Finished Building Teardrop # 3
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:08 amAfter spending the last 6 months remodeling almost everything in our rental house I�m back to continuing my teardrop #3 build.
I wasn�t going to bore everyone with another of my same builds but after having a PM conservation with Doug we realized the forum needed another build thread for newbies or whoever would be interested.
I take great pains to get the details just right or it just doesn�t leave the shop. I make no apologies as that�s the way I was taught & expected to build things. As many of you know it�s very satisfying to build something to the best of your ability no matter what level your at. To build anything less your just short changing yourself.
Last week I started scratching my head �Now Just Where Was I ?�
I had the cabin doors glued up since I ran them with the new rental kitchen so I preceded to size them and make a run of �" x 7/8" Walnut beads to trim out the doors. I also ran my original idea of matching Walnut sliding door tracks with matching bead.
After the doors were hung I realized I need to skin the exterior with the aluminum sheets.
On TD #2 & this build I used .032 5052 4'x12 sheets and did a 4" lap seam (see photo) to finish up the height of my 54" sides. Contrary to popular forum belief I use contact cement to glue my sides on and have not had any plywood ripping problems. It's a very weak glue and is basically rubber. I used VHB tape to �Weld� the 4" lap seam together. The VHB tape requires a 72 hour set up time and not under stress so the contact glue de-stresses the sheets.
The dowel rods are to keep the sheet away from the glue until the right moment. Notice I have two particle board boxes at the correct height to place the sheet over the first piece for a perfect level line. It's a great extra hand, just got to be sure the sheet lays perfectly flat on the boxes.
A 5' x 12' sheet of .050 5052 aluminum would normally cover the roof of my build from the galley hinge to just under the roll pans. Alaska Copper in Seattle only had one badly damaged sheet so I had to go to plan �B�.
I bought 2 sheets of the .050 5' x 10' aluminum and I�m doing a lap seam like the sides using the same VHB tape. Fortunately that lap seam will be mostly covered by the tongue box and I�ll put some Rhino Liner looking self stick sheeting over the lap seam that will be exposed to the eye, for tow vehicle rock guard protection.
I covered the doors and Sunday my buddy will help me lay the 5'x10' sheet on the roof over that awful messy Henry�s Outdoor Carpet Adhesive from Lowes. I�ll have to let it set up under blocks and tow strapping so I'll continue on the galley cabinet that I made parts for.
I�ll update my Picture Trail album that's under my signature line photo as work progresses. You can also click on the WWW button for individual photos to view. Thanks for looking,
Danny
I wasn�t going to bore everyone with another of my same builds but after having a PM conservation with Doug we realized the forum needed another build thread for newbies or whoever would be interested.
I take great pains to get the details just right or it just doesn�t leave the shop. I make no apologies as that�s the way I was taught & expected to build things. As many of you know it�s very satisfying to build something to the best of your ability no matter what level your at. To build anything less your just short changing yourself.
Last week I started scratching my head �Now Just Where Was I ?�
I had the cabin doors glued up since I ran them with the new rental kitchen so I preceded to size them and make a run of �" x 7/8" Walnut beads to trim out the doors. I also ran my original idea of matching Walnut sliding door tracks with matching bead.
After the doors were hung I realized I need to skin the exterior with the aluminum sheets.
On TD #2 & this build I used .032 5052 4'x12 sheets and did a 4" lap seam (see photo) to finish up the height of my 54" sides. Contrary to popular forum belief I use contact cement to glue my sides on and have not had any plywood ripping problems. It's a very weak glue and is basically rubber. I used VHB tape to �Weld� the 4" lap seam together. The VHB tape requires a 72 hour set up time and not under stress so the contact glue de-stresses the sheets.
The dowel rods are to keep the sheet away from the glue until the right moment. Notice I have two particle board boxes at the correct height to place the sheet over the first piece for a perfect level line. It's a great extra hand, just got to be sure the sheet lays perfectly flat on the boxes.
A 5' x 12' sheet of .050 5052 aluminum would normally cover the roof of my build from the galley hinge to just under the roll pans. Alaska Copper in Seattle only had one badly damaged sheet so I had to go to plan �B�.
I bought 2 sheets of the .050 5' x 10' aluminum and I�m doing a lap seam like the sides using the same VHB tape. Fortunately that lap seam will be mostly covered by the tongue box and I�ll put some Rhino Liner looking self stick sheeting over the lap seam that will be exposed to the eye, for tow vehicle rock guard protection.
I covered the doors and Sunday my buddy will help me lay the 5'x10' sheet on the roof over that awful messy Henry�s Outdoor Carpet Adhesive from Lowes. I�ll have to let it set up under blocks and tow strapping so I'll continue on the galley cabinet that I made parts for.
I�ll update my Picture Trail album that's under my signature line photo as work progresses. You can also click on the WWW button for individual photos to view. Thanks for looking,
Danny
to pick up a vintage tow vehicle for the teardrop. I've got the aluminum all cleaned up and ready for the RV insert molding. Need to go see the state DOL to get the 55 Chevy registered and pay the use tax 
. Will resume the build in a day or two. More pictures of the 55 later in another thread 