In-car timber, Part 2...

The wooden car parts have now been cleaned up and today the epoxy resin turned up.
Despite the sunshine, it's just too cold to do any epoxying, so here are the parts prepared for the gluing.

The header rail now has its rot bandsawn out. The discolouration doesn't worry me as this piece will be veneered, but all the rot has been cut out and a very fine piece of Honduras mahogany was given to me by my local joiner to provide the filler piece.  He told me the timber seen here is actually Poplar!  Who would have thought it?

These mahogany side cappings have had the splits cleaned out of the impact adhesive that some clown tried to mend it with years ago!  This will be epoxied and pulled together with tape, the kindest clamp  There's also a sliver needs making and gluing on the other end of the less split one. Some judicious planing will have the slight bend in the right hand one looking straighter.

Cleaning these up was done with a scalpel for the removal of the old glue and a cabinet scraper to remove the mucky old varnish/stain mixture. With a scraper, it was the work of just minutes to clean both these cappings up to smooth bare wood. Cabinet scrapers are an invaluable tool.  I used the very same scraper today to make the aerofoil section on a model aircraft wing master!  I make my own from blued spring steel stock.  Correctly sharpened on the diamond stone and given their cutting edge by burnishing on a smooth piece of steel, they cut like razors.  All my clay modelling finishing was done with the same tools.

The outside face of the glove box door, cleaned up to where the existing nondescript veneer is firmly attached.

This necessitates the addition of some pear veneer of the same thickness to bring the levels equal.  You'll see that the hole for the lock has NOT been filled, or rather it has, but information from a restorer lead to the filled hole being knocked out again as the door should indeed have the lock in it.  With keys ordered from a specialist, there's no reason why it shouldn't work.  However the ghastly work that had been done to the other face of the door has been filled and faired and to make a much nicer job the keeper plate has been let in flush with  the aid of a knife and a good sharp 1/2" chisel on the face AND the edge, so we have a very neat crisp appearance, ready for the veneer.  Below.

I needed to find out which set of three screw holes needed filling, but in case the screws were loose, I've decided to fill the holes with new wood to give the screws a chance of a decent fixing when the door is re-attached to its hinges.  This face will get a nice veneer as I don't like the boring painted finish.  The now flush chrome keeper plate over the lock mechanism will contrast nicely with the veneer, when left nonchalantly open at shows.

Tomorrow then, weather allowing, will see the first stages of epoxy repairs and some veneering.