Dashboard

The old patent leather dashboard was removed from the Concord wagon body and the old, dead patent leather was removed from the frame, in preparation for sending the metal frame out for re-covering.

The frame is rusty and corroded, but will not be visible.  I ground off the rust but made no attempt to "fill" the pits before treating with a rust converter, then metal primer and enamel.  When dry, the frame was sent to Woodlyn Coach Company* to be recovered in modern imitation patent leather.  Woodlyn is one of the few companies who have a sewing machine capable of doing a proper job of recovering a carriage dash.

*Woodlyn Coach, 4410 Township Rd. 628, Millersburg, OH 44654. Ph. 330-674-9124

  I hate sending work out! I'm so afraid of losing pieces!  Before I packaged the frame up, I traced it, measured everything, and even noted the curve.

This dash frame is very plain, but would require a skilled blacksmith to reproduce.  Taking no chances of losing it forever...

While I was at it, I removed the mounting hardware from the carriage body and once again, found hand made hardware - no mass produced castings!  I cleaned everything up, primed, noted punch marks - one punch and a round hole for right, two punches and a square hole for left -  and stored the parts away until ready to be replaced on the restored carriage.




9/2/14 UPDATE 

The newly re-covered dashboard came home today!

Gorgeous, as is typical of Woodlyn's work.

So good to have this part home.  It will be a long time before it graces the front of the buggy again.  For now it will be safely packed away in a corner of a bedroom somewhere.

And just in case you're not familiar with buggy dashboards, you're looking straight at it in this photo.