Good day....
One more view of the mock up door system from outside. I don't open up the big door too often this time of year because 'winter'. It was really nice to be able to get more than a few feet away....
I had to open the door to bring in some nice fresh sheets of aluminum! This is 3/16 thick 5052-H32 that I will be building the doors out of.
I took the mock up door apart to use for templates. This sure made things easy. Don't forget to account for the saw kerf during the layout. I wanted to cut the upper and lower door in one piece and THEN seperate them. That way the cut would match up well top to bottom.
I have been looking for a better way to make LONG cuts in thicker aluminum sheet for a bit now. After much google-**** and Youtube this is where I stopped. While they aren't cheap, these blades work AMAZING! I was able to use a section of thick aluminum angle as a fence for the saw. This blade is specifically for aluminum according to the package. It cuts this 3/16" plate like BUTTER. This is what I used where ever possible. This method is so much cleaner and faster than anything else I have done.
This is how I handled inside corners. I pilot drilled the corner with a small drill bit. I would run the big saw as close as possible. I then used a small body saw to finish the cut. All it takes is a little file work to clean up at the end.
Here is the roughed in lower door. I will still be adding some details, but the hinges hinge and the latch latches.
Upper door resting in its future home.
Seam between the upper and lower.....not too bad for just a guy in his garage I don't think.
I also got the inner 'tongue' panel mostly cut out.
Next I need to cut the window hole in the top and tongue panel. Those two parts will be glued together with some 3M Panel Bond once finished ( which is still in the mail....ugh). I also need to build the arm rest bracket that will also have the interior door handle and perhaps a forward mounted door latch release. Still a decent bit of detail stuff....