Looking back at 2011

 2011 was quite a year for yours truly. We started out on a very high note in January by having the 34 Ford Woodie we worked on for so long place first in the Street Wagon class at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. Quite an honor considering how many cars that there were in that show. Check out photo 222 in the 2011 indoor gallery on the Grand National Roadster Show's web site.

In March I hit a very low note in that my younger brother Richard passed away. I kind of lost interest in posting any blogs here, so that is why this blog sort of stagnated.
    In June I had another high note in that I was invited to host a discussion panel at the American Associaton of Woodturners symposium in St. Paul Minnesota. On that panel there were two other master turners speaking; Jerry Kermode of Santa Cruz California, and Mark Supik of Baltimore Maryland. Our subject was called the Unknown Woodturner, and it was basically about architectural woodturning. We had a great time.
    In that same month I also taught a woodturning class at William Ng's School for Fine Woodworking, and I also posted a woodturning video on Youtube.com. Be sure to check it out. It is called turning a goblet with James Santhon.
     I ended the year on a sour note, but I'm alive and well, and somewhat in my right mind. Hopefully, I'll have more to offer you in the way of projects in this coming year.
    Have a Happy New Year!

A Day at the Wavecrest Woody Meet in Encinitas

We actually made it to the Wavecrest Woody meet after all, and what a day it was. Dante Senese, the owner of the 1934 Ford Woody, that we have been working on for the last five years, had stayed up until 2:30 in the morning working on getting all of the last minute details taken care of, and then he was up at 4:00 in the morning to transport the car to Encinitas.

There were plenty of woodies on hand for the biggest woody meet of all, and our baby fit right in with the best of them.

All the hard work was worth it. The car generated a lot of interest, and it was a lot of fun talking with all the folks who came by to take a look.

One of the folks who came by to see us was Mr. Doug Carr of the Wood n' Carr restoration company, and one of the top woody guys around. He, and another judge awarded us the "Wood n' Carr" trophy for "Outstanding Woody" of 2010.

What a nice way to end the day, and not bad for the first time out with a car that had never been seen before.
In the parlance of the surfer/woody enthusiast, we were really stoked! And, kind of excited too.

More of the Wavecrest Woody Meet Debut

An insiders view of the festivities going on at the Wavecrest Woody meet in Encinitas.

The new upholstery, and carpeting look great.

A little leather, anyone?

Here we have the owner of the 34 Woody, Mr. Dante Senese, and also my employer, modeling for the camera.

Here I am getting in on some of the modeling action too.

Wave Crest Crunch Time

It's baaaack. Finally, but there is still some work to do to get this baby ready for the Wave Crest Woody meet in Encinitas in September.

Take it from me this bad girl is totally awesome. She purrs like an angry kitten, and all she needs now is the vinyl top, upholstery, and all the little diddly dos to have her ready for the big show.

I can't tell you how excited we are now that we're closing in on the finish line. The folks over at Ressurection Auto have done a great job getting it painted, wired, and ready to roll.

If you see this rear end cruisin down I 5 in September be sure to give her a wolf whistle, and a honk. I know she'll appreciate it.

Aaaaahhhh, California Dreamin. Ain't it nice.

37 Ford Woody's West Coast Debut

Well, it's been awhile since I finished repairing, and refinishing this baby, but after a visit to the outfitters for a new vinyl top, and being rewired she finally made her west coast debut at the Wave Crest Beach Cruiser Car Show in Huntington Beach on March 27th, 2010.

Originally this car was from upstate New York, and had been kept in a barn on an estate there until being purchased by my employer.
She was a real cream puff mechanically, but needed some serious love and care, which I have written about in an older post.

Did I say cream puff? Well, sitting next to it is the antithisis of cream puff.
The signs on the windshields say before, and after, but the green one on the left never fell into this kind of disrepair thankfully.

There is some talk that this could be one of my next projects. Do you think I have my work cut out for me, or am I in some serious hot water here?

Believe it or not, this car still runs, but it has some serious wood issues that need to be addressed not to mention paint and body issues as well.

In any case this was a fun show, and both cars were a hit with all of the enthusiasts present.

Please note that you can enlarge any of the photos on this site simply by clicking on them.

34 Ford Woody Project Revisited

This car has been a long time in the making, and the end is in sight. It started out as a project someone else had started, and given up on. Someone had turned an original 34 Ford Woody into a hot rod, which to some people could be considered a sacrilege, but we took the ball where it lay, and ran with it. This picture was taken just after all of the new wood was assembled.

The subsequent posts on this blog site detail most of the work that went into this car, but I just wanted to add these previous photos to show some contrast to this blog.

The interior of the car is very warm looking with the slatted roof, coved molding, and precision fitted panels.

I don't know about you, but when I see something beautiful going down the street I always check out the rear end, and this one is quite nice.

Quite a difference. Please continue to the posts below for some more fun.

34 Ford Woody Station Wagon

The previous entry just didn't have enough pictures, so I had to post another blog to get these pictures in. Click on the photo to see the birdseye maple close up. Wow!

The wooden body assembly starts with these two pieces of wood. The running board rail, and center post. The Center Post is bolted to the frame, and to the metal front seat housing. The center post is also mortised into the running board rail with a bolt running through the rail, and the tenon of the center post.

Then the wheel well frame is attached, and then the rear quarter panel. After that was done, the roof was put on. Of course it didn't fit the first time because there was some welding to the cowling that slightly changed the fit, but with a handy block plane it was made to fit in no time at all. Yeah right.

Here is a rear view of the car with newly added dual exhausts. For you Ford purists you will note that we stayed true to all of the shapes of the molding, and even though the car is a hot rod, all of the latches, and brackets are all original as is the car. It is not a kit, but an actual 34 Ford Woody.

This was my first attempt at making a woody, and there were a lot of lessons learned, but it was a lot of fun, and hard work. We did make enough wooden parts for two 34 woodys, which is good, because the next one will be arriving soon, and this time it will be totally stock. Be sure to look at some of my previous entries to see some of the fabrication methods used in the making of this wonderful car.