TOPIC: It's all about the wood, door that is.

Hello all, I have a '59 seafair sedan I fully restored, all but the cubby door. I have determined from photos that I have the original split dutch door. But it's been damaged at the hinge location, I can fix it if I can match the wood. Does anybody know what wood was used on a '59 glasspar seafair sedan?

Beautiful job on the restoration. Looks really great. Is the door damaged or the frame. Anything that can be repaired with epoxy fillers?

From the looks of the wood in the picture, it looks like Mahogany. Take some pics of the damaged area and we can come up with a plan.

Bob

thanks Bob I'll get some Pics posted here today. Roy

we thought mahogany, also thought maybe Teak the wood has no weight to it.

sedanman wrote: we thought mahogany, also thought maybe Teak the wood has no weight to it.

Teak is a very heavy and dense wood and hardly ever rots. Maybe it's a teak veneer over fir. Waiting for some close-ups.

Yep Teak heavy, Mahogany light, well lighter and very light if dried out over time. The planks on my resorter are very very light however they're over 60 years old and were outside at some point.

Bob

Hi Bob here our those pics of the damage. my thought was rip the bad section off from top to bottom. Then dowel pin and glue new piece on. That's where matching the wood comes in.

Sedanman:

We also have a "Glasspar Seafair Sedan" and ours is a 1960. Glasspar used Honduran Mahogany on all their cabin doors as well as much of the trim boards. Our cabin door is just like yours, hinged in the middle so it can fold down. Our original cabin door was in real good shape when we got the boat, but we had to replace some of the other mahogany boards and were able to find a company where we live that had the mahogany needed.

I hope that helps you some.

Roy,
Yep it's Mahogany and your idea may be easier said than done. Those are raised panel doors that were made with a rail and stile bit and the inner panel "floats" inside the door basically. You could still rip just to the edge of where the wood splintered off and glue a new piece on, provided you can match up the grain as close as possible. Forgive me if that's what you meant in the first place. lol This may be the easiest way to go as you probably won't get that rail off the side easily and unless you have the right router bit for the profile on the rails and styles you won't be able to match.

So cut it off up to the splinter and glue on the new thin piece that replace it. You won't be able to dowel it since that piece won't be very thick. Heck you won't even be able to biscuit it either. You'll just have to clamp it lined up just right. Hopefully you have some bar clamps or even some pipe clamps so you can lay the panel on the pipes to keep it flat and clamp the piece to the panel. Not sure how much wood working background you have and what you have for tools.

From the color of the outer wood surface it almost looks like it was bleached as the wood should look like what's exposed from the splinter. Of course that could just be from the sun bleaching it over time since it may not have had a good UV protective varnish on it.

Bob

Thanks Bob, yes, right to the edge of the splinter, and you're right the door is thin but maybe two or three small diameter stainless or aluminum pins instead of dowels. Something to help hold the 58 year old door together. LOL Thank you for your help on this. I'll let you know how it comes out. Roy.

1960RedG-3 wrote: Sedanman:

We also have a "Glasspar Seafair Sedan" and ours is a 1960. Glasspar used Honduran Mahogany on all their cabin doors as well as much of the trim boards. Our cabin door is just like yours, hinged in the middle so it can fold down. Our original cabin door was in real good shape when we got the boat, but we had to replace some of the other mahogany boards and were able to find a company where we live that had the mahogany needed.

I hope that helps you some.

Thank you for the information, I live in a smaller town unfortunately I have to order almost everything I need online. But it is sure nice to live away from the big city.

Sedanman:

I agree with Bob on your cabin door looking like it has been "bleached" or something. I have attached a couple of pictures of our original cabin door on our 1960 Seafair Sedan. The pictures were taken after I had sanded it down and put on about 5-6 coats of varnish. As you will see the color on our door is alot different than yours.

The wood looks nice, and it is a bit darker than mine. But she is a year older, the old girl is getting a little grey. Thanks for all the help gentlemen. Roy.

No problem Roy. As far as pins go you really don't need them for the little bit you're shaving off. If you use the Titebond III and clamp it well it should hold together just fine with no issues and be water resistant.

Bob

Titebond lll i'll pick some up.

Not just any mahogany. Clearly Philipine/Luan Mahogany. I am a big fan of using West System epoxy with either the 403 or 404 thickener to make glue. You can color it with gelcoat pigments, too.
Larry

Not fan of doing that unless you're repairing a hull or plan on painting it since the epoxy won't blend with stain. you'll still have a definite line, where if you use an actual glue and match the grain, once clamped and glue dries you won't really see the line.

Bob

Might as well jump in here...the paneling is sapele. The frame looks to be Philippine mahogany, which is basically unavailable these days and why I use African mahogany for everything. Of course, you could use Honduran (genuine) mahogany...if you can find it and choose to afford it.

I wouldn't even attempt to match the type/color/grain. I'd remake both top and bottom frames using the old pieces for patterns. That bulkhead and door is the showpiece of the interior. Replacing both frames is more work and more wood but you'll be happier accepting complements for the finished job than apologizing for it.

P.S. Make all 8 pieces from the same plank.