Ever do something that as soon as you were done, was so incredibly stupid you wondered what was going on in your head at the time? Well, I do all the time, and this afternoon was a perfect example.
I'd gone up to my dads and raided his hardwood stack for a chunk of 5/4 Walnut to make the front top header bow. I surface planed both sides, cut it to length, and marked the arch of the windshield top on it, then with a fresh disk in the grinder, hogged it to the right shape.
I clamped onto the (trimmed to length) top rails, and my error was instantly obvious. I need at least an 8/4 piece of hardwood to get the right loft on the fabric from the edge of the header to the first bow. I didn't need to even string any tape to see that there was too extreme an angle from the first bow to the edge of the header. I could have simply laid anothe 5/4 (which plane down to an inch finished) on the first, but NOOOO, I'd already ground the top of the piece to an arc to match the underside. No way to glue up another piece now. Cripes.
So, tommorow, back to the stack and liberate an 8/4 or 10/4 piece and start over. I don't like to waste material, especially Walnut stock. Oh well, maybe I can make some little trim bits from it or something.
On the up side, it did demonstrate that the Sebring bows will work with the '36 body and MG windshield. The window opening shape is perfect, and the lines of the top, laid out with masking tape over the bows, is spot on.
In addition, I can see now from that I can use a wider piece, and create a "visor" with the header, that will look pretty cool. I'd left about 1/2" on this piece, but another full inch or even a little more will look perfect, and make the windshield look lower with the top up. So, I guess it's not a total waste!
Brian
(click photo to enlarge)
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