Warping Problem

[drammons]

I'm looking to resume construction of my TD sometime very soon, but I've got a problem. The sides of the trailer in the galley area are warped, and I'm not sure how to correct it. What's worse is that both sides are warped in the same direction.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[halfdome, Danny]

Depending on your cabinet and counter top design,
it could be pulled flat if you made the galley cabinet as a pre built unit with ends, top rails and back rails top & bottom like a box kite.
Screw and glue the 3/4" plywood rails to the 3/4" ends, your rear bulkhead and floor.
Now that you have a solid cabinet carcass attached to the teardrop you then could attach the teardrop sides to your cabinet ends, (if all is square and solid) thus pulling the warp flat with a pipe clamp.
The counter top if wall to wall may also help pull it together too.
No guarantees since I can't actually see it in person. Good luck, Danny

[drammons]

So here's what I've done... or begun rather. Since part of my galley cabinet is already in due to also being the back wall, I'm attempting to treat it by building a jig to hold it correctly and using water/steam to soften the wood.

Built a square frame out of 2x4s and screwed it to the offending areas. And I'm treating it with a high-pressure steamer over the course of what will probably be several weeks. I still need to do a little tweaking on the right size, but the adjustment is perfect on the left side.

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[Miriam C.]

That is a great solution! I would be careful with the steam as you could end up de-laminating the ply!

I think the clamps will pull it in. I did that with mine and it worked. Then I used pocket screws under the counter to keep it there. The face framing is also glued to the side.

[doug hodder]

I would have just made the counter top and pulled the sides into it and attached them after pulling it into shape with clamps, it's not that far off. Seems like a lot of effort for something that may still do what it wants depending on the humidity or lack of support. Just my opinion. Doug

[kennyrayandersen]

The only way to make sure (the countertop might not extend out far enough to completely cure that problem) that it doesn’t flex out is to increase the stiffness of the side wall. A stiffener (the 2X4 might have been a bit of an overkill) (it could even be curved and just below where the hatch makes contact) could be attached (glued and screwed) to the sidewall after, as Doug pointed out, bringing the sides together with some clamps. Then it won’t spring back out.

[Arne]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drammons/4740637459/sizes/l/

[drammons]

You all have been very helpful. I'm going to continue working with it for a few weeks and see what I can come up with. Happy 4th!