Alecwhankins

@Tom Boehm very cool. That is a big project and must be quite challenging given the rarity! I’m just a hobbyist, I’ve never done anything approaching the complexity of this. I do have all those tools though. I also watch New Yankee workshop— I think all or most of the episodes are on YouTube now. I also bought stacks of woodie and general woodworking books. I think I have an ok handle on it, I just need to get cracking. I’m actually toying with the idea of doing 3D scans of all the woodie parts while I have it apart and converting them into CAD drawings for posterity. I’ve never don’t that before either but how hard could it be? (famous last words…)

@46 woodie Yes I am a member of the National & San Diego clubs and I live less than 5 miles from Ron Heiden's shop. I have been too sheepish to talk to him because I intend to do the work myself and don't want to waste his time or anything. I fully intend to repair the rotted/damaged wood and understand that essentially everything will have to be taken apart, repaired/replaced and reassembled again. The roof is definitely the problem child of the bunch but, amazingly, the damage appears to be isolated to the outer laminated pieces; the wood looks fresh from the inside. The doors are a mixed bag, some pieces will be harder to repair than others but the good definitely outweighs the bad. I think I have all of the "woodie specific" parts, i.e. the structural bracketry, hinges, door/tailgate handles, window/wing mechanisms, rear window locks etc.. EXCEPT the bolts and screws. I have the blind nuts, but no bolts or interior panel screws/washers. That being said, some of my parts are rusty and/or bent... particularly the expensive/shiny pieces like the rear bumper.

@Tom Boehm It's very complete-- I am missing the passenger "C" pillar, the driver's "D" pillar, some pieces of the roof, and I will need to make some repairs to the old wood I have. I intend to do all of the work myself. Luckily all of the pieces I am missing, I have the "reverse" piece on the other side I can use as a template. As you can see in the photos, the wood was stripped and is now dirty and has some water stains (excepting the the roof wood, I don't think it was wet for any extended period--the stains seem to be surface level.)

@NewOldWood you do incredible work, I love seeing all of your photos. I am restoring a 1947 Mercury and I am open to any and all wisdom you would like to bestow! I am missing a few pieces but my biggest hurdle (I think) will be making all the old pieces I have match and look uniform when varnished.

That’s one of my concerns, it seems like a lot of the craftsmen are retiring… etc. And I wonder who is carrying the torch. At the same time woodworking is such a popular hobby, so many people own cnc machines, and the car hobby is as hot as ever… it’s a wonder there isn’t more competition.

Has anyone got a quote for a complete wood kit recently? I am not in the market, just wondering what they are going for these days.

I received a quote from Orbit Tools for a custom single-blade bit for $215 which might be the ticket if you happen to own a milling machine like @Restorer32. I'm trying to think of an industrious way to use it in a router, but only have half-baked ideas at this point (short of buying a CNC machine.) He will also make a shaper bit which would cut the joint in one pass in a shaper for $425. He says he made one that was used by the Model A Ford Museum to restore a 1930 AA Ford Passenger Bus, which bodes well.

FYI Wisconsin Knife Works does not carry the correct cutter. @Tom BoehmThose were my thoughts as well. I think a regular box joint sled would work on a table saw if I had the right cutter, but havent found one yet. Custom might be the only choice.

@46 woodie you are dead on—I am not a professional woodworker or anything, and I would prefer a less industrial option where I could adapt a box jig and cut them on a table saw or something… I am in Oceanside CA, and only a couple miles from Ron Heinmen’s shop, but the fool hardy optimist in me wants to do it myself.

@Restorer32 Thanks! Do you remember where you bought the cutter?

Thank you @studeboy1930! That is an excellent lead, I will check it out.

@Bloo Hopefully someone will crack the case for us! I will send updates if I have any bright ideas as well.

Hi everyone, I am restoring a 1946 Mercury which has ~90% of the wood frame, but I am missing the drivers door (if you have one please let me know) and will need to replace the roof headers/rails and a few other odds and ends. I am hoping there is a DIY solution for replicating the original finger joints, aside of getting custom shaper cutters made. In Roland Johnson's Automotive Woodworking, they reference Jim Dugué's radial arm saw jig but don't elaborate on how it is used or what kind of cutter he is using. Does anyone have any info on this jig and the cutter? I have seen similar jigs used for box joints, but I am not sure how to adapt that idea to recreate the original joints accurately. Anyone have any tips or ideas? Thank you!