Bear's Lair

[Nobes]

I've got it bad. Thursday I left work at 3. Friday I left at noon. Friday late afternoon I paid 2 neighborhood kids $20 to mow my little front yard so I wouldn't have to stop. The good news is I work in the oil industry and nothing is happening anywhere right now. Well, nothing good anyway.

As a result, lots of progress. Well, 'lots' is a relative term but since I am the slowest woodworker in the world I will claim 'lots.'


I've been working on the galley a few days and I wanted to wrap it up this weekend. I got the skin trimmed for the galley area, both sides. I am skinning inside and out with alder plywood, and it just looks fantastic. In the cabin, I will use a single 4x8 sheet on each side. Outside, I will have to join pieces with fiberglass to cover the 5x9 sides.



I made a little wine rack to go in the center of the lower galley cabinets. I had the guts of it done Friday night, but it just wasn't right. Overnight I realized how I needed to adjust it and got that done first thing Saturday. Then I went on to making my 3 drawers. This picture shows my method for installing the cabinet side of the drawer glides (pieces of scrap cut to the correct height), which worked perfectly. The clamp is just there to keep the drawer slide in place while I take a picture.



And there is the look. A lower cabinet with ice chest, wine rack, and 3 drawers. The drawer face will be alder. We will start out with no doors over anything you see here, just tie downs--I may add doors later. I was going to put doors above the counter for access to cabinets in the cabin, but right now simplicity is driving the train so those are out. The upper shelf is the cut off from the bulkhead. Simple AND saving a few $. There is a round over on the front of the countertop, making the overall clearance between it and the hatch lid just over 1/8". Tons of room. Assuming my match is correct and the hatch build goes as planned...

And you can see the electrical outlet covers--I will have shore power for 4 plugs in the galley and 4 right behind them in the cabin. Right now I am planning on no DC plugs but that may change, we will see how it goes.





Here are my 3 drawers. Again, I just need to add the face/covers. The lower one is a bit taller, the top 2 are the same. Pots, pans, plates, plastic ware, plastic cups, cooking utensils, etc in the lower 2 and our little camping stove in the top one. Simplicity (and space) killed the slide out shelf under the cooler, but it slides pretty easy on the vinyl.



The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes models the 98% complete galley. We also need some mountains in the background.




While not part of the build except for design questions, Mrs. Nobes has some serious skills. She is making a 'Bears' Lair' quilt in our favorite colors. If you are wondering what green and gold has to do with Bears, I bet our resident Aggie in Dallas can fill you in. Sic 'em.

[Nobes]

Tomorrow is drawer faces then on to the cabin upper cabinets. I just have Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday then I am in Dallas the rest of the week and weekend for depositions and time with our daughter for her birthday. If I could get that upper cabinet complete before we go that would be incredible.

[Nobes]

Good progress on Sunday.

We had a little cold front blow in--a west texas front not a Colorado/Connecticut front--and temps were ALL THE WAY DOWN IN THE LOW 50s. Bitterly cold. Ridiculous weather. Plus it was cloudy. We have about 15 cloudy days a year here, so yeah it was a weird day. The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes was stunned that I wanted to go outside and work. I told her July 4 was coming, so I put on my parka and braved the elements.

Turned out to be a great day to be outside. I started laying out for the upper cabinets in the cabin, and realized--I get to go to Lowes again! I bought a bunch of 1x4s and cut them down to 1x2s.


That will serve as framing for the rest of the build. I hope. I verified measurements, made a mock-up of what I wanted, then started putting it together.





This is the spot where usually I realize I've done it all wrong and I have to start over. But that didn't happen. Next thing I knew I had the frame finished and put it up in the TD, and it was perfect.




I will have top to bottom doors on the right and left, and a half door over the top half of the middle section. The lower section of the middle will be open. I'm thinking we will use that for a heater, fan, or iPad/television. Or just an open shelf. I had Mrs. Nobes come outside--she had to find her parka--and we laid down in the TD. She said, 'Hey, there's tons of room in here!' Big smiles all around.

I will use that same method for the front/headboard cabinets. In fact, I've already done the mock up.

Next I cut faces for the drawers from my alder stash and got them glued on. Looks great.




Tonight I will rout the profile in the faces, put a shim on the bottom shelf, and put them back in--done except for finishing.

I only have 2 more evenings to work this week. The plan is: rout the profile in the drawer faces, cut and install shelves in the cabinets, install the electrical trace and a shelf under the cabinets to hold stuff that needs charging, build the frame for the headboard cabinets, install sliding doors, and finally install face frames and doors in the upper cabinets.

Right, no way I can get all that done. I return from Dallas on Sunday. Maybe by next Sunday evening.

And after that, I think it's time for the inside wall skins, decide locations for exterior lights and wall wiring, and install insulation. I'm kind of afraid to say this, but I think the ball may be rolling downhill now.

[Nobes]

Monday I got the drawer faces routed to profile and placed them in the cabinet--and I have more work to do. They didn't line up on the right/center side, so I need to trim them. Also the top drawer sits about 1/8 high so I need to trim the top all the way around, which means taking the drawer slides off. Finally, I need to adjust the wine rack a bit left as I am having to shim both sides of each drawer.

Then I worked on the frame for the front headboard cabinet, and when I put it in the trailer I found I miscalculated and my mattress space is only 79". Instead of fixing it I decided to simplify again--no headboard cabinets for now. If I'm going to meet that July 4 campable deadline, that will have to be fixed later. So I set the whole assembly aside.

Tuesday night I pulled out a piece of ash to make the face frames and doors for the cabin upper cabinets. I had to move a ton of other stuff to get to it, seemed like it took forever. I got it planed and began cutting the face frames. In one of my trips across the garage I didn't look where I was going and hit a board with my shin and went all the way down. Tough for an old guy. I had a ping pong ball sized welt on my shin, but the lovely, gracious, and smart Mrs. Nobes said 'put some ice on it!' I wrapped one of those cold pack things on there and kept working. At the end of the night the bump was gone and this morning there was no bruise.

I have, however, now contributed blood from 3 out of 4 appendages to the build. No doubt about it, it's a project.

I finished cutting all the parts for the shelves except the doors. Hopefully I will complete the cabinets on Sunday as I am in Dallas until then. Then it's on to the next thing on the long-as-my-arm list.

Y'all have a good week!

[Tommy2tone_1999]

Looking great so far!

[KCStudly]

Add some sweat and tears to the blood and you've hit the trifecta of TD building! Glad you weren't hurt too severely, and never turn down TLC from a loving wife!

[Nobes]

I'm back home today from 5 days in Dallas. I had some business but also some fun, celebrating my daughter's birthday at Medieval Times, which is dinner and a show featuring fancy horse stepping, fancy horse riding, sword fights and jousting. It was a little cheesy--the show not the dinner--but it was a lot of fun. After we heard some decent guitar playing at a little spot in Allen.

I also ate at my first grilled cheese restaurant.

I make a mean grilled cheese, so I do like the stuff. I had heard people were opening these types of restaurants. Frankly it sounds a little crazy, a restaurant that features the simple grilled cheese sandwich, but they had all kinds of cheeses, breads, meats, and other stuff on the sandwiches. It was good.

Nearby was the high school my mom graduated from in 1952. It was fun finding that and sending pictures to her. Addison High in Oak Cliff.


And then I had to pay tribute to some of my favorite tv shows, Fast n Loud and Misfit Garage. I already have gas monkey t-shirts and hoped to find Fired Up merchandise. I found no shirts but I did wander in and get a picture.


So after a 6-hour drive home today, I got close to 6 hours in on the build. First I glued up the face frames for the cabinets.


While the glue set, I cut the cleats that will help hold the sides to the deck, including the miter cut in front that matches the ceiling contour and I pre-drilled pocket screw holes to go through the wall and into the deck. Then I got all the 'lower sides' done, all the way around. I was pleased with how the front and back came out. I think I have a bit more work to do on the sides.






For the back, I mitered part of a 1x6 to the shape of the rear slope then trimmed out the corners to fit. For the front, I cut a 1x6 to the correct dimension, then cut a miter in the off-cut and placed it on top of first piece, building up a landing spot for the roof. I planed the side pieces then placed them to fit under the previously routed section of the inner wall frame. After placing them on the wall I think I need to go a couple more passes on the planer, then trim them off to match the front and back. I need to decide if I want to cut an ellipse above the tires or leave it straight.

Next up is the back to the cabinets, placing vertical walls to frame out the center of the lower shelf--it will be boxed in with a large hole in the back to run cords through, as I am thinking we may place a fan or a heater or other devices there. I stopped at Rockler in Plano and bought one of those cord trappers like you see in desks, plus some fancy door catches for my 3 cabinet doors. The two outside tall doors will open out, and the short center one, on the top section of the middle, will open up toward the ceiling. I need to find some way to make it stay up when we open it. Then I will build a shelf under the cabinets and the electrical trace which will will sit at the back of the shelf. I will have plugs for the cabin and galley there.

I decided a couple of things will come later, maybe even after the first camping trip: cabinet doors and vinyl flooring repairs join the front headboard cabinets on the 'I'll get to that later' list.

After that its deciding on locations for my cool retro exterior trailer lights, making and placing the semi-circular door corner supports, making and placing spars and the fantastic fan, and staring on wiring plans. Should be a busy week.

[Nobes]

While in Dallas I also stopped at a body shop to get a quote on having automotive clear coat sprayed on top of my glassed sides & top. He quoted $500--he said it would take about a gallon of clear coat and that cost $200. Has anyone done this themselves or had it done? What did it cost you? My TD is 5 wide, 9 long, and 5 high at the max spot.

I have a gun & a compressor, but I am wondering if it is about the same cost to have it done v buying a mask and building a paint booth with plastic and pvc.

I need to check local prices, this was just a 'hey I wonder if' moment.

[Nobes]

A decent amount of progress today and yesterday. Here's the best news: I think--I THINK--that on Saturday I will start the hatch. !!

Here's what I've gotten done:

Trim below the walls is done. I've decided against cutting an ellipse above the tires, unless someone here convinces me otherwise. Each side just needed one more pass in the planer. The side profile is complete.


Drawer fronts and wine rack are corrected. I had shims on both sides of each drawer, which told me something was wrong. I took the shims out and moved the wine rack a bit left, then added a trim/support on the left upright of the wine rack. Now there is a support at the top of both sides of the wine rack, so each side is screwed to the countertop.

The top drawer got a 1/8" haircut and it now slides just right. The right edge of the drawer fronts were trimmed so they are now in line. The galley is campable, with lots of little things to add after the first camping trip.


This is the shelf that will go under the cabinets in the cabin. The lip at the front is 1/2 X 3/4 ash with a round over routed on the front. At the back of this will be electrical plugs. The idea is things that need charging will go here--phone, iPad, flashlights, Fitbit, etc. also books, magazines, 'pocket litter,' etc. This is where shore power will connect.


Closer shots of the electrical shelf assembly.


Upper cabinets as they sit. Face frames done, lower middle shelf is framed out. Electrical shelf will be attached after finishing. Doors will come after the first trip, unless I get way ahead and can get them in before July 4. Doubtful.

So here's the list of things to accomplish W, Th, and F:
Install 2 new just arrived stabilizer jacks on the back of the metal trailer frame
Cut & install door corners & test fit doors
Cut & place spars
Place vent and extra framing for vent support
Cut support pieces that fit between the spars (curved in front)
Inner wall skin, cut/glue/clamp

That's a lot, but the plan is to get all that done so that on Saturday my HATCH BUILD begins!

[Nobes]

The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes continues to get after it. The quilt build is going well. She has the backing fabric on hand and she has some surprises in mind for the back of the quilt. She has the material for curtains and has completed the first of the pillow cases.


Yes, I married well.

[Nobes]

Good progress tonight. I put my 2 new stabilizer jacks on, so now I have one on each corner. Here's the exciting photo.


Then I measured the door corner blocks using the inner door frame as a pattern, made rough cuts on the band saw, and sanded to the line with my handy drill press sanding drum.


Then I glued the corners in and after they dried test fit the doors. Hey! Doors are DONE! Really glad I purchased doors.


And last I cut all my spars to length and width, and put together the extra framing for the fantastic fan.


Looking good for hatch building this weekend.

[Nobes]

I made it! Hatch build starts tomorrow.

So, first: is this crazy stupid or crazy like a fox?

I waited too late to order a T-handle hatch lock, so I am making one. Here is a photo of my supplies. The plan is to drill holes in the ribs large enough for the angle irons to move through and make the whole thing inside the hatch. I will probably get 2 more strike plates, so one set is on the hatch and the other is on the galley walls.

Let me know what you think. Speak now or forever hold your peace.

[Nobes]

Here's the progress for yesterday and today:


Last night I made the support pieces that will go in the 'roof sandwich' between the spars.

Also, I rough cut more hatch ribs. Tomorrow I will cut them close on the band saw then use a pattern bit in the router table to match them to the rib I have already created. My ribs started at 3" but on further thought they will be 2" wide.


Today I cut the inner walls to shape. I started by placing 4x8 sheets inside the TD frame. I have a cleat at the bottom of each wall, 3/4 wide and 1" tall. The inner door sits on top of the cleat.


After I got it up there I realized my plan wasn't going to work. The bearing and nut on my pattern bit was too wide to ride on the ledge and still cut the inner skin. I tried switching bearings from other bits, but none worked--so it was back to my favorite store, where I found this bit:


Perfect! Oops, not quite. I was still off enough that I could not cut it. Then I remembered that yesterday I trimmed a piece of ash and was left with a 1/8 cutoff about 5' long. (It's great having good tools.) I was breaking down and throwing away my cut offs yesterday, but for some reason I tossed that one on my wood pile. I grabbed it, slipped it between the inner skin and wall frame, clamped it up with spring clamps, and NOW it was perfect.


There were a few rough spots where I had pocket screw holes in the ledge, but after sanding I think my inner skins are good to go. After the ceiling is in I may add a piece of trim, we'll see.

It's starting to look like a teardrop--


Then I cut out the door openings and it REALLY looks like a TD!


So tomorrow it's on to the hatch. The plan is to get ribs, cross pieces, and top and bottom pieces constructed; build, frame, and install the lock; install insulation; and get the skin on this weekend. If the ply won't bend and I have to strap it up bent for a while before installation that's ok. All the materials are on hand.

[Nobes]

Also I had a few extra minutes so one of the items I had decided not to mess with for a while got some attention: the front headboard. I had previously built the frame, then it didn't fit right so I just moved on to other things. I trimmed about 1/2" off the top frame so now it leaves 80.5 inches of floor space. The top is now 7.25". I need to make the lip, face frames, and some trim prices for the sides, plus the sliding doors. I have measurements for everything so hopefully I will get back to that before July 4.

[Nobes]

Well, everything had been going so well. I was about to throw away that whole 'Nobes way' philosophy that I have the unique, innate ability to always find the absolute hardest way to do everything. This weekend I found my old mojo again.

Saturday started pretty good. I made 8 identical hatch ribs from my original template. Routing makes lots of dust.


I continued on and got the hatch skeleton constructed.


Then I began assembling my lock pieces, and unfortunately found that it just wasn't going to work. I got it mocked up on some scrap plywood, but the part in the back that made the rods move in and out was so loose that I just didn't think it would ever actually lock the thing. I ended up taking the parts back to the store, and decided to call my buddy Frank Bear and get a real lock on Monday. Which meant I was NOT going to finish the hatch build this weekend as I hoped.

So, I decided to put the inner skin on the hatch--not glue it on, just place and clamp and see how difficult it would be when I got ready to glue.


When I get to that stage I'm going to have to cut some kerfs. I wonder if I can get that done with a utility knife or if I need to use the table saw. More stuff to experiment with. By the end of Saturday I concluded I was tear dropped out.


Sunday after church and lunch I decided I needed some more clamps, so I ran by Wally World and got some first class clamps.


I got home and started to put my expertly constructed cabinets back up to mark the spots where I will cut through the walls to bring in electrical service. That's when the other shoe dropped. See, when I put the hatch in I found that the gap at the roof didn't match the gap at the bottom. Easy fix--I cut the spars by 1/2" and it was perfect. Except...now my cabinets are too big. They fit perfectly before I cut the spars, but now--

So I had a seat in my pondering chair (as another poster calls it!) and tried to figure out how to fix it. Finally I decided to put them on the table saw and cut a bit off the side. If it Renee, I would have to build a new one but I thought this was my only chance to save it, so why not try? I only needed to cut off about 3/16". I called my son to come over to help and we got it done. The side doesn't look all that great, but no one will ever see it. The front looks good.


Then we decided to take the walls down as the next step is to start gluing them up.


I got one side glued and clamped. The other side is still on the deck.


Tonight I started to put poly on the inside skin, but first I took a scrap and tested some colors. I'm sold on the inside being clear poly, but open to the idea of a stain on the outside. None of these knocked our socks off, and right now I'm leaning toward clear.

Then I noticed that the inner skin was slightly proud on the top of the inner frame. MORE problems. Earlier I had installed the cleat on the wall frame, exactly where is supposed to go. Apparently when the wall was up on the trailer, and the cleat was just sitting next to the wall, it was bowed a little. Now that it is straight the inner skin sits a little higher. I tried sanding it down, but that would take forever. I decided the only way to go was the router, but none of my bits fit the space. Same problem I had last week. I tried several alternatives but in the end I had to get my home made edge guide out and it got the job done. Of course, I had to make repairs first, because again it can't just be easy...

Then I put the first coat of semi gloss poly on the inner skin.


And that's where I am.