Building The Atma Travelear Teardrop

[nevadatear]

Radial arm saw! Oh my thumb, my thumb. ! Glad you are not so stupidly inclined! Great work, Dave, more and more better each day!

[DMcCam]

You are so right Rudy, the whole structure feels a lot more solid.

Boy did i think of you yesterday Debbie. I had cut all of the blocks with the curve against the guide rail (like you are supposed to) on the radial saw accept one. I turned it around with the bend pointing away from the rail and BANG!!! The blade bit into it and smacked my hand between the piece and the guide rail! It felt like I shanked a baseball bat! Immediately I checked digits and then everything else for damage; only aching fingers. Very thankful that I got the lesson sans blood.

Installed the upper galley cabinet today. Looks like it did in the earlier pictures accept less gaps.

Cheers,

Dave

[GuyllFyre]

This is why I got rid of the radial arm saw and got a cheapie chop saw.
While the little 8" blade doesn't have the depth the radial arm had, it's much safer for all the little cuts.

[DMcCam]

Hi GuyllFyre, Haven't ever had this kind of energetic event happen to me with the saw. A momentary loss of focus is all that saw needed. When I turned the piece around, I had that feeling that there was something about doing it. So I checked to see that my hands were well out of the way of the blade instead of remembering why you don't cut that way. Didn't count on it blowing apart the end of the block.

The saw is a permanent fixture in my brothers shop. His chop saw is a portable one so I only use it when it's there.

Dave

[S. Heisley]

You're doing a beautiful job, Dave.

That radial arm saw incident must have been most alarming! ...Glad you're okay.

[Cliffmeister2000]

I saw an ad in the paper about 30 years ago that read,

__________________________
For Sale

Jointer / planer

Used once to cut off thumb.
__________________________

All it takes is a microsecond

[Bob Patterson]

Dave,
I have been watching your build since I joined this awsome site. I've watched Tom and Thomas build beautiful tears. I can't tell you how impressed I am with yours. I have been a carpenter and wood worker for years. I am humbled by your talent. I will be starting my own build in a few weeks and hope you don't mind if I borrow (steal) most of your ideas. Keep up the great work and please keep the pics coming.
Bob

[DMcCam]

Thank you Sharon, I appreciated it.

Hi Cliff, you're right about a microsecond. Good lesson.

Hey Bob, welcome to the craziness sir! Thank you for your kind compliments on my efforts. Of course you can use any of my ideas on you build; that's why I posted them! When I found this wonderful community of great folks, I too was looking to build one of these little trailers. A lot of my ideas are borrowed from the members here. The only things unique to my design are how I laid things out and my profile. I highly recommend Steve Frederick's shop manual for anyone doing their first build. It's well laid out and covers just about everything but aluminum skinning.

Remember to post those pictures so we can join in your journey.

All the best,

Dave

[kinto]

to reiterate what everybody else has said, it's looking awesome dave!




kent

[Woodstramp]

Dave,

When you do get this thing finished, you need to "70's style" pimp-rooster-strut circles around the rig saying "Yeah, I be bad, I be bad." You've earned it.

You are one of these folk here that are in another league. Glad you, in that group, share your builds.

[WhitneyK]

Wow! You have amazing craftsmanship!

[atahoekid]

Finally got back to checking in on your build. That is some beautiful work. For someone who claims to have never built cabinets, you did an amazing job. I built my kitchen cabinets and I know my work pales in comparison and I think I did a very nice job. Keep up the great work. Hope to see this one in person soon. Yours and Down Under Techs and Monstero and all the other great No NV builds. Simply awesome

[DMcCam]

Thank you very much gentlemen!!! Your compliments and encouragement keep the flames burning on this puppy.

We got quite a bit done over the last two weeks even with last weeks tent camping thrown in...all the cabinet fit and assembly is done! Yeah baby!!!


Upper aft cabinets with the doors closed.


This shot shows the 1/4" ply electrical run cover in place.


I finally routed the hand grabs for the drawers under the cabinet.


The new hinges worked just right for the little media door. Now I just need to make the fold-out wire rack.




A couple of shots showing how the adjustable shelves look installed.


Got the top galley cabinet installed with new sliding doors (I drilled one of the holes in the wrong edge...). You can see the 1/4" wiring chase cover inside.


The galley all ready for finish.


While I was cutting 1/4" ply, I got the interior cover cut for the tongue box done.








A few shots of the front cabinets with their doors all nice and fitted up. There's more room than I figured in the big lower ones which were intended for nightly shoe storage. Our shoes will easily fit in the center one. I'm sure we'll find a use for the extra storage.


Yes, that's the first layer of insulation installed in the roof! We'll be on to wiring soon!

All the best,

Dave

[aggie79]

Dave,

Your cabinetry is stunning! What finish are you planning to use on your interior walls and cabinets?

It is easy to see that you planned everything to great detail before diving in to build. (Wish I had done that, particulary on my electrical system.)

Nice tight fit on the roof insulation, BTW!

Take care,
Tom

[grant whipp]

Lookin' Great!, Dave ... ...! I can hardly wait to see this one finished!

CHEERS!

Grant