Putt Step Van Build
- Thread starter Putts
- Start date
Putts
I'll get there.
Thanks. Me neither.
All the bike are getting sold...and I'll be buying a TW200 as my bumper thumper.
Initially, I'll be pulling a trailer that'll be filled with tools and materials for continuing the build. The TW will go in there. But eventually I'm going to have a custom bumper built with a place for the bike, sand rails, propane, spare tire, etc. Then I'll just store the trailer somewhere and maybe use it for storage.
Yeah, I have a Kreg Pocket Tool and use it quite a bit on the plywood stuff. The dowel pinning was a lot of work, but it's sturdy as hell. More progress on the way!
Putts
I'll get there.
With the front of the cabin roughed in, it's time to work on the bed in the rear part of the cabin. First step is to build the wall between the bed and the 'garage' in the back.
This will force me to go in and out of the front door to work on the interior, but it has to be done soon so I can work on the rear cabinet, ceiling, and bed...and it will aid in closing up the cabin so I can heat it and work in there.
The bolts at the bottom attach it to the rear of the wheel wells. Two 3/4" thick ply with Sikaflex between and about a hundred screws squishing it together.
I got myself a bedroom.
This will force me to go in and out of the front door to work on the interior, but it has to be done soon so I can work on the rear cabinet, ceiling, and bed...and it will aid in closing up the cabin so I can heat it and work in there.
The bolts at the bottom attach it to the rear of the wheel wells. Two 3/4" thick ply with Sikaflex between and about a hundred screws squishing it together.
I got myself a bedroom.
Putts
I'll get there.
I drew up my plans for Putt about 6 months before I even bought it...I knew I would be getting a step van and I pretty much knew the dimensions as they're all so similar. The back of the vehicle has always been slated as a garage with a wall against which the bed would reside between the wheel wells. One of the very first things I did was build the stairs up into the back of Putt so I could have easy access into the vehicle as I built the forward parts of the cabin.
When I built the stairs I kinda just slapped them together, not worrying too much about how well they would last because I knew about half way through the build I'd construct the rear wall and then access though the back would be cut off and the stairs would be no longer needed....well, until the very end when I had to build the shelves in the rear storage area. So, two years ago I knew there would come a day when rear access would be cut off and I'd have to reposition Putt to work through the front door.
That day was yesterday!
Before:
After:
Kind of a silly little thing...but a milestone that made me smile!
When I built the stairs I kinda just slapped them together, not worrying too much about how well they would last because I knew about half way through the build I'd construct the rear wall and then access though the back would be cut off and the stairs would be no longer needed....well, until the very end when I had to build the shelves in the rear storage area. So, two years ago I knew there would come a day when rear access would be cut off and I'd have to reposition Putt to work through the front door.
That day was yesterday!
Before:
After:
Kind of a silly little thing...but a milestone that made me smile!
Putts
I'll get there.
It kinda just crept up on me. Working on Putt has changed. Used to be I'd have to think for about 3-4 hours, sometimes longer, before I actually started working on something. All of a sudden, it seems, thinking time is half of what it used to be, and it's getting even shorter. Back when it was an empty box and a 3D rendering the slate was clean...which meant I could do almost anything. I'd have to imagine all the future stuff and where it would go as I worked so that I didn't paint myself into some sort of corner. It was kinda like playing chess all in your head. Now, there's a lot of stuff already built so there's much less left to the imagination. I can see what's there and then build on to it. Much less stressful...and progresses quite a bit faster. Yay!
Had a trip to Denver for a trade show and one to Boston for a headphone measurement workshop over the last few weeks, but did manage to get a couple of solid steps forward. The first is a bit of an odd one. Across the ceiling there's a square bar that was used to hold the angle brackets that prevent the rolling door from coming off its runners at the top end. I this image the bar is circled in red.
The problem with this bar is that it's somewhat offset from the vertical wall attached to the wheel well, which has to be stabilized at the top. I'd have to make some sort of beam that had the offset in it...but was never quite sure how I'd do it. It's also worth noting this is the top of the garage area and the beam has to have a few holes drilled in it to ventilate it into the ceiling above the cabin for airflow through the forward fan. (Remember I have a separate air flow system for the walls and ceiling to evacuate the air heated from the sun.)
Turns out, the answer was pretty simple: cut the right size piece of plywood and rip a 2x4 to the right width. A handful of 5/16" bolts, bunch of screws, and a half a tube of Sikaflex later and *BAM*, I got me a stabilized wall.
Back to my original point, I've been eyeing that bar for a couple years now as I built the forward part of the cabin. It was the mental stopping point for the forward cabin build; what ever I did with the ceiling line had to square up to it. And now it's done and off the list. Looks like it's going to work just fine.
Had a trip to Denver for a trade show and one to Boston for a headphone measurement workshop over the last few weeks, but did manage to get a couple of solid steps forward. The first is a bit of an odd one. Across the ceiling there's a square bar that was used to hold the angle brackets that prevent the rolling door from coming off its runners at the top end. I this image the bar is circled in red.
The problem with this bar is that it's somewhat offset from the vertical wall attached to the wheel well, which has to be stabilized at the top. I'd have to make some sort of beam that had the offset in it...but was never quite sure how I'd do it. It's also worth noting this is the top of the garage area and the beam has to have a few holes drilled in it to ventilate it into the ceiling above the cabin for airflow through the forward fan. (Remember I have a separate air flow system for the walls and ceiling to evacuate the air heated from the sun.)
Turns out, the answer was pretty simple: cut the right size piece of plywood and rip a 2x4 to the right width. A handful of 5/16" bolts, bunch of screws, and a half a tube of Sikaflex later and *BAM*, I got me a stabilized wall.
Back to my original point, I've been eyeing that bar for a couple years now as I built the forward part of the cabin. It was the mental stopping point for the forward cabin build; what ever I did with the ceiling line had to square up to it. And now it's done and off the list. Looks like it's going to work just fine.
Putts
I'll get there.
Next step was the cabinet above the bed. There was actually quite a bit of thinking time on this one...mostly about how tall I could make it without bonking my head when I get in and out of bed. Cut the two main pieces of wood a hair long so I could wedge them into place and got a stool that was about the right height for the bed so I could noodle around with the position.
This one was pretty easy as I already had three sides of the cabinet in place with the existing walls, just had to make the front.
Just enough room at the top to get the ceiling into place.
Starting to fill up in there.
Woot! Bed next.
This one was pretty easy as I already had three sides of the cabinet in place with the existing walls, just had to make the front.
Just enough room at the top to get the ceiling into place.
Starting to fill up in there.
Woot! Bed next.
Putts
I'll get there.
Yesterday was a HUGE milestone!
It started by bolting a hugemungous 4x4 to the rear wall.
The 1x2 bolted up with it is 3/4" down from the 4x4 surface. This allows the bed platform 3/4" ply top surface to be flush with the 4x4 so I can put hinges on it. It will also allow me the space to later put 1" of insulation against the wall with a layer of luan adhered to it. That rear wall will be exposed to the external temps of the inside of the garage space behind it. That wall might get quite cold or hot, and it would suck to sleep right up next to it.
Then I installed the bed facing and trimmed around the periphery in like manner to support the edges of the bed platform.
Starting to look like a sleeping area now.
The width of the cabin from wall to wall is 83 3/4"...a number burned into my memory. A standard twin bed mattress is 74"...with an extra inch for some slack, 75". That leaves 8 3/4" of space for a headboard cubby with some shelves in it.
Slapped it all together and put the bed platform into place...and threw a mattress on it.
Here you can see the four bolts at the lower left that bolt the bed face to the wheel well. Also the nice comforting bead of Sikaflex around the edges. So far I've got about $90 in Sikaflex in the build...so far...
Welcome to my little world!
The wheel wells are 44", and a twin mattress is 38" so I've got a 6" gap between the mattress and the rear wall. I'll be rolling up a sleeping bag or two along their length and tucking it into the gap for a bit of extra width.
In this view you can see the top of the headboard.
What you can't see is there's another shelf about two inches below it. I'll be cutting various shaped holes in it to be able to place cups, glasses, iPads, etc, into it so they don't move around when I'm underway.
Hm....I guess I need to introduce you to my dog Dartagnan....Dart for short.
Well, guess where Dart and I slept last night?
Oh man, it was fabulous. First time sleeping in my very own bed in my very own home on wheels.
I love Putt!
It started by bolting a hugemungous 4x4 to the rear wall.
The 1x2 bolted up with it is 3/4" down from the 4x4 surface. This allows the bed platform 3/4" ply top surface to be flush with the 4x4 so I can put hinges on it. It will also allow me the space to later put 1" of insulation against the wall with a layer of luan adhered to it. That rear wall will be exposed to the external temps of the inside of the garage space behind it. That wall might get quite cold or hot, and it would suck to sleep right up next to it.
Then I installed the bed facing and trimmed around the periphery in like manner to support the edges of the bed platform.
Starting to look like a sleeping area now.
The width of the cabin from wall to wall is 83 3/4"...a number burned into my memory. A standard twin bed mattress is 74"...with an extra inch for some slack, 75". That leaves 8 3/4" of space for a headboard cubby with some shelves in it.
Slapped it all together and put the bed platform into place...and threw a mattress on it.
Here you can see the four bolts at the lower left that bolt the bed face to the wheel well. Also the nice comforting bead of Sikaflex around the edges. So far I've got about $90 in Sikaflex in the build...so far...
Welcome to my little world!
The wheel wells are 44", and a twin mattress is 38" so I've got a 6" gap between the mattress and the rear wall. I'll be rolling up a sleeping bag or two along their length and tucking it into the gap for a bit of extra width.
In this view you can see the top of the headboard.
What you can't see is there's another shelf about two inches below it. I'll be cutting various shaped holes in it to be able to place cups, glasses, iPads, etc, into it so they don't move around when I'm underway.
Hm....I guess I need to introduce you to my dog Dartagnan....Dart for short.
Well, guess where Dart and I slept last night?
Oh man, it was fabulous. First time sleeping in my very own bed in my very own home on wheels.
I love Putt!
Putts
I'll get there.
Working towards the point where I can putty, sand, and spray paint the interior. This paint job will be focused on getting a couple layers of paint throughout the entire interior including inside the cabinets. So I had to yank out the bed, headboard, toilet cover, countertop, etc. leaving the raw skeleton of the interior. There remains quite a bit of stuff to build inside: trim around the door; trim around the window; finish the top part of the room divider; and the biggest one, finish the seat platforms for the dinette.
Been real excited about that last one...and very unknowing in terms of exactly what to do. I knew I was going to buy a pair of front seats from a van of some sort---they're available brand new and cheap as companies take them out and replace them when they do custom builds. The problem is, despite being a big vehicle, every inch counts. I made my battery box as short as I could, but I knew it was a bit tall. Most automotive seats are fairly thick. It's also rare for them to have the old school ball bearing sliders that mount flat; nowadays it's usually integrated into the pedestal---which is often what makes them thick. Another thing that makes them thick is people like a far bit of cushion these days.
Anyway, I really couldn't finish the seat bases until I had my seats in hand. I been cruising ebay for take out seats and saw these; take outs from a Mercedes Metris, their full size family wagon.
Nice and flat...old school rails...$175 the pair (shipping was $150). Looked at some car reviews for Metris front seat comfort. Found one that said, "Seats were firm and a little short." It meant space saving to me, and they're Mercedes, so they've got to be reasonably high quality.
Sold!
Got out a couple of milk crates and plywood scraps to set them on and began measuring.
Finished the back dinette seat mount today. I hope to spend tens of thousands of hours in this seat.
The space underneath is where i'll keep all my current shoes.
Here it is more forward and fully reclined.
And here with the mock up dinette table.
When I had the other seat in the mocking it up, it looked really good for fit. The forward seat is a bit high due to the battery box, but in terms of how far they stick out, and their movement on the sliders, combined with the fact that the final table will also be able to slide along the wall forward and back, I think it's going to be almost perfect. I'm happy.
Been real excited about that last one...and very unknowing in terms of exactly what to do. I knew I was going to buy a pair of front seats from a van of some sort---they're available brand new and cheap as companies take them out and replace them when they do custom builds. The problem is, despite being a big vehicle, every inch counts. I made my battery box as short as I could, but I knew it was a bit tall. Most automotive seats are fairly thick. It's also rare for them to have the old school ball bearing sliders that mount flat; nowadays it's usually integrated into the pedestal---which is often what makes them thick. Another thing that makes them thick is people like a far bit of cushion these days.
Anyway, I really couldn't finish the seat bases until I had my seats in hand. I been cruising ebay for take out seats and saw these; take outs from a Mercedes Metris, their full size family wagon.
Nice and flat...old school rails...$175 the pair (shipping was $150). Looked at some car reviews for Metris front seat comfort. Found one that said, "Seats were firm and a little short." It meant space saving to me, and they're Mercedes, so they've got to be reasonably high quality.
Sold!
Got out a couple of milk crates and plywood scraps to set them on and began measuring.
Finished the back dinette seat mount today. I hope to spend tens of thousands of hours in this seat.
The space underneath is where i'll keep all my current shoes.
Here it is more forward and fully reclined.
And here with the mock up dinette table.
When I had the other seat in the mocking it up, it looked really good for fit. The forward seat is a bit high due to the battery box, but in terms of how far they stick out, and their movement on the sliders, combined with the fact that the final table will also be able to slide along the wall forward and back, I think it's going to be almost perfect. I'm happy.
Putts
I'll get there.
While I usually visualize myself and Dart alone in Putt, my best friend and motorcycle riding buddy Paul has plans to buy a rig, and we have long term plans of traveling together. Well, no doubt there will be situations where the weather is crappy outside and we'll have to hunker down inside the rigs. Which means I have to put another seat in the dinette so we can play dominos in comfort.
Ta-daa!
Like I said before, the battery box is a little tall, so my feet touch the floor but don't have much weight on them...but Paul is taller than I...c'est la vie. Other than that, the position of both seats is great.
The mock-up table is a bit to short, it'll be a couple of inches higher when I put the permanent one in. I'll also mount the table to the wall with one of these extrusions so that it can slide along the wall.
I sat at the table last night with my roommate Tyler and the spacing was dandy. When I slide both seats fully forward on their tracks and recline the rear seat, I can put my feet up on the forward seat and it's nice and comfy. Really happy with the spacing.
But there's another problem. While it doesn't happen much, there will be times when someone travels with me. Well, the stock jump seat in front might as well be a bed of nails. It's super uncomfortable, and there's nowhere to put your feet. A person could do a half hour, maybe, but longer than that is torture. They could, of course, sit at one of the dinette seats, but the taco window will have to be closed when moving so the view would suck.
What to do?
Ah-ha! I've had lots of time to think about that one. The battery box has a top, but the seat is mounted to another matching piece of plywood that clamps into place. The mechanics aren't built yet, but there will be a long block of wood against the wall making a groove the seat plywood slides into. On the walkway side of the seat I cut a long slot in the bottom piece and put block under the top plywood that fits in the groove.
Eventually there will be a couple of holes in the block into which I can insert "R" clips to hold the seat down.
In this pic you can see the two pieces of plywood under the forward dinette seat and how they stick out a bit. On the other side of the walkway you can just make out a block of wood I screwed into the cabinet. Eventually there will be a long cover over the water tank there making a lip that runs the length of the cabinet.
Sooooooooooo, I can lift the seat lift the seat out of the groove and flip it around 180 degrees.
When the cabinet doors and drawers are built, they'll be flush against the top of the seat platform keeping it locked in place.
Voila! A comfy passenger seat. If you slide it all the way forward on its runners you can get a pretty decent view outside. Got to work on the seat belt situation, but that will come along eventually.
Ta-daa!
Like I said before, the battery box is a little tall, so my feet touch the floor but don't have much weight on them...but Paul is taller than I...c'est la vie. Other than that, the position of both seats is great.
The mock-up table is a bit to short, it'll be a couple of inches higher when I put the permanent one in. I'll also mount the table to the wall with one of these extrusions so that it can slide along the wall.
I sat at the table last night with my roommate Tyler and the spacing was dandy. When I slide both seats fully forward on their tracks and recline the rear seat, I can put my feet up on the forward seat and it's nice and comfy. Really happy with the spacing.
But there's another problem. While it doesn't happen much, there will be times when someone travels with me. Well, the stock jump seat in front might as well be a bed of nails. It's super uncomfortable, and there's nowhere to put your feet. A person could do a half hour, maybe, but longer than that is torture. They could, of course, sit at one of the dinette seats, but the taco window will have to be closed when moving so the view would suck.
What to do?
Ah-ha! I've had lots of time to think about that one. The battery box has a top, but the seat is mounted to another matching piece of plywood that clamps into place. The mechanics aren't built yet, but there will be a long block of wood against the wall making a groove the seat plywood slides into. On the walkway side of the seat I cut a long slot in the bottom piece and put block under the top plywood that fits in the groove.
Eventually there will be a couple of holes in the block into which I can insert "R" clips to hold the seat down.
In this pic you can see the two pieces of plywood under the forward dinette seat and how they stick out a bit. On the other side of the walkway you can just make out a block of wood I screwed into the cabinet. Eventually there will be a long cover over the water tank there making a lip that runs the length of the cabinet.
Sooooooooooo, I can lift the seat lift the seat out of the groove and flip it around 180 degrees.
When the cabinet doors and drawers are built, they'll be flush against the top of the seat platform keeping it locked in place.
Voila! A comfy passenger seat. If you slide it all the way forward on its runners you can get a pretty decent view outside. Got to work on the seat belt situation, but that will come along eventually.
Putts
I'll get there.
And with that, it's time to remove everything to ready the interior for a couple coats of primer.
Lots of little tid bits at this point.
Started painting some of the interior bits.
Done with banging my head on sharp corners.
Now I can bang up against round corners.
Ran the router for about an hour softening all the hard edges.
Making sawdust, baby!
Drawer rails in.
Aaaaaaaand....thats it!
Then Putt's innards are all puttied, sanded, vacuumed, wiped down, and masked off ready for spray paint. A small electric heater is keeping it toasty and warm, and my buddy Wally should be here over the next couple of days spraying a couple coats of the base white primer to cover the whole nine yards.
So, I been doing the doors. Won't bore you with pics of cutting out rectangles of 3/4" ply, rounding the corners with a jig saw (using the industry standard house truck cabinet corner radius: tracing a small can of refried beans), belt-sanding the edge all square and smooth, and routing all the visible edges with another light sand.I'll just show you the finished product.
I will mention two other features: hinge pockets and the rest bar. Because these things are pretty heavy I need to take strain off the hinges---they're regular non-recessed cabinet hinges you can get at Home Depot; kinds cheap but the kind that will forever be available, and are simple and durable. So I installed that 3/4"x3/4" rail that rests on the cabinet frame. It'll help hold the door in place when I mark and drill the mounting holes, but more importantly, it will take the weight of the door as Putt bounces around rather than the hinges getting stressed out.
Also, notice the hinge pockets. They are dead-nuts on; after a light coat of paint I had to wiggle the hinge to get it in pushing the paint around a bit---it's tight. I'll be using screws where the hinge attaches to the door, but on the other side of the hinge I'll be using narrow bolts through the cabinet rails with washers and nylon lock nuts on the back side.
Here's the jig I made for routing the hinge pockets.
Been painting the doors, headboard parts, seat mounts, and counter tops in my living room. Doing about one table full of parts every two days. Sometimes it's one part, sometimes it's four.
I can tell you my hallway is filling up; and there are more bits downstairs; I'm about 60% of the way through, I guess.
Lots of little tid bits at this point.
Started painting some of the interior bits.
Done with banging my head on sharp corners.
Now I can bang up against round corners.
Ran the router for about an hour softening all the hard edges.
Making sawdust, baby!
Drawer rails in.
Aaaaaaaand....thats it!
Then Putt's innards are all puttied, sanded, vacuumed, wiped down, and masked off ready for spray paint. A small electric heater is keeping it toasty and warm, and my buddy Wally should be here over the next couple of days spraying a couple coats of the base white primer to cover the whole nine yards.
So, I been doing the doors. Won't bore you with pics of cutting out rectangles of 3/4" ply, rounding the corners with a jig saw (using the industry standard house truck cabinet corner radius: tracing a small can of refried beans), belt-sanding the edge all square and smooth, and routing all the visible edges with another light sand.I'll just show you the finished product.
I will mention two other features: hinge pockets and the rest bar. Because these things are pretty heavy I need to take strain off the hinges---they're regular non-recessed cabinet hinges you can get at Home Depot; kinds cheap but the kind that will forever be available, and are simple and durable. So I installed that 3/4"x3/4" rail that rests on the cabinet frame. It'll help hold the door in place when I mark and drill the mounting holes, but more importantly, it will take the weight of the door as Putt bounces around rather than the hinges getting stressed out.
Also, notice the hinge pockets. They are dead-nuts on; after a light coat of paint I had to wiggle the hinge to get it in pushing the paint around a bit---it's tight. I'll be using screws where the hinge attaches to the door, but on the other side of the hinge I'll be using narrow bolts through the cabinet rails with washers and nylon lock nuts on the back side.
Here's the jig I made for routing the hinge pockets.
Been painting the doors, headboard parts, seat mounts, and counter tops in my living room. Doing about one table full of parts every two days. Sometimes it's one part, sometimes it's four.
I can tell you my hallway is filling up; and there are more bits downstairs; I'm about 60% of the way through, I guess.
Putts
I'll get there.
Than Wally came over and sprayed.
Did two coats of white exterior satin latex.
Took four gallons! There's a lot of paint on there.
The only problem we had was the old plywood of the walls plywood leeching out it's tannin and yellowing the walls. I'll have to wait 'til it's really dry in a week or so and then roll on another coat of paint.
Yesterday I installed all the cabinet doors, and this morning I painted the gray of the lower part of the walls.
Put the bedding in there and Dart and I slept in Putt last night.
Gonna be a lot more of that.
Did two coats of white exterior satin latex.
Took four gallons! There's a lot of paint on there.
The only problem we had was the old plywood of the walls plywood leeching out it's tannin and yellowing the walls. I'll have to wait 'til it's really dry in a week or so and then roll on another coat of paint.
Yesterday I installed all the cabinet doors, and this morning I painted the gray of the lower part of the walls.
Put the bedding in there and Dart and I slept in Putt last night.
Gonna be a lot more of that.
Putts
I'll get there.
Slept in Putt a couple more nights; a small electric heater keeps it fairly warm, but the forecast for the next few days is more snow and below zero at night so no more of that for a few days.
Got all the materials in for the ceiling panels...but probably going to wait for it to warm up a bit. So, I've been busying myself with a few other things.
Got the toilet bits all painted and re-installed.
Quite a bit more construction to go within the toilet making bits to secure the bucket and an access hatch in the front. It's a little complicated to explain here; you'll see the plan as it unfolds.
With the ceiling next to go in I needed to get the 12V switching and fusing in place to hook up the ceiling lights and fans. Layed all the bits out on the electronic cabinet doors for size.
Then cut out the holes and repainted the exposed wood and installed the switches and bus bars.
Here's the front side.
Being as this is all marine grade switching the label kits had nautical terminology. Don't have a masthead light, but there were enough choices with the 20 that came with the switches and the 120 label extra kit that I could make reasonable choices, and I kinda like the idea of thinking of Putt as my little land yacht anyway. Here's the little spreadsheet I made to figure out what labels to use where.
Re-installed the door.
Gonna be dead-nuts easy to wire things up in this configuration.
Door closed.
Been thinking for quite a while about cabinet door latches. There's quite a bit of weight on that electronics door so cheezy clasps or magnet thingies ain't going to cut it for me. I've found nothing I like at Home Depot, so I decided to make my own. Got a piece of oak 1x3; routed the edges; cut into 3/4" pieces; drilled a bunch of holes; and made a bunch of bits.
Did a run to the hardware store for little rubber stoppers, springs, and the right sized hardware, and made the first prototype turnbuckle latch. Don't really know what they're called but turnbuckle latch was what I found on the web. I would have called them dogs, which is what we called the latches around watertight doors in the Coast Guard.
The base part will be gray and the turning part will be black.
Yeah, these doors ain't going to open when a can of ballistic refried beans decides to cut loose.
Ceiling next...when it warms up a bit.
Got all the materials in for the ceiling panels...but probably going to wait for it to warm up a bit. So, I've been busying myself with a few other things.
Got the toilet bits all painted and re-installed.
Quite a bit more construction to go within the toilet making bits to secure the bucket and an access hatch in the front. It's a little complicated to explain here; you'll see the plan as it unfolds.
With the ceiling next to go in I needed to get the 12V switching and fusing in place to hook up the ceiling lights and fans. Layed all the bits out on the electronic cabinet doors for size.
Then cut out the holes and repainted the exposed wood and installed the switches and bus bars.
Here's the front side.
Being as this is all marine grade switching the label kits had nautical terminology. Don't have a masthead light, but there were enough choices with the 20 that came with the switches and the 120 label extra kit that I could make reasonable choices, and I kinda like the idea of thinking of Putt as my little land yacht anyway. Here's the little spreadsheet I made to figure out what labels to use where.
Re-installed the door.
Gonna be dead-nuts easy to wire things up in this configuration.
Door closed.
Been thinking for quite a while about cabinet door latches. There's quite a bit of weight on that electronics door so cheezy clasps or magnet thingies ain't going to cut it for me. I've found nothing I like at Home Depot, so I decided to make my own. Got a piece of oak 1x3; routed the edges; cut into 3/4" pieces; drilled a bunch of holes; and made a bunch of bits.
Did a run to the hardware store for little rubber stoppers, springs, and the right sized hardware, and made the first prototype turnbuckle latch. Don't really know what they're called but turnbuckle latch was what I found on the web. I would have called them dogs, which is what we called the latches around watertight doors in the Coast Guard.
The base part will be gray and the turning part will be black.
Yeah, these doors ain't going to open when a can of ballistic refried beans decides to cut loose.
Ceiling next...when it warms up a bit.
Putts
I'll get there.
And with that last post, you're up to date and that's where we sit right now. Thanks for having a look.
It's friggen freezing up here in Montana right now---single digits---but the next couple of days should warm up to a balmy 26* by Wed-Thursday. Hoping to make a little progress on the ceiling.
It's friggen freezing up here in Montana right now---single digits---but the next couple of days should warm up to a balmy 26* by Wed-Thursday. Hoping to make a little progress on the ceiling.
