blade has a 90 degree edge to it. If you tilt the saw blade 14 degrees or so to make the dovetail, the part of the dovetail that is supposed to be flat, wont be. It will also be 14 degrees. Maybe John will enlighten us on how he is doing it.
Rusty Nelson

[jrelliott]

wrndln, From the photo, looks like you used ash wood for your boards. You are correct the thickness is 11/16". Had some very good plywood that I had sanded down in Rochester, MN @ Vetsch Lumber Co to the exact thickness as Vetsch has a 36" wide sander. The dove tails can only be made on a good router table and not a table saw. Suggestion after you get the router table set make yourself some setup blocks that you can use the next time you need to make the cuts. I have multiple of these blocks for the rail and style frames that I use for cabinet making. Some of the more expensive bit for this have the set up blocks included with the bits and are made of high grade plastic.

[John Duden]

It is quite simple, just angling the blade and dropping it down, pass it through one side then flip it over and do the other side. Then yo have you cuts(taper) then lay it flat to cut the sides out.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by DougVieyra

Now THAT'S a product that is LONG over-due !

Actually, hasn't Murray Linker in NC been producing this type product for years to the guys who want the correct floorboards? Both of his style boards (planked & plywood) pass fine-point judging so they are 'that' correct.

[wrndln]

Brent,
Do you have Murray's contact information? I might be looking for some correct 11/16" plywood floorboards. I think most plywood floorboards sold by model A vendors are made from 3/4" or 23/32" plywood. By the time you install the webbing around the edges, they are a little to high. The planked floorboards I made took a lot of effort to make. I don't know if it would be worth it again. If I could find the correct 11/16" thick hardwood plywood, I would probably make them myself.

BTW, I think we purest are probably over building the planked floorboards. I have seen many floorboards that have very uneven wood planks in them. Look at the floorboard below.
Rusty Nelson

[John Duden]

Originally Posted by wrndln

Brent,
Do you have Murray's contact information? I might be looking for some correct 11/16" plywood floorboards. I think most plywood floorboards sold by model A vendors are made from 3/4" or 23/32" plywood. By the time you install the webbing around the edges, they are a little to high. The planked floorboards I made took a lot of effort to make. I don't know if it would be worth it again. If I could find the correct 11/16" thick hardwood plywood, I would probably make them myself.

BTW, I think we purest are probably over building the planked floorboards. I have seen many floorboards that have very uneven wood planks in them. Look at the floorboard below.
Rusty Nelson

ive noticed that, some are really off, one the dove tail was really off center
John

[wrndln]

John Duden,
When you make a dovetail pair of joints (male and female), would you post a closeup picture of it with the two planks together. I would like to see a dovetail joint made with a table saw. I sure don't think I could make a decent dovetail with my table saw.
Rusty Nelson

[John Duden]

the ones in the picture i made against an original, are made on the table saw, they still need a little tweaking to make it perfect, and correct. i just cut this out quick to show how i am going to do it
John

[John Duden]

i have a really nice table saw in school. It is a newer "saw stop"

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Actually, hasn't Murray Linker in NC been producing this type product for years to the guys who want the correct floorboards? Both of his style boards (planked & plywood) pass fine-point judging so they are 'that' correct.

I bought a set of Mr. Linkers planked boards and you could not ask for better. He is a true craftsman.
Wayne

[Midwest Tin]

Hi to All,
I have a set of Murray's 28 boards. What finish are you installing to keep the 28 board's from warping? and for correct finish/appearance? Thanks, Jim The photos are my original 28 boards

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Actually, hasn't Murray Linker in NC been producing this type product for years to the guys who want the correct floorboards? Both of his style boards (planked & plywood) pass fine-point judging so they are 'that' correct.

Okay,...I'm interested....
Roughly, what does he charge for a set of fronts, planked?