June 2004

FRONT SEAT NEWS

MODEL T FORD CLUB  NORTHWEST OHIO, INC.

Officers: Bob Torbet, Pres.; Bob Hollister, V-Pres.; Jack Putnam, Treas; Jim Cook, Sec/Editor

NEXT MEETING: June 2nd 2004 7:30 at Jack Putnam's Shop 1215 Hancock Rd 28; Bluffton (4th house east of Anderson Tractor Supply), Phone (419) 358-6313

Bob Torbet led the May meeting  with 16 in attendance.  We had 2 guest beside the regulars.  The minutes from the previous meeting were read and accepted along with the treasurers report. Melvin told about his plans for an August tour in the Wapa area.  Bob asked for support of another Island tour.  This time to Put-in-Bay.  Jim brought up the need for either pruning the internet site or increasing its size.  We are 96% full.  The membership agreed to increase the size.  This will happen in July. Jack updated the club on Paul White's condition.  Try to give him a call.  If he is feeling up to it, he'll talk with you. The demonstration for the meeting was beveling glass.  Jack was working on some early lamps that called for the replacement of some round lenses.  After the meeting Jack and I went to work on another warped exhaust manifold.

Upcoming events: One of the first Saturdays or Sundays in June - Trip to one of the Retirement homes to bring back memories to the residents June 26 - Trip to Bowling Green to see the Antique Service Station July 10 - Day tour to Ohio Caverns to meet up with the Tickin' T's of Central Ohio July 17 Amish steam Show near Charm, Ohio

A Good Side Lamp is Hard to Find

Early auto lamps were made of brass and glass, both of which are very fragile.  They also both have the characteristic of becoming more brittle over time.  In order to fight nature we must continue to restore these historic pieces to keep them looking original.  This month we were looking at those round beveled lenses that shine out the front of old Ford side lamps.  The photo above shows some of the pieces involved and the result of some highly refined buffing and polishing.

The glass is held in the lathe by sandwiching it between a couple of rubber disks.  Inginuity comes into play when trying something new. A couple of example can be seen in this picture.  There is more than one use for a hard rubber hockey puck.  That is the black piece that can be seen between the tail piece and the glass.  You may also recognize the chucked casting as something out of a Model T transmission.  The lubricator is a turkey baster.  The cutting tool is a diamond die grinder.  Everything is mounted to cut that beautiful bevel on the round glass front insert.  Does anyone know how this was done originally?

The grinding stone is mounted on the tooling fixture of the lathe; so that it can be moved into the glass and on a plane that allow the stone to move along the bevel face.  The amount of pressure placed on the glass is still a feel kind of thing.  Too much pressure will shatter the glass.  Too little pressure just make the job last longer. For now Jack is opting for the longer method until he finds the point at which the wheel starts to wear or the glass begins to break.  For now water is being used as a lubricant, much like sanding with fine sandpaper.  It keeps the wheel cool and washes away the ground glass particles.

You Never Know What is Going to Happen When You're on Tour With a Model T

While on a recent tour to Amish country, one of our group began to have problems with a replacement fan pulley that had been installed on his 1914 touring.  The fan would heat up, bind up, and cause the belt to slip on the pulley.  This in turn caused the car to run hot with a resulting carburetion problem.  We made a stop at a machine shop that was open, hoping that they would have some tools needed for the repair. The owner was very helpful and the repair was quickly accomplished.  While we were there, the owner showed me his water cutter. This thing uses 55000 pound of water pressure to cut two inch steel.  He gave me a demonstration.  It was cool. I'll bring one of the pieces to show the group.  You may be able to see some of the scrap behind Dick Figgie's 1914.