F34R's wooden roof rack(finished/installed)

[F34R]

I thought it would be nice to put up a thread to help others build a wooden roof rack. Back ground: I love roof racks on lowered cars of any nature. So while I am waiting for things for my M50 build I thought I would make one =)

So I bought a Yakima e30 roof rack from a member on here about two weeks ago. Once I got back I dug around in the wood stack for some oak. Found a 13x9.5x2.5" plank of white oak that has been sitting for 13 years.

Steps: Cut to desired(this case 41"), plane smooth, remove edges, rip into 2x3/4 slats, then plane from 3/4 to 1/2, router the 4 sharp edges to give a finished touch.

Camera that is used: Nikon D3100 55mm lense.

On to the pictures! (ALL pictures will be in post #s 1-3)

Other pair of rack feet are on the e30(mocked up for sizing)


Untouched for 13 years on the ground.


Setting up planer


Removed 1/4 in total from each board.


I adore the grain of oak.


Top planed, sides still need to be cleaned up.


Removing edges.


So here is the almost finished product(final hand sand to come).
Steps that I did not get pics for are: ripping final size, final planing and router edges. I had to go to my friend's house to use his table saw. Blade was too dull to rip.




Tomorrow I am going to hand sand with a 320grit and get the burrs from the planer removed. Then I am going to drill and mock it up. After I get it mocked up and boards picked in order of grain pattern I will do a protective finish.

Will be updated/finished within a few days.

Hope you guys enjoy =)

[F34R]

F34R's wooden roof rack(finished/installed)

Stain/Bolts
Let's start with the tower feet. I did not like how tall they were so I busted the old rusted bolts out and removed the bar hold and U clamp. Dropped it down another 1"1/4(see pic #1 in post #1 for difference). I'm a lowlife ;)


The bolts came with the size and grade stamped to the heads. So I took a grinder and gave them a beaten finish. After that I took vise grips and a blow torch till they were red hot then dunked in used motor oil. Stained them a black finish.


Then shot them in 4 coats of stain urethane.


Cross braces drilled out and counter sinks for the square bottom of the carriage bolts.


Counter sinks


Rack slats stained with Golden Oak.


" "


Cross support slats stained with Black Cherry. I think the black bolts will blend well.


" "


This is the sneak peek of the final pattern. Only thing left to do is three coats of semi gloss RV!


You can see the side slats above to keep stuff from falling off when taking corners.


Ending the night with my favorite lager.


2/4 semi gloss urethane coats My next update will be on Saturday. I have two more coats to apply and then wait 24hrs to bolt together.

[F34R]

11 painstaking coats later/compound&wax, it is finished and installed!!!!

I hope you guys enjoyed the work I put into this =)





That bowing is made like that, I wanted to get the center lower and to give a nice vintage look.




There is no getting around how amazing this looks. It is not hipster or whatever, it is very classy. I am happy I got working locks!




On finished car in better lighting:

[Nick_S]

Should be good! Can't wait to see the finished product. Anything DIY appeals to me.

[Chaz]

Why stop at a wood roof rack when you can build a wood panel e30!

[DuMa]

you's an oak man, jimmie?

[lambo]

You seem to work with wood well ;)

[IRON-E]

You seem to handle wood well :giggle:

Fixed

[Rsully70sev]

I like where this is going.

[F34R]

Thanks guys.

[XW70]

liking it so far, jealous of your woodworking skills

[325ix]

Damn, I all of the sudden miss wood working class a lot. Keep up the good work.

[F34R]

I am at the staining point was wondering what you guys thought of a deep red stain? Or just none and use the RV semi clear(honey color).

[E30ruben]

I did the same thing... Before you :P haha finished product?

[F34R]

I did the same thing... Before you :P haha finished product?

Good for you noob.

If you are able to read the time posted you would have noticed I started yesterday afternoon. Currently looking at my stain collection to figure out what color. So two coats of stain(if I go that route) and three layers of RV semi.