Antony, our carpenter, has a deep understanding of the properties of different timbers and of the right joint for each job. He can help owners keep the integrity of their car by splicing in appropriate new wood while retaining as much of the original frame as possible.

He came to us after a career in architectural joinery and cabinet making, and restores old cars in his own time. That combination of fine joinery and an understanding of how a car moves on the road is exactly what an ash frame needs.

Veneer, marquetry and decking

Our wood work goes beyond the frame. On the 1927 Bentley boat-tail, the curved teak deck needed over one hundred tiny pieces cut by hand and spliced into its tapered surface. Teak is now very hard to obtain, so the right small quantity was found through a musical instrument maker, and the deck was finished with the same varnish used on boats of the 1920s.

Fabric-bodied cars

In the 1920s some makers stretched Rexine, a cellulose-coated cloth, over a wooden frame in place of metal panels. Water got in as the coating cracked, and few frames survived. Our conservation of a 1928 fabric-bodied Austin Seven shows what can be kept when the frame is treated with care.