The Astroliner

...ask your questions in the appropriate forums BUT document your build here...preferably in a single thread...dates for updates, are appreciated....

Re: The Astroliner

Postby Ron Dickey » Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:02 pm

Hi Michael,

I am going to put side saddles on my trailer and have been trying to figure out how to make them. They will hold my batteries and other storage.
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They have become more complex and you make it seem so simple. How thick is your ply are there 2 glued together??

You are doing fantastic work on your trailer. I have seen more then 200 teardrop trailers and few touch what you are doing.

Ron

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Lots of crazy measurements, some math, and a Chinese Abacus later, we started to test fit the pieces BEFORE any glue or nails. That was fun. No it wasn't. I guess it depends how twisted your idea of fun is...

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Notice how the frames had to match up to angled walls, curved tabletop and curved walls! I also needed a place to hide the fresh water tank and pump. Our estimates say she's light in the tongue so the extra weight of the 30 gallon tank will help that easily. I know... 30 gallons of fresh water is probably overkill, but hey... I want what I want.

Next we ran 1/4" Birch through the drum sander until it got bendy. We glued the pieces on the frames, then epoxied the insides for strength.

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121377......134179
Inside almost done--Trolly top has opening windows & roof.doors need assembling--pictured above waley windows..galley 1/3 done
Cross Bow in Build Journals....http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=54108
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Tue Feb 20, 2018 8:25 pm

Ron Dickey wrote:Hi Michael,

I am going to put side saddles on my trailer and have been trying to figure out how to make them. They will hold my batteries and other storage.
118375
144316
They have become more complex and you make it seem so simple. How thick is your ply are there 2 glued together??

You are doing fantastic work on your trailer. I have seen more then 200 teardrop trailers and few touch what you are doing.

Ron

Image

Image

Image

Lots of crazy measurements, some math, and a Chinese Abacus later, we started to test fit the pieces BEFORE any glue or nails. That was fun. No it wasn't. I guess it depends how twisted your idea of fun is...

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Notice how the frames had to match up to angled walls, curved tabletop and curved walls! I also needed a place to hide the fresh water tank and pump. Our estimates say she's light in the tongue so the extra weight of the 30 gallon tank will help that easily. I know... 30 gallons of fresh water is probably overkill, but hey... I want what I want.

Next we ran 1/4" Birch through the drum sander until it got bendy. We glued the pieces on the frames, then epoxied the insides for strength.

Image

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I'll be honest... I have no idea what the final thickness is! Here's why: Bendable plywood has a flexible inner core that allows the wood to bend. I wasn't able to source bendable birch that had the grain running in the correct direction. Therefore, we ran 4x4 sheets of 1/4" birch (3/16" actual) through a friends drum sander until it would bend. How thin you ask? Thin enough you could see a flashlight shining through it in the dark! We then coated the backside (sanded side) with epoxy and carbon fiber cloth to strengthen it. That also helps it hold its shape. I have since found a source for bendy wood in Anaheim California, But at this point I'm pretty much done with that material. I would recommend using something already made if at all possible. I don't know if I've answered your questions, so get back with me if there's something else I can help you with. Your design looks awesome! I'm anxious to see how it goes!

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Last edited by Atomic77 on Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:13 pm

Here's to all the wannabe woodworkers out there like us, who did something else in the world before a camper project took over our lives! For us, Carrie works on computers, Matt works for an internet company and I built race boats for a living. So... there are no cabinet builders in our crew! But we believe you can do whatever you set your mind to! We certainly aren't the best builders, and I'm sure there are better ways to accomplish the task at hand; regardless, here we are building cabinets in spite of our lack of depth in cabinetry skills!

As with every build-in we have done so far, it all begins with cleats that are glued and screwed to the walls, floor or ceiling. Good planning in the design stages provided for attachment points in the walls and ceiling to screw into. So far, we've been very lucky to have hit all of our attachment points!

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We cut out all our pieces; bottom, sides and face. I know many cabinet builders do the face in multiple pieces. We opted to go with a one piece face to eliminate seams, cut down on weight and simplify the building process.

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We built in a false floor to give plenty of room to run wiring, as the control panel for the Bluetooth Stereo and other gauges and switches will be mounted in the cabinet end. The last thing I want is visiblewires anywhere, even in a cabinet. In this case it also hides the cleats which seems like a nice bonus as well. Also, we made a private space for the overhead speaker to comfortably live...

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Anyone following this build knows I have an aversion to 90° corners and straight lines. Angles and Curves, that's my jam! So I just couldn't bring myself to build the upper cabinetry with a square corner! N'arrive pas! The problem is, there's no way we could find to make the radius we wanted, in order to match the lower Galley Cabinet and Dinette Seats with the much narrower width of the upper cabinet.

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Several failed attempts at the much shorter radius, caused by the narrower cabinet and the control panel placement wouldn't allow our curve to be as sweeping and casual, therefore resulting in blown up and busted birch every time we tried to make the bend. So... I bit the bullet and ordered an MDF pre-formed corner. It was a little pricy by the time I paid for the part plus the ride but a pretty cool piece that will solve the 90° corner debacle.

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The next challenge is, to cover the corner with White Birch Veneer. I have purposely avoided any and all veneer up to this point. I have seen some not-so-pretty veneer failures in Campers and RV's due to the drastic temperatures they endure, both hot and cold; combined with the inability of most adhesives to be able to handle the fluctuations of extremes. After I consulted the professionals, the consistent opinion was, we need to use a glue that gets hard when cured. Contact cement was a definite no for this application. So the first thing I did was wipe down the backside of the Birch Veneer and the top side of the MDF panel with a damp rag. I then coated both surfaces with Tight Bond II and a chip brush.

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Next, I used a heat gun on low to speed up the drying process.

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At this point I wanted the glue dry to the touch, but not fully cured either. More or less just skimmed over. One veneer manufacturer told me you could leave the glue for up to 3 days. I'm not sure why you would want to do that, but good to know. I let mine dry for about 30 minutes total. This is where you should come back and add more glue to the edges if necessary. The edges are the most important parts to be sure there is enough glue contact. Next, I carefully laid the veneer on the part and wiped it down with a damp cloth. If you try this, be sure you lay your pieces together right where you want them. If you're unsure of yourself, lay a piece of waxed paper between the pieces, line it up, then carefully slide out the waxed paper. As soon as the glue touches each other it will stick, so you've got one shot. I allowed about a quarter inch all the way around of extra material just to be sure.

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Now that I'm sure any excess glue is gone and the veneer is sufficiently damp, I covered it with brown paper and heated up the steam iron. I used the iron to press the veneer into place permanently, letting the steam and heat do the work. I went side to side, from one end to the other and back again, being sure to cover every square inch.

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Violá! Next, it took a bit of trimming on the edges and its all finished!

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I sanded the edges carefully with a block to keep it square, then finished off the face with fine sandpaper.

That's it for now. This weekend we'll get the corner cut to fit and finish building the cabinet, then I'll be ready to spray lacquer! Until next time, Happy Building my Friends!

Michael




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Last edited by Atomic77 on Thu Nov 15, 2018 11:20 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby razorback » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:51 pm

WOW. SKILL LEVEL BEYOND COMPARE. PLANNING BEYOND COMPARE. PATIENCE, WAY WAY BEYOND COMPARE.
Just AMAZING WORK.
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby S. Heisley » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:52 pm

...Wow!... You are a definite perfectionist! Thanks for printing all this here. It's good to know. :thumbsup:
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:59 pm

razorback wrote:WOW. SKILL LEVEL BEYOND COMPARE. PLANNING BEYOND COMPARE. PATIENCE, WAY WAY BEYOND COMPARE.
Just AMAZING WORK.

Thank you my friend! Means a lot!
(The patience belongs to those around me who have to put up with me! Now that's a challenge!)

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Last edited by Atomic77 on Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:28 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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The Astroliner

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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm

S. Heisley wrote:...Wow!... You are a definite perfectionist! Thanks for printing all this here. It's good to know.
Well, thank you for noticing!

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"The Strength is in the Sum of the Parts..."

The Astroliner

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Re: The Astroliner

Postby pchast » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:41 pm

Michael,

Great technique. Thanks. :D

Pete
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:36 pm

Thank you Pete
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:48 pm

So... I just realized that most of my posts that I've made through Tap Talk work just fine in Tap Talk, but the pictures don't show up on the tnttt site. Anyone else having that issue? It has worked fine before but now I see they aren't there. Anyone with advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Michael

"The Strength is in the Sum of the Parts..."

The Astroliner

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Re: The Astroliner

Postby me&z » Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:09 pm

Atomic77 wrote:So... I just realized that most of my posts that I've made through Tap Talk work just fine in Tap Talk, but the pictures don't show up on the tnttt site. Anyone else having that issue? It has worked fine before but now I see they aren't there. Anyone with advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


I see the pictures just fine. Not using Tap Talk.
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:10 pm

me&z wrote:
Atomic77 wrote:So... I just realized that most of my posts that I've made through Tap Talk work just fine in Tap Talk, but the pictures don't show up on the tnttt site. Anyone else having that issue? It has worked fine before but now I see they aren't there. Anyone with advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


I see the pictures just fine. Not using Tap Talk.
Ok. Thank you. They don't show up on my computer. Hmmm...

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"The Strength is in the Sum of the Parts..."

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Re: The Astroliner

Postby MrBo » Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:12 pm

The images show on both formats for me . Taptalk on my phone and also on my computer in the forum. Beautiful work!
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Re: The Astroliner

Postby Atomic77 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:10 pm

MrBo wrote:The images show on both formats for me . Taptalk on my phone and also on my computer in the forum. Beautiful work!
Ok. All good to hear! And thank you!

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"The Strength is in the Sum of the Parts..."

The Astroliner

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Re: The Astroliner

Postby dales133 » Sun Feb 25, 2018 7:57 pm

Looking fantastic mate, those cabinets are insane.


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