26 Touring Top Questions

[Mikey1968]

Hello all,
As I bought my T, the top on my touring is in pretty fair to good condition with two problems:

1) The front bow wood is all rotted out inside the wrap. The rest of the bows are fine. Weird. Is it reasonable to buy just the front bow wood, undo the top, tack strip, and wrap and simply replace the wood and reuse the top, tack strip and wrap?

2) The iron on one side going to the front bow seems to have been buckled at some time and broke. Prior owner put either a piece of metal or wood next to the broken spot and wrapped tons of electrical tape to keep the two pieces together like a splint, although it's quite crooked. Any thoughts on how to repair this without major removal of the top? Simple weld? slip ends in a metal tube? Ideas?

I realize a new top and full rework as needed of the irons and bows would be ideal but I do like a functional yet rustic look for the T. Not planning to take in the rain so mainly a sun shade.

Thanks,
Mike

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Hello all,
As I bought my T, the top on my touring is in pretty fair to good condition with two problems:

1) The front bow wood is all rotted out inside the wrap. The rest of the bows are fine. Weird. Is it reasonable to buy just the front bow wood, undo the top, tack strip, and wrap and simply replace the wood and reuse the top, tack strip and wrap?


Thanks,
Mike

Mike,

That's the exact same situation I'm facing. My hope is to peel back the top/straps/bowdrill, etc., remove & replace the wood, then carefully tack everything back in place.

Unfortunately, the suppliers only sell straight sections of wood that do not have the bends/curves at each end, as the originals do. My exact problem is that my bow is cracked on each side, just as the bends begin. Why would I, or anyone else, go to the trouble of putting in a new straight piece of wood, then adding separate curved end pieces??? That's essentially what I already have! This winter, I hope to remove the broken bow, send it to someone who'll steam bend an exact replica, then hopefully, I'll reinstall it.

[speedytinc]

Hello all,
As I bought my T, the top on my touring is in pretty fair to good condition with two problems:

1) The front bow wood is all rotted out inside the wrap. The rest of the bows are fine. Weird. Is it reasonable to buy just the front bow wood, undo the top, tack strip, and wrap and simply replace the wood and reuse the top, tack strip and wrap?


Thanks,
Mike

Mike,

That's the exact same situation I'm facing. My hope is to peel back the top/straps/bowdrill, etc., remove & replace the wood, then carefully tack everything back in place.

Unfortunately, the suppliers only sell straight sections of wood that do not have the bends/curves at each end, as the originals do. My exact problem is that my bow is cracked on each side, just as the bends begin. Why would I, or anyone else, go to the trouble of putting in a new straight piece of wood, then adding separate curved end pieces??? That's essentially what I already have! This winter, I hope to remove the broken bow, send it to someone who'll steam bend an exact replica, then hopefully, I'll reinstall it.

????????????? Bows were/are straight with curved tack strips on both corners. (17-27) Look @ your metal bows. You would have to peel them apart to use a 1 piece bent bow. Where did you get the idea the wood bows they were 1 piece?

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Hello all,
As I bought my T, the top on my touring is in pretty fair to good condition with two problems:

1) The front bow wood is all rotted out inside the wrap. The rest of the bows are fine. Weird. Is it reasonable to buy just the front bow wood, undo the top, tack strip, and wrap and simply replace the wood and reuse the top, tack strip and wrap?


Thanks,
Mike

Mike,

That's the exact same situation I'm facing. My hope is to peel back the top/straps/bowdrill, etc., remove & replace the wood, then carefully tack everything back in place.

Unfortunately, the suppliers only sell straight sections of wood that do not have the bends/curves at each end, as the originals do. My exact problem is that my bow is cracked on each side, just as the bends begin. Why would I, or anyone else, go to the trouble of putting in a new straight piece of wood, then adding separate curved end pieces??? That's essentially what I already have! This winter, I hope to remove the broken bow, send it to someone who'll steam bend an exact replica, then hopefully, I'll reinstall it.

????????????? Bows were/are straight with curved tack strips on both corners. (17-27) Look @ your metal bows. You would have to peel them apart to use a 1 piece bent bow. Where did you get the idea the wood bows they were 1 piece?

Well John, it could be that I made an assumption that will prove to be incorrect when I eventually unwrap the bow. Sometimes, people who aren't perfect can do that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's nice when people can be informative without being chiding.

Be sure to let Lang's know also. This is from their catalog for 1923 - 1925 Top Bows...

"Touring top bow wood set. These wood bows are the straight top portion of the top bows only. The originals were steam bent on both sides."

[Norman Kling]

I have not welded the front bow, the back bow on one side was broken. A neighbor brazed it and it has held up fine. Only problem is that paint will not stick on the brazed area. The front bow is easy to make. You just need a piece of oak from your local lumber yard or home depot. If you don't have power saw you can have them trim it to the correct cross section. The edges are rounded off. Easy to do with a sander. If you don't have the rivets you can use flat head bolts and peen the ends. Most important measurement is the length between the two metal bows. It must be exactly right to fit the brackets to the top of the windshield posts. The curved sections I have made from Oak Veneer. You can get it in a roll at any lumber store or Home Depot. Cut it and insert it strip by strip. Use a hair dryer to heat it up to fuse the glue. Build this up, layer by layer until the space is filled. This hold the tacks very well and everything is wrapped up under the material, so nothing shows.
Norm

[Mikey1968]

Thanks for the replies....brazing is a good option, I think. The wood bow replacement sounds like a bigger bag of worms than I thought. I was thinking of buying just the one bow from here: https://fordwood.com/touring1926-27bwk.htm
These are only straight without the two ends bent? If straight and my bent ends are not rotted, is it possible to cut out the long rotted piece and tack in the straight piece?

Thanks again!

[speedytinc]

Mike,

That's the exact same situation I'm facing. My hope is to peel back the top/straps/bowdrill, etc., remove & replace the wood, then carefully tack everything back in place.

Unfortunately, the suppliers only sell straight sections of wood that do not have the bends/curves at each end, as the originals do. My exact problem is that my bow is cracked on each side, just as the bends begin. Why would I, or anyone else, go to the trouble of putting in a new straight piece of wood, then adding separate curved end pieces??? That's essentially what I already have! This winter, I hope to remove the broken bow, send it to someone who'll steam bend an exact replica, then hopefully, I'll reinstall it.

????????????? Bows were/are straight with curved tack strips on both corners. (17-27) Look @ your metal bows. You would have to peel them apart to use a 1 piece bent bow. Where did you get the idea the wood bows they were 1 piece?

Well John, it could be that I made an assumption that will prove to be incorrect when I eventually unwrap the bow. Sometimes, people who aren't perfect can do that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's nice when people can be informative without being chiding.

Be sure to let Lang's know also. This is from their catalog for 1923 - 1925 Top Bows...

"Touring top bow wood set. These wood bows are the straight top portion of the top bows only. The originals were steam bent on both sides."

No chiding intended. Your description of what you thought you needed was a confusion to me.
There was the possibility that you had an earlier bow. Wrong year & mixed T parts are not uncommon.
As far as trusting vendors........