Timber Milling

[jack neville]

I thought I'd post this for info although it will only really be of use to Geelong-Melbourne area people in Victoria, Australia.

In getting some timber for the Tilly restoration projects I found my local timber mill had disposed of all their milling machinery. Apparently it conflicted with the large chain hardware conglomerate they are now affiliated with and presented OHS issues, blah blah blah.

Anyway they put me on to this place to get the milling done. This bloke bought all their machinery and has set himself up to mill timber.

As you know when doing some of these old vehicles which have timber coachwork it is difficult to get the correct sizes off the shelf and pieces of timber need milling to exact sizes.

It can be difficult to find someone interested enough to accomodate our needs and mostly they will only mill their own timber.

Nigel tells me he will mill any timber (obviously at his discretion according to condition) and would be most keen to oblige restorers who may have specific and fussy requirements.

With the many different pieces that go into the Tilly coachwork this is going to be very handy for me.

[Mike K]

What a nice stroke of luck for you .

Could he mill some 3/4" planks ? I need them for the CS8 GS project - The body needs a fair amount of wood . What type of wood did you use in the WOT2 body ?

What type of timber are you using in the tillies ? Ideally , we want minimum shrinkage over time .

I have heard that the exotic Cyprus pine is very stable, the farmers planted rows of them many years ago and around here they have been mostly got rid of for some reason . I used to see huge piles of the stuff burnt, what a waste

[jack neville]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

What a nice stroke of luck for you .

Could he mill some 3/4" planks ? I need them for the CS8 GS project - The body needs a fair amount of wood . What type of wood did you use in the WOT2 body ?

What type of timber are you using in the tillies ? Ideally , we want minimum shrinkage over time .

I have heard that the exotic Cyprus pine is very stable, the farmers planted rows of them many years ago and around here they have been mostly got rid of for some reason . I used to see huge piles of the stuff burnt, what a waste

He could mill any size Mike. 3/4" would be pretty straight forward.
My budget was a bit tight when I did the WOT. I had selected a heap of 7/8 Baltic pine from a demolition yard until he told me the price. I had to go for cheaper used pine flooring and other assorted pieces for the heavier bearers.
The Tilly's are getting KD hardwood. Hardly authentic English oak but it will weather well here.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by jack neville

The Tilly's are getting KD hardwood. Hardly authentic English oak but it will weather well here.

Hi Jack,
I do not know specifically what wood was originally used in the Tillys, but body frames for cars and cabs for lorries were traditionally made from Ash. Sadly due to a disease that spread from the Continent, the Ash trees are dwindling in England now, with a lot having being cut down.

Richard

[jack neville]

Was a bit of a guess Richard. I think generally the northern hemisphere timbers are softer than Australian hardwood. When I restorered my Fordson WOT there was one small piece of timber remaining on the body which I tried to match. The only thing I could get on my budget at the time was 7/8" baltic pine from recyclers. It was some ridiculous price being highly prized for heritage building renovation so I opted for cheaper used pine floorboards and other scraps. (bought my own patina)
I had an old retired bloke at the time who milled timber for a hobby and he dressed it all to spec for me.
Too many machine shops can't be bothered with us fanatics these days so I was happy to find Nigel at Streamline Timber.
Problem these days with the exhorbitant cost of timber is it becomes a very expensive part of a restoration especially with the amount and diversity of sizes in some of the older english vehicles.
I think the Ford/Marmon Herrington gun tractor took about over $2000 worth of KD hardwood and I got that milled to spec as a favour.
I've also got a timber body to rebuild for my Diamond T in the future!!!

[Mike K]

Error on my part. I need 7/8" planks of course . The local cabinet makers could be worth a try but they generally make ..well cabinets and drawers.

Another option is to buy a used power wood planer .. there should be enough planers around .

Yes the original 7/8 planks, I have some, are a red/pink hue , looks like a softwood similar to Oregon AKA Douglas Fir .

Wonder how they sourced so much timber for building truck bodies ?

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Wonder how they sourced so much timber for building truck bodies ?

My property was logged for the war effort, the only thing I know about it was Dad told me one of the creek crossings was made for the log trucks during the war.

[jack neville]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Error on my part. I need 7/8" planks of course . The local cabinet makers could be worth a try but they generally make ..well cabinets and drawers.

Another option is to buy a used power wood planer .. there should be enough planers around .

Yes the original 7/8 planks, I have some, are a red/pink hue , looks like a softwood similar to Oregon AKA Douglas Fir .

Wonder how they sourced so much timber for building truck bodies ?

Probably by cutting trees down Mike!

[jack neville]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Error on my part. I need 7/8" planks of course . The local cabinet makers could be worth a try but they generally make ..well cabinets and drawers.

Another option is to buy a used power wood planer .. there should be enough planers around .

Yes the original 7/8 planks, I have some, are a red/pink hue , looks like a softwood similar to Oregon AKA Douglas Fir .

Wonder how they sourced so much timber for building truck bodies ?

Probably by cutting trees down Mike!

[Lynn Eades]

Maybe Canada supplied the Douglas Fir / Oregon / Larch / Cedar as well?
BTW. You cannot tell a soft wood or a hardwood by its texture. Balsa is a hardwood.
All Pines are soft wood because they do not flower.

Your gums (Eucalypts)are hardwoods because they flower (that is where the definition comes from)

[Robert Sexton]

Well done Jack, the principle of using your local expertise can be applied to the rest of Australia to use the local timbers, we have an abundance of very good local timbers. If you are really dedicated then to source an exact species may be the go ,but for most of us local timbers will serve the purpose well.
I mill( Lucas Mill) and machine my own timber for resto work,cabinet making, house building etc. You have a very good selection of timbers from the east coast that can replace most of the European and North American timbers,very lucky indeed.
Your local timber miller will be able to identify and advise on suitable timbers, do it now before we have to get it "from somewhere else"
Good on your timber man for buying the old machinery before it was scrapped and putting it to its useful original purpose.
Robert

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Wonder how they sourced so much timber for building truck bodies ?

By making good fortune out of bad. There was a series of articles in the magazine Light Railways dealing with the sawmills of the Victorian ranges (it's funny how various interests and researchers overlap!).

In 1939, widespread bushfires which came to known as the Black Friday Bushfire burnt out large areas of the state. Although it devastated a huge area of forestry, it created ideal conditions for harvesting timber over the next 3 years. In the years 1939-42, Victorian Forests Commission harvested more timber than the 20 years prior or 20 years following. Stands of dead trees were felled wholesale to retrieve the timber before it rotted, free from the entanglements of branches and forest trash, and unencumbered by sustainability requirements, as the forests were decimated. This happily co-incided with a spike in demand for timber for war work, for ammunition packaging, vehicle manufacture, small shipping, etc.

[Keith Webb]

Wood Solutions website https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Woo...mpare-Species/ has a good guide to comparing timber species and their properties.

The site is run by Forest and Wood Products Australia who are a client of mine.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I notice many restorers today use tropical hardwood for body construction - this is incorrect.

Please see the following drawing for the Canadian 2H1 15-cwt body as fitted to CMP trucks. The construction of these bodies were based on the British design. Note the thicknesses of the boards and the types of wood used in the construction of these bodies.



Also, HMVF Forum has a thread on the subject of a manual for wood types used by the British Army, which could help in the selection of the proper soft and hard woods for restoration: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread...618#post116618