Wood Headliner

Been wanting to do the cabin headliner on my van. Since my van has the camper top, the front portion (above the front seats) is the only spot that needs it.

I'd like to do a natural wood or wood panelling. Any ideas for material? I am thinking 1/8" Luan, but I dont think it will make the bend where the edges are. There is a channel that the edges kind of hook into and the bend up would be pretty extreme. I also have the original divider piece that also has a channel in it that the headliner would slot into.

Ive attached some pictures. Notice how the curve of the small original headliner pieces in the back look. this is the same arc the headliner up front would have to be...

I just removed all the original panels from my headliner and saved them for patterns. They were crumbly and like old paper and some P.O. had jury rigged the ones that were falling down. I don't think the luan will bend unless you have a steam box, and I'm wondering if the factory didn't have a press for the cardboard-y materiel with all the little holes.

I am thinking about going full on woody headliner in the future. The factory curved arches just seem flimsy and would be hard to work with. I'm pretty good with woodworking so I think I could pull it off, I already have some idea on how to attach the bracing without adding too many screw holes in the van - I'll use the factory arch/strip locations.



The older woodies are beefier than I'd have to go since they have to be the actual roof - they cover the outside with layers of canvas.

Since you have a camper you could also google image search (gasp!) VWs for ideas.

the laun will not bend that tight of a curve try looking at wood on top and a padded section on the curve..

sandyvan wrote:I just removed all the original panels from my headliner and saved them for patterns. They were crumbly and like old paper and some P.O. had jury rigged the ones that were falling down. I don't think the luan will bend unless you have a steam box, and I'm wondering if the factory didn't have a press for the cardboard-y materiel with all the little holes.

I am thinking about going full on woody headliner in the future. The factory curved arches just seem flimsy and would be hard to work with. I'm pretty good with woodworking so I think I could pull it off, I already have some idea on how to attach the bracing without adding too many screw holes in the van - I'll use the factory arch/strip locations.



The older woodies are beefier than I'd have to go since they have to be the actual roof - they cover the outside with layers of canvas.

Since you have a camper you could also google image search (gasp!) VWs for ideas.

gotta love that interior

I was giving this some more thought and I think you can get the luan or a door skin to make the bend. You'd need access to a good table saw with a large table and a good blade. You would set the blade for a micro cut and cut grooves every half inch or so on the ugly (or "up") side of the sheet, going length-wise. Probably about 1/3 the thickness of whatever sheet you are using. Think of the 70's wood paneling with the grooves cut to make it look like separate boards. Only you'd be doing it much closer together, and a tad bit deeper. You'd only need to do it for 4-5 inches in from the edge, the amount that needs to make the tight curve. You could tape it to a large diameter pipe or other curved surface to work in the bend. Try it on some scraps because if you cut too deep of a groove the uncut side might snap or crack, and that is the side you want to display.

In the picture I posted of the woody, the slats are tight together against the brace, but on the top side, there are likely wide gaps. So you're cutting slats with the plywood, just not going all the way through.

And in case you're not a wood worker, make sure when you run the sheet over the blade, you use a 2x4 block of wood to hold down the sheet as it passes over the blade, not your fingers! Or in other words, if you're not a wood worker, make sure the person making the cuts is!

it would be difficult to get those type of cuts in a piece of 1/8 inch thick luan w/o going through. why reinvent the wheel? just buy bendy board plywood.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/fabrication-tools-tricks-trade/72803-bendy-ply-aka-flexible-plywood.html

Thanks for the tip! My dad is a master contractor and has an awesome cabinet maker friend, so I probably can get access to wood working tools. He also mentioned that there is a bendable wood product for making curves, but it might be kinda pricey.

I was also just thinking of getting a fiber board or other material that will make that curve and just covering it in a cool venire. Might be a lot less work with similar looking results!

That's exactly the stuff!

austinmodhouse wrote:it would be difficult to get those type of cuts in a piece of 1/8 inch thick luan w/o going through. why reinvent the wheel? just buy bendy board plywood.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/fabrication-tools-tricks-trade/72803-bendy-ply-aka-flexible-plywood.html

That is awesome stuff! Does it have a foam core? How do they get it to bend like that?

Would it be rigid enough to not sag over the large flat areas over the middle of the roof?

Look at this: http://www.kerfkore.com/ - they stole my idea! LOL

On that bendy ply picture, it's easy to get that bend in the middle of the sheet, but the ends are relatively flat, and maybe rigid. Scott needs to do the opposite - flat across a wide area, then a sharp curve at the end. I guess just get some and try it out.

ScottyJones wrote:Thanks for the tip! My dad is a master contractor and has an awesome cabinet maker friend, so I probably can get access to wood working tools. He also mentioned that there is a bendable wood product for making curves, but it might be kinda pricey.

I was also just thinking of getting a fiber board or other material that will make that curve and just covering it in a cool venire. Might be a lot less work with similar looking results!

haha sounded like spicoli there! im planning on just using luan for my whole van with mylar bubble stuff for insulation. on the roof i thing im just gunna cut the luan into strips and do the curve that way. i figure air flowing around is a good thing as far as rust is concerned.

thatcherworks wrote:

ScottyJones wrote:Thanks for the tip! My dad is a master contractor and has an awesome cabinet maker friend, so I probably can get access to wood working tools. He also mentioned that there is a bendable wood product for making curves, but it might be kinda pricey.

I was also just thinking of getting a fiber board or other material that will make that curve and just covering it in a cool venire. Might be a lot less work with similar looking results!

haha sounded like spicoli there! im planning on just using luan for my whole van with mylar bubble stuff for insulation. on the roof i thing im just gunna cut the luan into strips and do the curve that way. i figure air flowing around is a good thing as far as rust is concerned.

the ultimate set of tools, I can totally fix it!!! hahaha

There is a great really long thread on here about insulation and squeaky stuff, so I am going to give mine some serious thought. The more I think about doing a woody copy the more I like it.

if you figure out the curve for the wood bows i would really like a trracing so i could cut out some of my own. iv been thinking about just cutting out one of the stock steel bows tracing it onto wood and re welding it.

I have used that plywood and I think you will have a problem getting to bend at the front left and right corners. It takes about and 80 degree dive into the trim pc.

Yeah, I don't think that stuff does compound curves. I might just try the venire route. Any suggestions for a rigid backing material that would make that bend?

I think my brother used some kind of heavy craft/art paper when he made up some of the bends for his 59 truck headliner. I can ask him next week when he's back from Boy Scout camp what exactly it was.