List of Reproduction "A" Parts That Don't Work

[Oldbluoval]

My knowledge, albeit I don’t do either, is that wood is cnc cut……not laser.
I re-wood many styles but all the old fashion way….woodworking tools.
I know of one restorer that is proficient in cnc wood cutting. Great for repetitive cuts.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by nkaminar

Regarding laser cutting of wood parts.

The latest edition of the Model A News, page 19, shows some wooden parts laid out on a sheet of wood for cutting by Ford. It seem to me that this is an ideal laser cutting application. The parts would need to be re drawn in Autocad from the original drawings to assure accuracy and to program the laser cutter. I think the wood when cut should be at the moisture content that matches that of when installed in the car.

Wood parts that needed to be shaped could be done on a CNC controlled multi axis machine. But this would require 3D models to be built from the original drawings.

Originally Posted by Oldbluoval

My knowledge, albeit I don’t do either, is that wood is cnc cut……not laser. I re-wood many styles but all the old fashion way….woodworking tools. I know of one restorer that is proficient in cnc wood cutting. Great for repetitive cuts.

We have an 80w CNC Laser that we have been experimenting with for the past couple of years. Believe it or not, we have been able to etch the glass trademarks into the glass with a fair bit of accuracy. We had to purchase a special tape to place behind the glass because of reflectivity. We are also using it some to cut panel boards and upholstery patterns. We have not had decent success cutting fabric yet. With that said, a laser needs to be focused and because of that, anything 3D is probably not going to work.

My thoughts on moisture content in the wood is a little different from Neil's as I don't it is necessarily critical. For example, since often times we steam something to shape it, the content will be higher than when it dries in a year or so. What we have learned over the years with wood is that it is not a huge deal if the shape is not totally accurate however it is a big deal if the fits are not accurate. Just using a Front Rail (Header) as an example, the pieces that make-up the 'header' assembly can be different sizes likely without it ever being an issue however what is a big issue is having the wood fit the sheetmetal where the nails do not distort the sheetmetal nor are there gaps between the wood and the metal. Much of this piece can be roughed-in on a CNC Router however as Bill eluded to, it still requires handwork by the craftsman installing it. Most of body wood is not repetitive work.

And for what it is worth, using Ford's drawings for converting to CAD will cause a person to drink!! Everything on the prints is listed in fractions that must be converted to decimals. This gets really complicated (-i.e.: 13/64, 59/64, 29/32, etc.). It also does not list radii.

[Bruce of MN]

I have assumed that Ford had jigs and some sort of mechanized rotary cutters. The WW2 videos of copy lathes making M1 stocks comes to mind, although A parts wouldn’t be on a lathe. As a woodworker, the jigs would be very interesting, as far as clamping, etc.

[brito36]

It's a real shame that some part manufactures go to great lengths to make quality parts, but fail to commit themselves to exact detail. I have purchased various parts over the past fifty years from various suppliers. The parts fit and function as they are suppose to, but they lack the detail of original. I seems foolish to invest the money to make a quality part without making it look correct.