Is there a need for rough sawn ash lumber for body framing?

[Bill Dizer]

This is going to be full of maybe’s and possibilities, but the story is that I live in west central Indiana, and I have a large, maybe 30” butt size, ash tree in my front yard that died last summer. It has probably two good sized logs in it that should be reasonably clear, no knots I am guessing. I also have a friend with a sawmill about 3 miles away who will custom cut it to whatever size and width planks that are needed. I talked to him yesterday, and he said he liked doing interesting projects that are for a good cause. He would have to work it in with his regular work so it might take a while. He is usually very reasonable on price, or was the last time I had cutting done. 900 board feet of poplar, my logs, for $225.00.
What I am trying to gauge is interest in the wood if I get it cut. I’m not trying to make money on it, just interested in helping the hobby, so this will also have to be a as available time wise for me. I’m going on 72, and am still working full time.
If I do this, I will need recommendations on length, width, and thickness that is needed for body parts to be made. I know nothing about woodworking.
So, just post as to interest, and if there is any, we’ll go from there. Bill Dizer

[vping]

Just to have a nice piece of it, I'd be interested in a 2.5x10x72. I have no exact use for it immediately, and would want to know the cost with shipping to NY 11735. It might eventually go into an MG or Model T project in the next few years. PM me if you could.
Cheers,
Vince

[Allan]

First check with the miller to see how he would like it seasoned before milling, and be prepared to stack it away to air dry once cut. There's more to lumber milling/drying than meets the eye. I applaud your wishes to make the best use of the logs. I have a 13' long x 18" diameter iron bark log in my front yard at the moment, from a tree which grew too large for its own good. The ends of the log are sealed with heavy coats of primer to reduce splitting as it dries. My miller doesn't want to see it for at least 6 months.

Allan from down under.

[Wingnut]

Greetings, if your tree died from beetle borers it will need to come down soon . We had one that died and were lucky to have our township take it down. There was no rot and we did have a friend with a mill process it , some millers either won't touch yard trees or Ash it can have foreign objetcs in it. Then to if not rotted the wood is very hard at this point I actually found I could use it right off the stump. It can be a beautifully grained wood, ours had plenty of figure some of it flame figure. Be prepared to sharpen your blades and planer knives often. Good luck and enjoy.

[Bill Dizer]

Allan, by the time I’d get it ready to saw, it will have been dead on the stump for over a year. This will include some sub zero weather and temperatures over 100 degrees F. It should be fine if stacked properly for a while afterwards.

[signsup]

There is probably a nice market for these boards in the WWII military truck hobby. Many Chevy G506 and Ford Burma Jeeps and even the GMC 2 1/2 tone trucks had composit beds with wood planks and metal skid strips holding them down and protecting the wood. As well as timber suppports between beds and frames. Many restorers complain about not finding the correct ash or oak boards for this purpose.

Wifes family was in the hardwood lumber business in Leavenworth, KS and I spent many a weekend sticking, planning and pushing lumber carts around the shop. Had a large outbuilding with driers and heaters to dry the stacked lumber. Kind of like aging fine wine.

[Rich P. Bingham]

Though ash was the preferred wood for coach building, most open Ts were framed with poplar. It's still the best choice ! Resilient, great strength to weight ratio and good machinability. It's often mistaken for white oak, but oak can't compare in quality for the purpose.

I wouldn't be too concerned about specifying plank sizes. A nice assortment of 1", 5/4" and 8/4" up to 12 foot (or as long as the saw-log will yield) would be ideal. I wish we were close enough that I could get some. Good on you for thinking to conserve that lumber.

[Art M]

Is the tree a white ash or green ash. The appearance is slightly different.

Art Mirtes

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I have a complete wood shop in my restoration shop where we fabricate the wood for bodies that we are restoring. We predominantly use Ash, Hard Maple, & White Oak, -although the factory prints also list other species as suitable for use of these pieces. We generally go thru about 2000 board foot annually, and I generally purchase about third of it in ⁶⁄₄ thickness, about a fourth of the remaining in ¹²⁄₄, and the remaining (-along with smaller pieces in ⁸⁄₄ thicknesses. Maybe that will give you some idea as how to saw it. Much of what we do is glue-up pieces to rough-in the shape of the piece we are fabricating as a way to save material.

Because the Ash Borer has been prevalent in our area for years, we cannot always be that picky, and generally the Miller can tell if it will be ok to saw. It may has some small black spots on the wood from the Borer, however we can usually work around those spots. Because we steam some pieces, we air dry our lumber down to around 18% or less. Below are some pix of my wood pile, and some ongoing projects...

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Though ash was the preferred wood for coach building, most open Ts were framed with poplar. It's still the best choice ! Resilient, great strength to weight ratio and good machinability. It's often mistaken for white oak, but oak can't compare in quality for the purpose.

I wouldn't be too concerned about specifying plank sizes. A nice assortment of 1", 5/4" and 8/4" up to 12 foot (or as long as the saw-log will yield) would be ideal. I wish we were close enough that I could get some. Good on you for thinking to conserve that lumber.

Interesting. I have not seen Poplar listed on any of my prints. Most of my Ford-produced prints are from the late 20s and early 30s, so maybe the Poplar had been used-up by then!!

Wood Types.jpg

If I were ordering sawn wood, I would suggest thinking hard before ordering the ⁴⁄₄" and the ⁵⁄₄" sizes simply because the finished milled sizes of the ⁴⁄₄" & ⁵⁄₄" will be awful thin by the time both sides are planed for use in those longer lengths. (Consider the sizes of door wood, body wood, and sill wood.)

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Though ash was the preferred wood for coach building, most open Ts were framed with poplar. It's still the best choice ! Resilient, great strength to weight ratio and good machinability. It's often mistaken for white oak, but oak can't compare in quality for the purpose.

I wouldn't be too concerned about specifying plank sizes. A nice assortment of 1", 5/4" and 8/4" up to 12 foot (or as long as the saw-log will yield) would be ideal. I wish we were close enough that I could get some. Good on you for thinking to conserve that lumber.

Interesting. I have not seen Poplar listed on any of my prints. Most of my Ford-produced prints are from the late 20s and early 30s, so maybe the Poplar had been used-up by then!! (Most of my prints call for Maple, Beech, Birch, Elm, & Oak.)

If I were ordering sawn wood, I would suggest thinking hard before ordering the ⁴⁄₄" and the ⁵⁄₄" sizes simply because the finished milled sizes of the ⁴⁄₄" & ⁵⁄₄" will be awful thin by the time both sides are planed for use in those longer lengths. (Consider the sizes of door wood, body wood, and sill wood.)

[Rich P. Bingham]

Brent, if one didn't post poor information, perhaps experts and professionals wouldn't post corrections with a proper answer. Thanks for posting ! Looks like you have a really fine operation there !

FWIW, the main sills and ribs of my Wilson bodied '13 runabout are poplar. The original floorboards are ash.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Brent, if one didn't post poor information, perhaps experts and professionals wouldn't post corrections with a proper answer. Thanks for posting ! Looks like you have a really fine operation there !

FWIW, the main sills and ribs of my Wilson bodied '13 runabout are poplar. The original floorboards are ash.

I am definitely not here posting any type of correction!! Thank you regarding my shop.

Two thoughts come to mind on this though. The early cars with outsourced manufacturers of bodies likely did have all kinds of wood species. Also, I have never seen M-specs dating back that far, so it is likely old Hank did not have his Q/C department in full swing to ensure the specified wood was actually being used. And, by later years, I think Ford's engineers just spec-ed anything that was growing in Ford's Forests as long as it resembled a hard wood. One of the loggers likely told the engineers what species they were cutting at the time and the engineer wrote that on the print!!