frankensteins teardrop.(new zealand)

[wax]

almost nothing on this tear has been brand new, found, bartered, purloined and 2nd hand has been the order of business, this is my first effort, and so far .....well im learning.
next time i may even follow plans, this time round ive used no plans at all, just made it up as i go along.

ok, so the first stages, trailer from my dad, indeterminate cost, probably a box of beer.
plywood from pedlars which is a local demolition trader, its all seconds, tho not used.





theres the inner skin going on, the only brand new bit in there bar screws and glue so far.
my mate whose help has been invaluable.





heres the interior, the wood is mostly macrocarpa, which i get free thru work, its basically mill offcuts salvaged from the firewood pile.
a bit of pine and some kwila that was used as fillets on a stack of timber, the dark stuff on the bottom left, a tropical hardcwood, its a common outdoor furniture wood here, they chop down alarming amounts of southeast asian rainforests so it can be used as packing... very hard and water resistant wood, tho it splinters and splits a lot.






heres the galley, the back piece of ply is the hatch its just sitting there atm.
the drawers are rimu, which is a local native hardwood, also a bit splitty, it was a 70's era drinks cabinet somebody had thrown away, picked it up out the back of an industrial area, nice stuff.
the benchtop is more macrocarpa, the bit with the basin is vinyl covered customwood, that i found in a joiners scrapbin, the bowl is a stainless one thats been knocking about for years... the handles were el cheapos from the local dodgy chinese products emporium.




this is a weta, great big native bug, thats a small one actually, pretty cool guys, harmless giant crickets basically, they dont jump or move quickly tho


and finally, here is a bit of paulownia(forgot to mention i have used a bit of that too tho it doesnt screw well) this is just a bit of decoration, il be making a few more, doing it by hand with a coping saw so results vary, really want to buy a scroll saw now.


so far this has taken 3weeks, altho probably not much more than 3 days of solid work, ive just been pottering about really, i wanted it done by christmas but thats not looking likely anymore.

[Shadow Catcher]

Looks like a great start and I like the rustic beams with the bark still on.

[grizz]

Cool build, love the way your head works, and also that you add the names of the wood and descriptions of its use elsewhere.

Galley is looking good already.

[YuGun]

Wow,
Ä° like it,


Ä°f i see that bug here,
Ä° get out of there without no look left again,

[Miriam C.]

Heck of a good start! Thanks for sharing with us. We really love pictures and "thrifty" stuff.

[wax]

thanx everyone, the trailer is so far approx $300 (just about bang on i think) which is a lot less in NZ dollars than american, a sheet of ply of the kind ive used(12ml) is generally about $90(of course i got them much cheaper), a tube of glue is about $10 and 100 screws $12... no idea what wood costs haha, id hate to find out.
i think our dollar is .67 american right now, which of course is misleading on specific products but gives a general idea...
add to that the cheapest(and only) teardrops manufactured here are cost $9000 each.. well, i think im ahead of the 8ball.
an old woolshed is getting demolished nearby and the owner said i can help myself to all the rimu that its made of, its a very popular and expensive wood, and im lucky to have the opportunity, altho making something of it might be a bit of an ask, i dont know when hes gunna smash it down so its probably not gunna be available for use in the tear, which is a bit gutting, cos as you can see, im ready for it RIGHT NOW, haha.
think my dad wants his carport back soon tho, gotta get this damn thing finished.

[godskid]

So ask him if you can help by ripping out the bits you want NOW!