M2 Freightliner Ambulance Conversion Project. 2007 Crew Cab

[rlrenz]

Sheet laminate is usually held on with a sprayed contact adhesive, and as it ages, it doesn't hold as well. I've cut out panels in my buggy with a scroll saw using a down cutting blade (a real PITA with thick material), but my favorite is a router with a carbide 3/16" straight bit. You don't have to go full depth - just deep enough that the laminate has been cut. Once the final cut has been completed with a circular saw, some L edging (McMaster) will finish the cut.

If you have an oscillating saw (Fein or equivalent), that might do a nice job of sawing through the laminate, then you could finish with a small trim saw.

I have several trim saws - my favorite is a Rockwell RK3440K VersaCut circular saw. It's limited to just over 1" of cut, but Rockwell has a model with a 4 1/2" blade that can handle a 1 1/2 inch cut (RK3441K).

 

[Ozrockrat]

Hmmm I have a router. But only a provisional driver license for it. I can see that going horribly wrong in a hurry.

 

[patoz]

I've cut out panels in my buggy with a scroll saw using a down cutting blade (a real PITA with thick material), but my favorite is a router with a carbide 3/16" straight bit. You don't have to go full depth - just deep enough that the laminate has been cut.

Using a router or a laminate trim tool (skinny router) was going to be my suggestion also. The trick is using guides to make sure you don't stray and mess up either surface since you want to save both. If it's going to be a door with square corners, then that's easy and you just use straight edges as guides. If it's going to have rounded corners (recommended), then that is going to be a little more difficult, but not impossible. I would recommend using a full size template as your router or trimmer guide.

Like Bob said, the purpose of the router and bit is just to penetrate the laminate and give it a nice edge. Then a fine tooth saw will have to finish the cut through the rest of the material.

I've never had much luck with the side cutting router bits, but if you could find a quality one that was long enough to cut though all of the material in that wall, including the aluminum tread plate, you would be extremely lucky.

Also as Bob said, the 'L' shaped edging is your friend.

 

[rlrenz]

One other thought is that a fine tooth scroll saw blade installed to cut on the forward stroke might do fairly well -- something like an 18 tooth.

 

[Healeyjet]

OZ, we have the Nature's Head and love it!!

Ward

 

[rossvtaylor]

Great plan, Oz! We're putting ours in that same spot, so we'll learn from you. Our plan is a shower with a "composting" toilet, as well. In that particular spot on our rig, there's a door on the back where they'd load oxygen tanks. We plan to mount the propane water heater on the inside of that door so that, when it's nice out, we can open that door and swing the heater (with its integrated hose and shower wand) outside.

I, personally, like the oscillating saws (mine's a Porter Cable, but they're all pretty similar) for doing the first cut through the laminate. If you do that, with a kerf wider than the saw you'll use through the underlying plywood, you won't get any chips. Having said that, though, I expect you'll be putting an aluminum angle over the edge so chips may not be an issue. In that case, a simple jigsaw might be just fine. I did some cutting on ours and didn't have any delamination at all.

Ross

 

[Coachgeo]

Natures head is awesome design. You plan to slowly fill it on way out and in return and then add to compost at home? The toilet it self starts the composting process.... but does not carry it all the way to "compost" Works great if do plan to return home with it and add to your personal compost pile. If that is not the plan....... where the heck you going to put it? It will not be composted enough to put it back into mother nature without breaking a thousand code and or law violations much less .. it would be just nasty to deposit it as it is out in the woods.

 

[rlrenz]

I had another thought - one that I may use for my own slicing and dicing -- an air operated reciprocating auto body saw. They use a fine tooth blade, and they're narrow enough to get into tight places. Cost is nice as well - about $100 from Amazon and Northern Tool.

I have an air operated aluminum saw with a 2" circular blade that is designed for aircraft panel cutting - it slices through 1/8 aluminum like a charm. Just squirt some WD-40 on the cut line to lube the blade. That saw may also get called into service, but I'm thinking that the auto body saw will become its replacement.

 

[Healeyjet]

Coachgeo, we usually dump ours at home but I am not sure what law you would be breaking by bagging it and throwing it in a garage can with diapers. I am pretty sure the peat moss or coconut coir and poo will decompose long before that baby diaper or adult diaper. I am not sure there is any actual composting that takes place in the toilet but it is a great holding system.

 

[Coachgeo]

Coachgeo, we usually dump ours at home but I am not sure what law you would be breaking by bagging it and throwing it in a garage can with diapers. I am pretty sure the peat moss or coconut coir and poo will decompose long before that baby diaper or adult diaper. I am not sure there is any actual composting that takes place in the toilet but it is a great holding system.

Pretty sure Human adult feces is considered biological hazardous waste in most all places in the USA. There for disposal is regulated by all rules of that form of hazardous waste. Adult feces caries far more pathogens than a child's surprisingly..... and includes non digested medicines and other chemicals as well not found in babies fecal matter. Now the disposable diaper itself..... that is a whole nother matter. Having incinerator is also good way to rid of feminine menstrual products.

BTW am not an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination. Just realistic to the reality that many are completely misinformed about logical/illogical use of a compost toilet.


Considering for the rig am putting together, will do some form of incinerating toilet. Will have to build it myself cause the price of incinerators is astronomical. Will basically be like a compost toilet in use.... but then you burn it. Considering exhaust to help dry it some. Burn on a fire pit in say a cast iron kettle when full. Heck one could even burn it to bio-char.... and use the resulting charcoal... to burn the next batch.

 

[Ozrockrat]

For my rig will be doing some form of incinerating toilet.

When I was doing my electrical apprenticeship one of my first jobs was repairing sanitary pad incinerators. Another was fixing/replacing the pumps at the sewage works. No way I would ever willingly have either a turd burner or a wet waste management system.

As another off topic snippet. We had turd burners in our draglines at the mines. Ended up removing them as the guys would not use them. They would rather go bush with a shovel. They sort of scared the crap into them.

 

[Healeyjet]

Coachgeo, ya I wish they would call it something other than a "composting toilet". It is more of a desiccant than anything.
Ward

 

[B85]

You just need a 55 gal drum and some JP4 . Does smell a little.

Oh, and someone to stir it a little.

 

[Coachgeo]

When I was doing my electrical apprenticeship one of my first jobs was repairing sanitary pad incinerators. Another was fixing/replacing the pumps at the sewage works. No way I would ever willingly have either a turd burner or a wet waste management system.

yep... wet system sucks. Like the compost toilets. separate the urine and use a no water system

As another off topic snippet. We had turd burners in our draglines at the mines. Ended up removing them as the guys would not use them. They would rather go bush with a shovel. They sort of scared the crap into them.

heck yeah.... fire potential under your ******** would scare me too... tis why my plan is to have chamber removed from unit and cook it outside over a fire. No marshmallow's or wienies that night. Eventually will actually cook it with a home brewed foundry. Overall size of foundry and chamber pot combined will be significantly less than a black collection tank. In the end won't even see the insides of chamber any more than one would a compost toilet view yet will be even less handling of the waster material when raw.

 

[zuke]

I was planning on using an oscillating tool to cut the laminate/ply with a hope of being able to reuse it for a bifold door. Think kerf and less chipping. But it’s a lot of cutting with one of those tools. Anyone have any great tips about cutting laminate straight without chipping it much.

That's going to be super difficult with the panel in place, any way to get it out before cutting?

Usually the best route is to score the laminate before actually cutting the panel, Use a straight edge and utility (razor) knife to make as deep a cut through the laminate before actually using a power cutting tool...

If I were doing it and had to preserve the laminate,

I'd tape over the area I expected to cut with painters tape,
Then I would secure a straight edge along where I needed to cut,
I would then score the surface as deeply as I could with the utility knife.
I would reset my straight edge at that point to use a Jigsaw with a fine tooth blade to cut through the entire panel.

If the panel is actually secured to that aluminum, it's going to a really slow process, and you're probably going to go through a lot of blades.

That said, I wouldn't actually try and save any of the panel if it were me, I'd cut the hole with a Sawzall, put some kinda trim on the edges to hide the chips, and hang a new light weight door on it instead, perhaps like a shower door...