MTFCA Forum

I can not find any maple or ash lumber within 60 miles of home. All we have is pine or red oak. Any suggestions of what else I might use.

Red oak works. White oak is better
Poplar also works good.
Really any hard wood is OK

Jim, there is a sawmill I use up here in Charlevoix Michigan, should be a reasonable drive from Reed City, he will cut you ash in any length, width and thickness you want for about $1 per board foot. He has some ash cut for an order that was never picked up or paid for that has been sitting around for over a year, some of it is about 1 1/8" thick, 6" wide, and about 8 ft long. I think he has some thicker boards too. Tracey 231-675- 43-two-0.

sycamore is still the best,i have 300 bodies out there with it in them.charley

I used beech in my '14 touring. It's a mite heavy but it's rot-resistant, very dense, holds nails and screws beautifully, easily worked, plentiful around here, and as such, relatively inexpensive.

I rewooded my '23 Bus in the 80s with red oak because it was more available in different thicknesses. Many expert told me it was a mistake but it has lasted 9 or 10 thousand miles of driving in all kinds of weather and I can see no problems with the wood. I rewooded my 22 T Coupe with pine (2X 4s) in 2012. It has not held the nails and tacks as well but is still holding up well. It was much easier on the tools. I had not planned to drive it much but we have about a thousand miles on it too. I like ash and poplar better now.
Best of luck.
Rich

Red oak;
https://www.christinedemerchant.com/woo ... white.html

Jim
Obviously I don’t know your skill level, but having done a number of wood jobs without drawings, I recommend doing a first go using some cheap disposable wood while you get comfortable with the order of cuts and the angles etc. once you are comfortable with how you are going to proceed, then grab the quality expensive chunk of wood!!
I have done a centre door, a fordor, a Detroit electric and a 15 touring!!

oak& ash are fine for strait pieces but the grain just lays on top of its self so if you have to cut a creve it is about as week as pine.look for a wood that has a woven grain as sycamore has,holds nails & screws very well + it is a lot lighter.some of you have so much power whats an extey 100 lbs or so.ha,ha. charley

Be careful with Sycamore, some people have strong allergies to it. The dust on your skin can cause a rash IF ALLERGIC.

White oak is used for wine and whiskey barrels because the cellular structure is closed. Red oak has open cells that will hold moisture. Having said that, if you use red oak, it will last a long time unless you drive underwater on a regular basis.

i worked with sycamore for 30 years no problems.but some people have allergies and anything can set them off.charley

I found a supply for the wood I need. A friend of mine owns a saw mill and says he has any wood I need. He also has and restores Model T's and Model A's.

a note on sycamore must be 1/4 sawed or it will warp when dried.charley

This topic was discussed a while back, I think it was Alan, “down under” who recommended using “tree wood”.

Most of us with a passing acquaintance with woodworking will use what’s readily available and what we prefer to work with. “Back in the day”, drying, grading and choosing wood species for their optimal properties was advanced technology, as was frame engineering for coach built auto bodies. All that is pretty much lost art nowadays. For the most part, in the era, prestige autos and the custom body makers preferred ash; most Model T bodies had poplar frames, or whatever was handy. Ash was used for floorboards early on, but cost and availability changed that later on, lending credence to the “packing crate” myth.

Jim,
We just cut down a 4 1/2 foot diameter X 65 foot tall Ash tree this morning and your welcome to come on down and take whatever you need.
And boy is it straight.
Sincerely,
Larry

Larry

did Emerald Ash Borers get to it?

Red Oak is lousy for body wood; it splits too easily. The open grain in it is a long-term problem. Poplar would be better, ash or some of the other woods mentioned too. I mention Poplar because it's usually available.

poplar agian is ok for straight pieces but has no grain so doesn't hold screws & nails very well .charley

One thing I have never, ever heard about for anything to do with Model T wood is teak. And teak is very, VERY popular as well as "common" for marine use, not only for it's beauty (which of course is not important for Model T wood) but also because teak is very durable and long-lasting even with no paint, varnish or any kind of finish. In fact, there are those boat owners as well as boat builders that purposely leave teak natural with no finish at all so that it will "weather" to a soft gray color. I suppose despite the durability of teak, it's not used for Model T wood as it is quite expensive. (???)

teak! never used any,what grain dose it have? you are right t wood has got to be cheep!!!!!!!!!!! charley

Charley - As to type of grain, not being too sure how to answer your question as to what type of grain does teak have, I did a bit of internet research to learn how to better describe the grain than any awkward description I might provide, and I guess that pretty well answers you question as well as mine (as to why teak is never talked about on the forum). It is very, VERY expensive,....even more expensive than I realized! My original thought was,...how expensive can it really be as they cover entire boat decks with teak, however, I guess I now know one reason why wooden "yachts" are so expensive!

As to some of the characteristics of teak,...I now know a bit more than I did, and it is described as a tropical hardwood, most commonly with a straight grain, and is very strong and rot resistant. To me, the grain always looked similar to mahogany, and everything I read on the internet would appear that it would be an excellent choice for about any use, interior or exterior, except for the great expense, and I suppose one reason is that being a tropical hardwood from Asia, being imported probably accounts for some of the great expense. What I DID have correct in my original description is the fact that teak is very rot resistant due to natural oil ( and wax) within teak wood.

Anyway, the obvious answer is the expense, and I guess I'm sorry I even brought it up Charley,......harold

I have a great big plank of mahogany in my wood shop. I need to think about using that. It would certainly make a really nice truck box!

thanks, if it is straight grain if you cut a creve it will be very week,one other that has a woven grain is elm, but it is so stringey it is very hard to machine.charley