My fore Door

Bill Simpson

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As some know, I have been working on a Model T towncar 1912 and today I made a jig/mold to for 1/8" slats of oak into the bottom of the door (fore door they called it) Gobs of Polyurethane glue and handscrew clamps and all is well, we'll see tomorrow if it fits the opening.

P1030209.jpg
 
Cool stuff, Bill. Is the fore door essentially part of the frame that holds the door panel? And what will the door panels themselves be made of?
 
What I bent was the bottom of the door frame and the frame of the spacer (or hinge stile in cabinet talk) frame. The rest of the frame will be constructed with Finger joinery.

As a result this is the bottom of the frame
P1030222-1.jpg

Which fits the existing door space pretty well
P1030211.jpg

Today I made the other side and after we determine the door size and make the frame (also bowed outward) I will cover with Cabinet grade Birch Plywood.
 
bill,
how much, if any, springback did you get?
6 or 8 layers?

6 layers of 1/8" approx, 1/8" gap (total) when released from the mold. I was doing one to see and if necessary adjust the form but with such aminimal amount, when I construct the othe sides of the door and join it together (gets a cross brace in the middle as per original) I should be able to bring in the 1/8" and the skin glued to the fram will hold it snug. So, my test piece became the finished piece which turned out swell.

I asked on a couple of forums, some opinion on the "Springback" and got answers ranging from zero to more than an inch. I talked to a fellow in a WWing store who claims to have done a "lot" of laminate bending and he insisted more than an inch with such a sized piece. :eek:

Go figure, :dunno: Could be the way I closed it, or the glue, or the cool damp weather, or the way it should be.

I considered cutting "bricks" and stacking them, right up untill I made the form, turned out well and will use this method with future projects (I have another Model T waiting till I finish this one, In fact I'm working on two others right now. (only not as extensive, just making/repairing parts)
 
glad it worked well for you bill!
wood being what it is the next piece might spring more......or less? there`s no magic formula a fellow can plug in to where the wood will behave every time:eek:......at least not that i`m aware of.
by holding it in position with a skin and a cross brace it sounds as though you`ll have a sturdy door.
 
Wouldn't you know it, Just removed the second one from the frame and there was a little over 1/4" gap.... Like you said, (and to quote that great or philosopher, Forrest Gump.... "Life is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what you get")
 
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