ToGlue Or Not To Glue

[Bill Boudway]

I'm rewooding a body and don't find any evidence of glue in the joints where the old wood joins.

Is there some reason for this?

Should the joints remain flexible?

Bill Boudway

[Guest BillP]

Cabinetmaking techniques of the era and well before would have used glue, possibly hide glue, a by-product of the butchery of animals. Partially exposed to the elements as it was in an automotive application, the glue would have long ago crystallized, turned to dust and disappeared. You'd be right in assembling your joints with glue, and clamp well. For glue, I'd use something modern. How's your Packard coming along?

[poci1957]

It is my understanding that the old bodies were specifically engineered NOT to use glue and have a bit of flex at the screw attachments. Others can probably be of more help on this, Todd C

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

I would second Bill's hypothesis...

The wooding in my Dad's 1930 Chevy sedan (Fisher Body) has both laminated construction (lower body sills) and finger-jointing here & there...

Certainly in furniture making, hide glues were prevalent through the Depression...and it is affect by heat and moisture...this is why when old furniture gets moved to a damp cellar or other moist climate, it very often falls apart...

This is a desireable quality in fine furniture and musical instrument construction, because it enables you to take things apart without splitting the wood...but not good for things like boat-building, for example.

Supposedly, the addition of certain things such as urea crystals or salt will render hide glue "water resistant"....

I would not think that wood-to-wood joints in your Packard were designed to be "moving" joints...the friction would cause squeaking and also cause the wood to wear and become loose.

Our 1932 Fisher Body Manual talks about using "Friction tape" as a cushion or "anti-squeak" between frame members, such as where the "B" pillar butts against the lower sill (it is actually fastened with a metal cleat, t-nuts, and through bolts...

I would try to do some research from folks experienced with open car bodies of your car's vintage...if there are certain glue joints that should be left "dis-assemble-able", you probably wouldn't want to use something like Gorilla Glue there...the wood will fail before the glue joint does...

Certainly any "built-up" posts or rails that were meant to function as a "solid piece" should probably get marine epoxy or something similar...

Any "men who own one" that could shed some light here?

[Guest Albert]

We did a real 1928 (#7 of the first 25 built) Aurburn Boat tail many years ago and did find some of the joints where still glued together, and the all the new coach work was glued and screwed together as well as other places had hardwood pegs glued for reinforcing. And also later did am MG that also had wood coachwork and a lot of waterproof boat glue was used in that as well.

[Bill Boudway]

Hi,

Thanks for all your inputs.

Here's a photo of the floor timber work. Some pieces are in place for trial fitting.

Bill Boudway

[Restorer32]

Every wooden framed body we've ever worked on (several dozen, I suppose, from a 1908 Pullman to a 1949 Bentley, was glued. Don't know that I've ever seen a body joint that was left unglued to facilitate disassembly.