This is an update to the Antique Pavilion find of the vintage spotlight post from a few weeks ago. After a bit of Googling of “Guide S 18 spotlight” turned up some additional information. Here’s what I found:
Definitely 6v
This spotlight was manufactured by Unity from the 1930s through 1950s as the “Guide S 18”
It was available as an OEM standard accessory for Chevrolet vehicles from 1947-1954 (and perhaps all GM vehicles) and designed for the left (driver) A-Pillar.
The S-16 was a shorter version for trucks, while the S-18 was for cars. The longer S-18 would interfere with the larger steering wheels of Chevy and GMC trucks.
These spotlights were also not advised for station wagons, because the A-Pillars were made of wood still (among the last of the woody wagons).
It looks as though there were variations to the mounting flange. The GM OEM ones had a profile that would mate with their A-pillars, while the Unity aftermarket ones had a boxier and more generic mount (as seen on the Hemmings advertisement below).
My handle is considered “Ivory”. The automotive “Bakelite” I was thinking of was actually darker (like caramel color) and more fragile. Some models had a black handle instead of ivory.
Pricing Verdict: I got a bargain! (probably)
You’ll recall I paid $40 (plus $2.40 in sales tax), and then transported it home in my suitcase.
I was blown away to find a NOS (in original box) item on eBay for $695! Beautiful! And not too dissimilar to mine (in terms of the handle, anyway). It looks as though the wiring was just loose and fed through the A-Pillar??
Possibly “newer” model – different flange, black handle (not ivory)Mirror is optically distorted and fogged, on/off switch missingThe horror! Look at that pitting!
But these seem to be pretty common on eBay with prices ranging from $30 to $700! Most are labeled as “Chevy, Olds, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, and Jeep Willys” and others marketed as being for “Rat Rods”. Here are some more finds:
So based on these auctions and their pricing (which is asking price, not sold price, I know), given the condition of mine, I would say it would fetch maybe $100. So I’m comfortable with my purchase. Here are some variations:
This one with a red lensThe black handle and switch combination, which could have been from later years (1950-54)
Last but not least, I found the full instruction manual in the Chevy section at the Old Car Manual Project (www.oldcarmanualproject.com). Note on page 73 (the last one below), that the next accessory listed was the “986418 Electric Shaver” accessory.
Hard to contain a genius with a ruler and a mechanical pencil. . .
I can’t recall exactly who proposed it on the Glen-L forum, but the idea of a workbench had been on my mind since we bought this house several years ago. Our garage has plenty of storage. We inherited some rather tattered but still functional cabinets on the south wall, where the nose of the vehicles are. These are typical particle board, “maple” vinyl veneer, and assembled with the weakest of staples. I also had installed six ceiling-mounted hanging racks, to replace the attic space storage we had at our old house. (Our old house had 8′ ceilings, and thus in the garage attic I had about 6′ of vertical space; our new one has 10′ ceilings (which is great), but the house isn’t any taller, and so only a 4′ height (max) is available, and one of the AC blower units takes up most of that space, but I digress). Bottom line is that most of our space in the garage is for storage of stuff (some seasonal), and I know from experience that any horizontal surface will soon be covered with more stuff.
And this is one of the main reasons why I didn’t yet have a functional workbench in the garage. For individual projects, I would drag out a 6′ plastic folding table from Lowe’s. Two years ago, I made a great purchase and got a Keter Folding Table Workbench (with clamps) from Amazon – 1000lb capacity, collapses to 21″ x 33″ x 6″ – leans up right against the wall. But while this has been a key acquisition, especially when I was building my daughter’s loft for her bedroom, it wouldn’t be enough for boat construction.
The idea is simple enough. For laying out the frames and assembling them, you need a flat workspace. Most of the suggestions are to draw them all out on a piece of plywood, and then that piece of plywood becomes your transom. I’ve seen photos with the rough transom installed with the baseline and centerline from the plans still visible (and not centered on the craft, mind you).
Clamping a full 4×8 sheet of plywood to my Keter Folding Table is probably out of the question – too much overhang, not enough support, and probably too low in height to work comfortably. So I needed a new solution.
Radiata Pine AC ply on the left, 3/4″ MDO on the right (2)
Last week, I went to Home Depot (they had better plywood selection) and got a full sheet (49″ x 97″) of 3/4″ MDO (medium density overlay) – that’s typically called sign-painters board, for the thin paper was smooth and perfect for taking paint (it used to be darker and thicker, but that might have been in the Midwest). I also got a sheet of what’s now called 23/32nds which isn’t quite 3/4″ thick (there used to just be 3/4″, but I guess I’m a crotchety old man now), AC Ply, but it wasn’t Doug-Fir, it was something called “Radiata Pine”. I had to have those ripped to 24″ widths (x 8′ long) to get them in the SUV.
Later, I went to Lowe’s (not too far from Home Depot, but they’re both about equidistant to the homestead) for 15 2x6s. I was going to get 8′ lengths, but they were a full dollar more than the 92-5/8″ studs. When I checked Home Depot, they were almost out of 2×6’s, if you can believe that). A few eyebolts, two turnbuckles, and later eight 4″ rolling casters (I wish I had these – they were a lot cheaper than Lowe’s). I thought 3″ might do the trick, but they only had 7 in stock, so I deferred and went beefier.
Saturday, I started assembly, with Amazon music on my Bose QC 35 headphones. Normally I’d wear regular ear protection, capable of reducing sound by 30 decibels or so, but these Bose did great cancelling out the power tools, while also getting to listen to music. They may get a bit dustier, but they’re more comfortable and in theory I’m amortizing the cost with each wear (they’re already great on long flights).
I first started by evening-off the MDO by trimming the 25″ wide section to 24″. I could have had Home Depot do it, but they allow for 3 free cuts, and then they start charging. I just needed it 24″ to get in the car, and some relatively quick work with my Porter Cable 20v MAX cordless circular saw, things were aligned properly.
With a rough design already in mind I seemed to cruise through the construction. I first assembled the 2×6 studs as rails on the back of the 3/4 AC plywood, with the difference between the 92-5/8″ studs to the 96″ ply a perfect overhang for clamps. I tried to leave 2″ of space on all sides. Once those 2×6 rails were secured to the first 3/4″ x 2′ x 8′ sheet, I did the same to the second sheet. I was building these in parallel, one on my saw horses and one on my bench.
As assembly line of two.
This was a good start. I then affixed the MDO sheets to the AC Ply, and screwed about 20 screws in from the bottom, so none would penetrate the MDO top. Here was my first mistake of the day. Somehow (probably from me last year) a 1-5/8″ screw found its way into my box of 1-1/4″ screws. I didn’t judge the subtle difference until it went through. I backed it out, replaced it with one of the correct length, and continued. I mean, the table will likely get beat up with marks, epoxy, etc. on it, but I was hoping to start off without error.
I added some more framing, and these were getting very heavy, but also were very sturdy. I tend to overbuild things, and once I figured out how to move these things (carefully), they would hold up without issue. Although I was really going through the 2×6’s, which frankly were a bit wet still.
I then started calculating the leg length. I was targeting a work surface about 36″ high. The thickness of the combined tops were about 1-1/2″, and the 4″ casters were 5″ inches with the mount calculated in. So that meant a height of 29-1/2″. I cut eight lengths, tried to match them a bit, as my circular saw was leaving the final inch or so a bit “proud” with every cut (there’s an excuse for a radial arm saw if I ever heard one.) At this point I focused on Table 1, figuring I would repeat everything for Table 2, but I was running out of daylight.
Almost finished with Table 1 – just the plywood bottom shelf to go.
After mounting each firmly inside the 2×6 perimeter, I then put a 14″ piece of 2×6 between them, hammering it in to secure them as square as possible and to reinforce from any bowing.
Once the legs were done, I placed a cross-piece to host the casters, and then added the 2×6 bottom rails. Finally I grabbed some leftover 1/2″ plywood from my daughter’s loft project that I had saved, and built a bottom shelf. It was dark by then – 6:30 PM here this time of year, and I was doing some dangerous night-time ripping. I called it a night about 7:15 PM with once completed table.
Sunday morning I started early, and repeated the steps of the previous day. I had some bad luck, as the legs for Table 2 were a but cupped and warped. I wasn’t sure if they were like that yesterday when I cut them, or if that happened once cut and sitting overnight loose (and not stacked). I had to use a bit more force, and more clamping to get the lets as square as possible. The good news is that the table is level and sturdy. The bad news is that the legs and bottom rails form a slight parallelogram, almost 3/4″ off square. I also had several screw heads snap – not sure if it was the batch or particularly difficult SPF on the 2x6s – maybe there were some hidden knots in there. Even the scrap plywood for the bottom shelves were off, and this is where I had to make actual parallelogram pieces to fit correctly, and I still ended up with a 1″ gap. Since I’ll probably use the shelves for timbers, the gap shouldn’t be an issue, but that bit of imperfection will bother me on occasion.
After finishing Table 2 I packed up for a spell and took in some football games. I came back out at 3:00 PM, and worked on the “joining” of the two tables. The goal of this was to have two 2×8 work surfaces, which could be attached together to make a 4×8 surface, or a 2×16 if needed. I used some eye lag screws and two turnbuckles. The installation went pretty smoothly, and then I was done. I don’t believe I’ll paint or stain the workbench. It may be disassembled in a few years when the project is over.
The finished product – rolling perfection
My leftovers are 1 full (can return) and 1 half length (can’t return) of 2×6. I have a larger inventory of screws, since I had to buy more of 1-1/4″, 1-5/8″, and 2-1/2″. I also had to buy a new #2 Phillips driver head, but I don’t think it was very high quality (either that or I’m using too much force with my impact driver) as it’s worn a bit.
After putting the tables away for the time being, I then spent another hour assembling my new band saw, but that’s just getting it on the stand – I still have to configure everything, and I’m waiting for a rolling stand that I have on order.
My plan is to use this wonderful new work surface later this week to get a materials list for my frames, starting with frames 4 and 5. Haven’t decided yet if I’m going to
The Glen-L Mist Miss Bill of Materials is pretty clear on what’s necessary to build the craft.
At the minimum, the transom and frame gussets can be 1/4″ AB Exterior plywood, while the stem, breasthook, and floor timbers can be 3/4″ AB Exterior ply. So far so good, except I’d like to go the extra step and get Marine-grade plywood. It’s strictly not necessary, because the exterior glue on the plywood is fine, and the pieces will be encapsulated anyway, so I should be able to go down to Home Depot and take care of business, right?
Some feel ONLY Marine plywood should be used for hull planking. But I think this is too rigid a rule. The important quality separating Marine grade from Exterior panels is the quality and soundness of the inner plies and their construction (both are made with waterproof glues as noted above). With the Marine panel, there should be no major voids or surface defects, and inner veneer joints (if they occur) should be tightly fitted.
That said, using Marine plywood is most critical in my opinion where panels must conform to rather extreme curvatures (the bow in most boats, especially the bottom), and for boats built with “stitch-and-glue” methods. Another case where Marine plywood would be highly advised is on boats intended for high speeds and/or severe service.
I’m not against using a good grade of Exterior plywood (for example, AB) for planking, and I’ve never heard of a boat falling apart because of it. You may have to make some repairs to the panel (e.g., fill voids) which can get tedious and is not always successful. But in flatter hull areas such panels will suffice for most boats. Exterior panels (with any major defects repaired when possible) can usually also be used for most internal members throughout a boat without problem for such items as transoms, gussets, bulkheads, etc.
Since I hope to have this boat excel in high speeds, and I want the very best in terms of construction, rigidity and strength, I’d opting to go with Marine-grade ply, even for the framing.
Which leads me to the issue. It gets difficult in finding marine-grade plywood here. It’s simply not available locally.
Difficult: Finding Marine-grade plywood
Extremely Difficult: Finding Marine-grade plywood thinner than 1/2″
Impossible: Finding Mahogany marine-grade plywood
Results: Only one vendor in the Valley had any Marine-grade plywood (Doug Fir) thinner than 1/2″. That was Frank Thomas at City Plywood. He had 3 sheets of 1/4″ and 2 sheets of (somewhat damaged) 3/8″, along with plenty of 1/2″ and 3/4″, and some 5/8″. And that’s Douglas Fir!
He said he normally sells to cabinet makers and boat builders. Apparently the cabinet makers trust the thinner no-voids ply when making curves, similar to the need on the bow of the hull as mentioned above.
I took what he had – I rented a U-Haul ($19.95 a day my ass!) and drove up to I-17 and Deer Valley road just to buy six sheets of plywood. Now I could have gotten away with 3 sheets, but I didn’t want to do this again and I wanted a bit of a buffer in case I made major mistakes:
2 1/4″ Doug Fir – for the gussets, possibly for the transom
1 3/8″ Doug Fir – possibly for the transom
1 1/2″ Doug Fir – transom?
2 3/4″ Doug Fir – stem, breasthook, floor timber supports
Interestingly, the plans for the Mist Miss disagree a bit with the Bill of Materials. The plans say the transom is to be “1/4″ or 3/8″. Well I want a robust boat, so I was leaning towards 3/8″, and besides, unlike a car you’re less likely to be rear-ended in a boat. All the same, maybe make it super strong and go with 1/2”. I got all three in order to punt that decision a few months.
If you’re interested, call ahead:
Frank Thomas – City Plywood; 2127 W. Melinda Lane; Phoenix, AZ 85027; 623-587-1500
Incidentally, the “$19.95 per day” U-Haul ended up coming to $122:
$19.95 for the day
$63.48 mileage – 92 miles round-trip at $0.69/mile
$15.54 refilling 6 gallons
$12.11 rental tax (rental car rates, not sales tax)
$10 CDW “bad day/walk-away” insurance – not sure I needed that
$1 environmental fee
Another Result: I was able to find Okume Mahogany plywood in . . . California. Anaheim, specifically, at Anderson International Trading. They would have to ship it to me for $250, which is cheaper than a U-Haul two ways, or a cheap flight and a U-Haul one-way, and safer than renting a regular pickup truck with it’s 6′ bed and trucking expensive Mahogany in the desert sun on I-10 for 350 miles. That $1,200 order will be made in December/January depending on progress
No Luck:
Spellman Hardwoods:
Interior Okume – 1/4, 3/4
Genuine Mahogany – 1/4, 3/4
Imported Okume (interior) 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4
Doug Fir Marine Ply in 3/4″
Peterman Lumber: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 1/2 and 3/4
Rugby Applied Building Products: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 3/4
Heldt Lumber: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 1/2 and 3/4
Timber Woodworking Machinery and Hardwoods: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 1/2 and 3/4
Woodworkers Source: Mahogany (interior) only, and veneers
84 Lumber: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 (special order)
Lowe’s: Doug Fir Marine Ply in 1/2 and 3/4 (special order)
Woodcraft of Phoenix: “We only really deal with interior Birch plywood”
When we were up in the Midwest earlier in the month, we spent a rainy afternoon wandering through an antiques shop. Actually, it was an antiques mall, but was called “Antiques Pavilion“, just to put on airs. Basically lots of individual cubicles, each populated by various consignors. And there were some very interesting finds, including one full of antique tools. I looked at picking up a sturdy mid-century hand plane, but couldn’t decide as there were more than a dozen, and they started at ~$85, so not sure how much of a bargain they were. Also, I wasn’t sure of the condition of the blades or the inner workings, so best to lay off.
Odd combination of items in this display case – Moccasins and Ouija boards as well.
In one of the display cases however, I saw an automotive spotlight, and took an interest. The price was $40 and it was in fairly good shape. I pulled the trigger on this, and even more miraculously, I was able to get it in my luggage for the trip home, which it survived undamaged.
This was 95% an automotive spotlight, like you would find on a police car or taxicab, as it has a rear-view mirror on the backside. The hardware shows an exterior flange that would be on the “A” pillar, and what’s left of a collar for the interior of the A-pillar.
It looks as though it could telescope 6-8″, and the rotation of the spot is almost 360 degrees. Probably some limited rotation around the axis. The electrics on this are shot, as there’s one frayed wire emanating out of the handle, with some very thin and old insulation. I’m not even sure if this was for a 6v or a 12v system, but if it’s going to be on my boat, it’s going to need to be re-wired anyway.
Some corrosion where the shaft would have interacted with the A-pillar
There aren’t many marks for identification. The center of the spotlight beam merely says “Guide Sealed Spot” (or maybe “Sealed Spot Guide” – “sealed” was on the top of the circle, “spot” was on the bottom of the circle, and “Guide” was written in script across the equator).
The flange holding the spotlight itself says “Guide S-18”. The backside of the mirror say “Pat. Pend”, so that’s not very helpful. The only other markings are on the controls, which merely said “Made in USA”. The controls are what sold it for me, however, as they have that nice antiqued/faded/yellowing Bakelite type of plastic that may have originally been white. Reminiscent of 1940s/50s car gearshifts and control knobs that have yellowed over time. The ridged on/off switch is also Bakelite and has a red line position indicator.
The fasteners are standard screws, with one hex that would require an Allen key. Also this has some nice curved/artsy details above the spinning knob and under the light itself.
Unlike many craft that have a deck-mounted spotlight (usually a bit bigger, but with a lengthy (several foot) connecting rode), I’m figuring I can install this into my future windshield, either in a middle section or on the passenger side. I like the idea of the spotlight, but since this Mist Miss will be operated primarily during daylight hours, I really need to focus on bow and stern lighting. However it’s a nice touch, and I’m pretty pleased with this find.
