Status Report and Plywood Expansion & Weight Questions

[greenchicken]

Good evening all,
Wanted to share the some update picture, and also ask a handful of questions:

Plywood Expansion:

I do not typically work with plywood. Do I need to leave room for expansion when I start building my shelves?

Plywood Weight

I have plenty of nice 3/4 plywood scraps, but I am resident to use for weight consideration. Soul I by some 1/2 and 3/4 niche birch ply for all this?

And now for some pictures:

[greenchicken]

First Cut

TearDropFirstCut (1).jpg (9.65 KiB) Viewed 1102 times

[greenchicken]

TearDropWalls (1).jpg (8.54 KiB) Viewed 1099 times

Walls Up

[greenchicken]

Inside

TearDropInside2 (1).jpg (7.78 KiB) Viewed 1098 times

[redbicycle]

3/4 birch will probably be slightly heavier than 3/4 construction plywood. If not at least the same weight. The question really comes down to your tow vehicle vs your finances. I used a mixture of 1/2 and 1/4 for my interior to reduce weight. I discarded a large amount of 3/4 scraps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KTM_Guy]

Plywood doesn't expand and contract like solid wood or metal. It can swell if not sealed well.

I used my 3/4" cut offs. But I did use 1/4" and 1/2" too. I even weighted the difference between 1/2" and 3/4" of the same size and it's not much. At least mot for me to worry about. But 10# here and there can really add up. The place to cut weight is with metal.

Todd

PS your pictures are really huge. I have to right click on them and open in another tab to see them.

[working on it]

Plywood doesn't expand and contract like solid wood or metal. It can swell if not sealed well.

* As KTM Guy stated, plywood that has been sealed (sealed well) doesn't absorb or lose moisture content, thus doesn't warp or swell.

* I used 3/4" plywood (with phenolic resin-bonded plies) all around, and for the galley shelf, and also used 1/2" and 3/4" oak dimensional lumber pieces inside the cabin for shelving, door, A/C, and window framing. I used up to 6 coats of polyurethane "mix" (with several extra applications to the edges, to be sure of saturation), then pure poly, and finally, acrylic enamel to seal the wood outside, and one coat of acrylic inside. All seams were joined and protected by using PL Premium adhesive, as well as all drilled holes thru the skin sealed with PL, also.

* But, 3/4" plywood can add up to become rather heavy. My "little" 4x8 squareback TTT weighs in at around 2100 lbs travel-ready (weight fluctuates from trp-to-trip, as changes are made everytime). I'm sure that it is extremely overweight due to overkill in the items carried on-board (generator, A/C, redundant supplies, etc.), extra bracing of all structural members, as well as extra steel reinforcement of the basic frame (rolling weight was 400 lbs, before adding framerail braces, much beefier suspension components, and larger/heavier tires). That's just the way I roll...make everything stronger (and heavier, alas) than necessary, but inline with my belief that more is better ?!?

* I'm also sure that prudent use of the heavier 3/4" plywood will strengthen your build, but keep a running weight log, lest your trailer might grow much heavier than initially intended, as mine did. I had planned to use my '09 Chevy HHR Panel to tow it (tow weight max = 1000 lbs), but when my weight log showed it to be heavier than that, with all "needed" items installed, I decided to add more, and tow with my '04 Chevy 2500HD pickup (w/beefed-up suspension & transmission, capable of towing 12k lbs). Initial weighing at the local scale showed it to be 1280 lbs, empty. With travelling gear added, 1438 lbs on my first camp-out! Many alterations in the 6 years since then, have made it grow to 2100 lbs today. Beware!

[tony.latham]

I have plenty of nice 3/4 plywood scraps, but I am resistant to use for weight consideration.

If I recall, the difference between a 1/2" sheet of Baltic and a 3/4" is about ten pounds. So unless you are throwing a full sheet in, you won't gain much weight. Plan A on my next build was to use 1/2" plywood for the bulkhead but I've decided I'm giving up too much such as 1/4" mortise joints in the galley and I'll just have to swallow a few more pounds with 3/4".

And as mentioned above, plywood doesn't (practically) move.

And nooo... there is no such thing as scrap wood unless it's been in a pile for over five years.

Capish?

Tony

[greenchicken]

I Concur..... there is no such thing as scrap wood, only material waiting for a purpose.

So... when it come to posting pictures I am having a devil of a time.

I am on a Mac using iphoto.

Full & Large are too big

I tried medium and it is too small.

Any recommendations

[tony.latham]

So... when it come to posting pictures I am having a devil of a time.

Good question. I too use a Mac. I go to IMGUR, set the downsize to 640x480 and upload.



I'll troll along here and see if someone suggests something so I could be persuaded to upload my pics here.

Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

I Concur..... there is no such thing as scrap wood, only material waiting for a purpose.

So... when it come to posting pictures I am having a devil of a time.

I am on a Mac using iphoto.

Full & Large are too big

I tried medium and it is too small.

Any recommendations

FWIW, your pictures look fine on my Windows 7 machine. Slightly small, but certainly large enough to see what you are doing.

Did someone mention material waiting for a purpose!?



This is what happens when you won't let your home builder haul away any wood from the job site. Can't believe the basement was ever so clean! (Now it's full of scr...er, I mean material waiting for a purpose, cut off of the wood I'm using to build a tear drop.

Tom

[KTM_Guy]

I'm on a Mac too, all my photos go into Lightroom then I resize on export to 700 px on the long side. Then up load to the forum. It's kind of a slow process but it works.

I was a real pack rat before we moved. When I had to clean the shop some friends and relatives got some great deals on wood, plumbing, and electrical supplies, tools. I got rid of probably 3/4 of my hardwood. And still moved with me 300+ board feet, mostly stuff I got at great deals and can't afford to replace. 10"+ wide FAS oak, 4/4 and 6/4 teak, 4/4 Walnut, 4/4 cherry. Unfortunately all the quarter sawn cherry I had got damaged.

Now I try to be aware of my cut offs and use them if I can first.

Todd