"Teardrop Build-Off Challenge"!

[mikeschn]

I think you'd have to build up a bunch of pre-assemblies... I think if you made a rule like, everything must be towed in on a trailer, and nothing can be over 1 1/4" thick, then you could come up with a bunch of interesting designs that could be build in less than a day...

Kinda like what Steve is doing for our barn raising (Lil Diner raising)...

Mike...

[D. Tillery]

Sure there is no way one, or probably even three people could build one in a day. The fun part would be to see how many people it would take, split out the tasks and knock it out.

As far as starting out with an HF trailer.... From what I have heard about assembling them and my experience with other HF metal products I could make a frame from scratch in less time than it takes to unpack, inventory parts, line up, square, bolt, re-square, tighten, square again, shore-up, drill holes, etc an HF trailer. For this project I would probably tack the frame together on the actual piece of plywood we were going to use on the floor to ensure an exact fit.

I remember someone in the group made the complete shell, then cut the hatch off, the same way you make boxes. Maybe that is a way to expedite the hatch building.

A teardrop to go with one of the Monster Garage classic car renovations would be cool. Stranger things have happened on (Reality) TV.

D. Tillery

[ALAN GEDDES]

Give me three helpers, 12 hours, materials and a well equipped shop and it's a done deal. The paint will probably still be wet though.

[doug hodder]

Great idea!! Maybe we could get all participants to get a tear drop tattooed on their face, under their eye, 1 for each number of trailers that they have built. Might be tough to get a job in the future though. Doug

[Big Guy with a Little Guy]

Let's do it in the fashion of Junkyard Wars. Everyone has to find their goodies in the junk yard.

I get Gus on my team!

[D. Tillery]

An airplane junkyard would be best. Ill bring the TIG! And rivet gun. And plenty of ear plugs!

D. Tillery

[asianflava]

Don't forget the bucking bars.

[D. Tillery]

I Googled "bucking bars" and found some for $15 but I have no idea how you use them. I'm intrigued. Asianflava please tell me more about them.
Thanks, D. Tillery

[asianflava]

It is basically a chunk of metal.

When you rivet, we're not talking about blind rivets (aka pop rivets), here. You take the rivet gun (similar to an air hammer) and place it on the rivet head. Then you put the bucking bar on the the back side of the rivet. Then you hammer away, the bucking bar is like the anvil to the hammer allowing you to form the upset head and expand the rivet in the hole. It is very similar to a body dolly.

The reason they are all funny shapes is so they can fit in the nooks and crannies of the airplane. The rivet gun is very similar to an air hammer. I was told that a regular air hammer won't work because it has a short stroke. You will work harden the rivet and it will never set properly. Bucking rivets is almost an art form, a lot of people use rivet squeezers when they can.

[ALAN GEDDES]

Or the old buck bar, hammer and appropriate rivet punch. As used for small repairs such as patching bullet holes in aircraft. Did a lot of those.

[RAYVILLIAN]

I use to buck rivets on Kenworth truck cabs 25 years ago. not the best job on your ears though even with ear plugs.

[Lone Wolf]

I still use one every day on heavy trucks, trailers and vanbodys. My tool of choice is c/p 714 zip gun. I think it was created to speed production in aircraft ind. during the war. As for bucking bars I make all my own to fit where they are needed. There is a larger c/p 717 zip gun for realy large buck rivets. Most of what I shoot are 3/16" and 1/4" aluminum buck rivets. And then there are the stainless steel buck rivets they are realy hard to shoot.

[Ron Dickey]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/en ... 10000.jpeg

Henry Ford did it best.

so premake all the parts enough for a intire scout troup and you can start Operation: " rooms for the homeless "

pull the trailer long with a wench, have each scout put on a part and soon you can start a second trailer behind that one. and so on.

To you think we can interest homes for humnity?

Ron