Old skills and old machines
Tags: boot metalwork restoration rolling
One of the joys of my visits to Romance of Rust to log the restoration of the Amazon has been watching Lance work metal, and at times getting roped in to help.
Last week was one of those times, as the boot lid liner was made. Anyone who has had an Amazon will be familiar with the bit of cardboard that acts as the boot lid liner. Invariably these done fit properly, or have become damaged, and are hanging loose a one or more corners. Not one of Volvo's finest pieces of design.
Our solution was to replace this with an aluminium sheet which would then be quilted by the upholsterer.
To make the sheet fit (there's a double curvature on the boot, Lance used one of his oldest bits of machinery (probably over 10 years old), the roller. Along with a few of his other old metal work machines, he'd picked it up cheaply years ago from a bodywork shop that no longer used it (you can see from the photos what a great piece of machinery it is).
The process consists of literally rolling the sheet back and forth, applying a slight pressure as you do so to shape the metal as you go. Run by run, by applying the right sort of pressure, by going the right number of times in the right direction, and by using the correct roller, the shape emerges.
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