| xoxoxoBruce |
12-08-2016 08:04 PM |
Dec 9th, 2016: Wooden Car
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I started by drawing the car on paper, in 2006, and by 2007, I began physically producing it in a shop
behind my house. I had a mentor named Joe Hunt, a friend of my dad's, and my professors helped me, too.
My dad gave me some money to eat, so I didn't have to focus on anything but that car.
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http://cellar.org/2016/woodcar1.jpg
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I'd wake up, work 16 to 18 hours, go to sleep, then do it again. Along the way I was able to pick up
sponsorships — wood companies, glue companies, tool companies.
It took about 20,000 hours to complete the car, over many years. During that time, I graduated, got a
full-time job and got married. I finished the car last fall, nearly a decade after I started, and I took it to
the Essen Motor Show in Germany, to show it for the first time.
It's called the Harmon Splinter, "the world's only wooden supercar," as I call it.
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http://cellar.org/2016/woodcar2.jpg
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The structure is made primarily out of maple, ash, birch, and hickory, all woods found in North America.
I wanted the body (the parts you can see) to have a certain look, so I used cherry, walnut, and oak.
For these body panels, I used two large looms and wove the wood into a kind of cloth. That took
a lot of work. I'll be honest — I never want to do that again.
Many of the mechanical parts started out as Corvette components, but most have been customized.
The engine is a modified LS7, the motor used in the last generation of the Corvette Z06.
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http://cellar.org/2016/woodcar3.jpg
You can see the weave pattern of the wood like you can with fiberglass or carbon fiber, so I'm guessing he
used a tinted resin for uniform color.
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