Thread: 1930 Ford Model A Roadster - Slow WIP

Looking Good Steve. Keep on chugging along You will be finished in no time! I like that you are changing the plans to make it more realistic. It will make it more personifed to your taste.


Bret

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Looking Good Steve. Keep on chugging along You will be finished in no time! I like that you are changing the plans to make it more realistic. It will make it more personifed to your taste.
Bret

Yep, it makes it my model, not Gatto's.

The front bumper, drilled and rough-shaped. After I finish shaping the inside, I'll split it into two bumper slats, then finish the outside. (Later): -
Attachment 216728

Now onto those hubs.....

Originally Posted by Hermit

Yep, it makes it my model, not Gatto's.

.....

Kindred spirits...

I'm still working out the mod's to my VW for the rear roofline.

Originally Posted by Yonnee

Kindred spirits...

I'm still working out the mod's to my VW for the rear roofline.

Some mods are a bit nerve racking. Not having built one before, I can't be sure how some changes, like radiator size for instance, will affect later parts of the build. It'll come together in the end, I hope.

Looking forward to seeing how your VW progresses.

On the topic of departures from the plans, I didn't like the idea of 3-piece hubs and aren't even sure why they say to do it that way. It means making 18 pieces for 6 hubs. Maybe because when using the recommended 2.5mm toothpicks, there's not enough meat left between the holes to drill easily without 'falling into' the previous hole.
Anyway, using 2mm toothpicks, there's no problem drilling positive holes for each spoke end. It should make the wheels slightly sturdier too, as a fringe benefit. I'm drilling about 2.5mm into the hub for the spoke ends. I spent half of the afternoon working out a good method and getting it organised.
So far so good, but I've stopped for now to route the edge of the heart box before it gets too late to make noise.

Hub spoke-end hole drilling: -
Attachment 216755

You've been working overtime today Steve....
Looks like you are making good headway now...
Cheers, crowie

Originally Posted by crowie

You've been working overtime today Steve....
Looks like you are making good headway now...
Cheers, crowie

A bit faster now that the workbench is out of the way and I can work 'on' it rather than work on it.

Made some progress on the front bumper tonight. A bit more work on the inside tomorrow, then I can split it into two 1/4" wide slats, shape the outside and clean it up then glue the rods in the ends. They'll hold the slats 1/16" apart: -

Split: -

I got all of the bumper rough-shaping finished tonight. Another late night's work.
Just a bit of cleaning up now and I have to narrow the slats to 1/4", then I can sand it and glue in the rod: -

Good looking bumpers Steve, We need to check daily now for updates...

Originally Posted by _fly_

Good looking bumpers Steve, We need to check daily now for updates...

Originally Posted by crowie

No work today - had to mow the lawns etc. Spring is coming.

I did, however, rethink the hub design.
I've never liked the idea of the hub centre staying still while the wheel rotates around it, so added a recess for the (stationary) axle head, that will be covered by a hub cap that rotates with the wheel like a real one. I'm adding a small step to the hub, too, so that it's narrower at the outside, more like the original. Only a 1mm step - there wasn't room to make it narrower.

Hi Steve
You think very much like I do.Only thing different is,I only do the thinking these days and you do the thinking & doing. All very good I love the hubcap design

Originally Posted by AUSSIE

Hi Steve
You think very much like I do.Only thing different is,I only do the thinking these days and you do the thinking & doing. All very good I love the hubcap design

Did the thinking, but can't do the doing just yet.
I realised this morning that I don't have a 1/2" Forstner bit for the axle pin recess, (it has to be bored first, before cutting out the hub), so I ordered one from Carbatec. I'll have to sit on my hands for a few days with the hubs and get on with other things.

Just quickly finishing off the front bumper for now, then I'll start the final tyre shaping.

Steve,
If your going with the better looking hubs, Why no try the proper spoke pattern.
they still seem to be centred around the rim they just go to different places on the hub instead of one line you'll need 2.
What the worst that can happen, you need to make one extra wheel and you have that anyway for an incase. If you try the hub only then its only a hub.
Peter