Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi All,

This weekend I installed the aluminum molding around my door frames and the galley wall tops.

I've never worked with aluminum before and it took me a bit to figure out a good method to cut, trim, and install the molding.

I thought I'd share what worked for me...

The walls on my trailer are 1.5" thick so I used 3/4" angle, but I had to trim one side down to 3/8" to bend.

I used a metal cutoff blade on my table saw for the cut and trim of the molding. Home Depot sells them for about $5.00. You'll need eye protection, gloves, and long sleeve shirt.

I also masked the piece I was cutting, I found that it helps reduce the amount of flying particles.



I trimmed the angle molding to 3/8" on one side...



Shown are the rough pieces of molding after cutting...





Then I filed the molding, which was easy, just time consuming...



Here is the clean molding and the rough piece of scrap...



Next I marked the spacing for the screw holes and used a drill bit as a quick center guide...



Here I temporarily install the molding, notice the clamps to hold it in place...



Next I countersunk the holes for the screw heads to sit flush...



Here is the Galley Wall top with one piece of molding...



I was able to bend the molding on the wall without having to heat the molding. I used clamps and to keep the molding close to the wall and went slow and gentle...



Ta Daaa...



Hope this helps...

-phil

Damn! That looks real nice! Especially on the galley sides.

Thanks for the info. This has been on my mind for a few days now. Wondering just what and how and when.

Not really at that point but I like to plan ahead....

Ken

Yeah..................looks nice.

Thanks for those pics.

Barb

Excellent tutorial... THANKS!!!

cablerunners... Looks really good! You did a nice job.

I know you used an abrasive "cut off" blade and it worked well. But, you can also cut aluminum with a carbide tipped saw blade. I use a thin kirf 80 tooth combination blade and it does a great job. The advantage is it leaves a clean edge. I do take many precautions, like you did. I set up the saw with multiple feather boards and have even rabbeted a hold-down board so the metal was literally pushed through a "slot" to cut it before. It generally took more time to set up than make the cuts... but' it's worth it for safety and almost foolproof results.

Just something that I do is to lay whatever aluminum on top of a piece of scrap wood when I rip it on a table saw with a carbide blade, or if you can, sandwich it with sacrificial wood...reduces the chatter on the blade and I also raise the blade higher than what is normal for wood, to help reduce the kickback...other opinions may vary...Doug

...nice job CR...we use the same techniques that Brick and Doug describe...almost any power tool used to cut wood will work on AL...be sure to follow all saftey procedures outlined on various places on this board...
madjack

First--thank you for posting your tutorial.

A couple of safety concerns--

Remember that using "woodworking" tools to machine aluminum is a trade off. Spending $175 on a metal cutting bandsaw from Harbor Freight might sound expensive, but cheap compared to a trip to the emergency room.

I have never put a cutoff wheel in a tablesaw, but I would think it would still be wise to have a zero clearance insert around that blade. A little loss of focus could let the cutoff strip get caught between the blade and the hole, and then nasty things happen.

As stated in the other posts, feather boards and hold downs to control the path of the metal. And by all means gloves, long sleeves and full face shield.

My tools of choice now for cutting aluminum are jig saw and band saw. Just remember that a woodworking band saw has rubber "tires" and the shavings will imbed in the tires.

I'm not trying to scare anyone away from using the tools most of us have in our shops to cut aluminum because it can be done. Many of us have proved it. Just don't forget that cutting and trimming the aluminum pieces is one of the most dangerous aspects of these builds. If I were starting over with my build, I would budget in a cheap metal cutting bandsaw to quickly and safely modify all that aluminum angle. And don't even ask if I will cut a piece of aluminum, angle or flat, with a chop saw--I won't do it.

Keep up the good work on your build. It looks great.

That looks good Phil. The only thing I did different is cut a piece of aluminum flashing to fill the gap between the angle on the doors. But my gap was larger than yours.

Nice solution bledsoe! Heh, you could even do it with anodized colored piece as an accent (hmmm... I'll jot that down now before I forget!).

I was lucky enough to have another builder come and help me one Saturday. He showed me that.