Sawtooth XL Build
- Thread starter DanCooper
- Start date
Regarding the galley door, although I thought I strapped and braced it adequately to keep it square while the glue and screws set, it shifted a bit so it is not quite square. I know this is not a piano, but dang it, I want it to be as close to piano-like as it can be. Further, when I made the changes to Jess Neal's plans, I didn't give enough thought to it. I should have had the hinge set either at the break of the roof line or at least six inches forward of the break line to facilitate the tee moulding sealing better. two inches is not quite enough to work with. For those who haven't seen the actual planes, the galley door presented in the plans is a door that is in the rear panel. Maybe Jess can post a picture of the plan to show it. I thought the door would be too small for my vision of the galley space, so I changed it on the fly.
One aspect of ownership of any of the trailers on this forum is being a tour guide.
stomperxj
Explorer
The original hatch was curved at the top. It looks great but it was a gigantic pain in the *** to build:
I redesigned the galley in the plan set to make construction way easier:
As far as the black paint goes Dan, I'd do the frame and fender flares for sure. I think it will make it pop
I redesigned the galley in the plan set to make construction way easier:
As far as the black paint goes Dan, I'd do the frame and fender flares for sure. I think it will make it pop
Regarding galley hatches
I think that a modified original design would be best. If the curve were straightened out to resemble the design as it now stands, and if tee-moulding is used instead of original "as-built", the design would be simpler and easier to build. The difficulty of the original design was two-fold: the curve in the roofline and the sealing method used. straightening out the curve to an angle and using tee-moulding addresses both concerns.
On mundane issues, I've been working on gluing up a table top for the outside table, and some blocks for light switches and mounts. The light switch/mounting blocks are made from Curly Western Maple and look nice. I looked and looked for a ready made table top I could use or modify for use, but couldn't find anything. So I went to Home Depot and bought three pine stair treads (did you know they are made in China? I didn't!).
Once it is sanded and stained and finished it will be okay. Probably look just like a stair tread. If I cover it with a checkered table cloth no one will ever know they are supposed to be walking on it. Heck, maybe I should just lay one on it and glass it in with resin. Then I wouldn't have to launder it, right? Remember the decoupage craze from the 70's? No?
I have finished covering the fender wells with the carpet, and I will post photos tomorrow. The interior moulding is almost done as well. If I can get a good day of work in on the interior tomorrow, I will post some photos of all of it. Too much of today was taken up with getting the final suspension work done on the Subaru, but that is all done now.
Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th.
I think that a modified original design would be best. If the curve were straightened out to resemble the design as it now stands, and if tee-moulding is used instead of original "as-built", the design would be simpler and easier to build. The difficulty of the original design was two-fold: the curve in the roofline and the sealing method used. straightening out the curve to an angle and using tee-moulding addresses both concerns.
On mundane issues, I've been working on gluing up a table top for the outside table, and some blocks for light switches and mounts. The light switch/mounting blocks are made from Curly Western Maple and look nice. I looked and looked for a ready made table top I could use or modify for use, but couldn't find anything. So I went to Home Depot and bought three pine stair treads (did you know they are made in China? I didn't!).
Once it is sanded and stained and finished it will be okay. Probably look just like a stair tread. If I cover it with a checkered table cloth no one will ever know they are supposed to be walking on it. Heck, maybe I should just lay one on it and glass it in with resin. Then I wouldn't have to launder it, right? Remember the decoupage craze from the 70's? No?
I have finished covering the fender wells with the carpet, and I will post photos tomorrow. The interior moulding is almost done as well. If I can get a good day of work in on the interior tomorrow, I will post some photos of all of it. Too much of today was taken up with getting the final suspension work done on the Subaru, but that is all done now.
Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th.
See how the top has a slight bow in it? 24 hours later when I removed the clamps and let it sit for 8 hours, the bow inverted. Wood is a tree is a tree is a tree.
My 4th was pretty frustrating. I was putting in some moulding (the plastic screen moulding from HD because it is permanently white and bends easily) that should have taken maybe 10-15 minutes per side. Then I got to the part near the door sills. Uh-oh. Not enough room between the top of the sill and the screw head to get a screwdriver in there! Took a combination of the following three tools to drive 5-6 screws on each side. Each screw took "several" minutes. Care to guess where my morning went?
Then I started to mount the reading lights. I had glued up and finished these blocks from some Curly Western Maple.
I drilled the holes for the light's wires to pass through, predrilled the screw holes, and mounted the lights.
The bottom screw split the block as I tightened it. Bad words. So now I have to build another block or two. I was kind of discouraged at that point and put building the new parts off until today. But here is a shot of the other side showing the carpeting on the wheel wells. Looks pretty good, although not perfect.
Moved on to fabricating some braces for the stove. Not too pretty but they do stabilize it for bearing more weight.
The only other thing I accomplished was putting some stain on the tabletop. Frankly, it looks like cat puke. Not sure what I will do with it. Replace it at some point in the future I suppose. It is fairly heavy and I'm not happy with its appearance. If I weren't lazy I would drive over to Ikea and buy a table top there I could modify. Maybe on the way out of town.
I spent too much time running errands instead of working on the trailer yesterday. But (among other things) I did get the "porch" lights wired in and working.
Switch insralled and working:
Light is on, although sunlight obscures it (it was 84 in the sun when I took this. I quit working and went inside at this point):
Travel mode:
Switch insralled and working:
Light is on, although sunlight obscures it (it was 84 in the sun when I took this. I quit working and went inside at this point):
Travel mode:
Little bit by little bit . . .
Interior almost finished (doors for cabinets, some trim bits, maybe two more hooks. Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are installed, bear spray too. Also, put a LED strip light in the tongue box for those times when you need a little bit of light.
I put a coat of finish on the table top, and just when I was ready to recoat it the lawnmower started up. Since it was both dusty AND warm (80+), I took a break and started packing tools up. I also screwed around for a few hours trying to build a caddy for my griddle to hang it on the galley wall. Still not happy with it so I'm not sure it is ever going to be mounted.
Also remounted the aft Yakima rail. One of the bolts wasn't tightening properly but got that worked out and now it is tight and solid feeling.
Finally, since I burned up a 30-year-old bench sander yesterday, I bought and installed a new one today. Nothing like running a 4x36in belt sander for all it is worth, making sawdust by the gallon, and notice not only lots of smoke but shooting sparks as well. It was a sphincter slamming moment. No fire though, and no other damage. The sander did make a very quick trip outdoors though, where it remained overnight. New sander works well. No sparks.
Interior almost finished (doors for cabinets, some trim bits, maybe two more hooks. Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are installed, bear spray too. Also, put a LED strip light in the tongue box for those times when you need a little bit of light.
I put a coat of finish on the table top, and just when I was ready to recoat it the lawnmower started up. Since it was both dusty AND warm (80+), I took a break and started packing tools up. I also screwed around for a few hours trying to build a caddy for my griddle to hang it on the galley wall. Still not happy with it so I'm not sure it is ever going to be mounted.
Also remounted the aft Yakima rail. One of the bolts wasn't tightening properly but got that worked out and now it is tight and solid feeling.
Finally, since I burned up a 30-year-old bench sander yesterday, I bought and installed a new one today. Nothing like running a 4x36in belt sander for all it is worth, making sawdust by the gallon, and notice not only lots of smoke but shooting sparks as well. It was a sphincter slamming moment. No fire though, and no other damage. The sander did make a very quick trip outdoors though, where it remained overnight. New sander works well. No sparks.
Thank you, indiedog. Originally I envisioned an all natural wood look for the interior. Shifting to the bendable plywood to accommodate the curves in the front/nose made me rethink that. The new material was almost white in color, and the grain was very open. It also needs a very good sealer to prevent any future mold issues. The Rust-oleum Ultra Cover seemed like a good product to try, and I am very pleased with the product. The contrast gives it kind of a nautical look, to which I am partial. Most importantly, my wife likes it, and I hope to entice her into it shortly.
And that's a wrap . . .
Busy, busy day. I finally found a trivet for the galley counter top. Am I the only one who doesn't put hot pots on the counter? Anyway, I found it in a store where they sell old pre-used things not valuable enough to call antiques. They also sell candles and incense, which made getting in and out of there a difficult proposition. Please note that patchouli oil does not smell any better now than it did in the sixties, and since pot is legal you need not try to cover up the smell. So lose that ******t.
Trivet. $8.00 plus tax. Made in China.
This is the galley packed and ready to travel.
And this is the galley ready for use. Only things I don't have up on the wall are the bowls. For this edition, they are in the food box which is in the car.
I say "this edition" because I made all these holders in a hurry, and I'm not totally happy with fit or finish. So this is the end of Phase I, and tomorrow I head out to do some traveling with it to see what needs to be added, deleted, or changed.
Thank you for reading along. My hat's off to Jess Neal who designed this trailer. I wish I had executed his plan better, but then I'm seldom satisfied with the work I do. I kinda like the cup holder in zebra wood tho . . .
Busy, busy day. I finally found a trivet for the galley counter top. Am I the only one who doesn't put hot pots on the counter? Anyway, I found it in a store where they sell old pre-used things not valuable enough to call antiques. They also sell candles and incense, which made getting in and out of there a difficult proposition. Please note that patchouli oil does not smell any better now than it did in the sixties, and since pot is legal you need not try to cover up the smell. So lose that ******t.
Trivet. $8.00 plus tax. Made in China.
This is the galley packed and ready to travel.
And this is the galley ready for use. Only things I don't have up on the wall are the bowls. For this edition, they are in the food box which is in the car.
I say "this edition" because I made all these holders in a hurry, and I'm not totally happy with fit or finish. So this is the end of Phase I, and tomorrow I head out to do some traveling with it to see what needs to be added, deleted, or changed.
Thank you for reading along. My hat's off to Jess Neal who designed this trailer. I wish I had executed his plan better, but then I'm seldom satisfied with the work I do. I kinda like the cup holder in zebra wood tho . . .
