Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm almost ready to begin applying the aluminium sheet to the walls. Would it be best to cut out the hole for the doors before I apply the sheets or should I wait until they are glued in place.

Barry

I held my aluminum sheet up to the side of the trailer and traced the profile and the door opening onto the backside of the sheet, then I cut it out with my jig saw. It worked pretty well for me. Just be careful when cutting.





Endo

You could use a jig saw or a router. I used the jig saw to cut the door first then the router to trim the aluminum to size after puttting it on. I did this so as not to ruin the material if I made a mistake. I also put down a couple of rows of tape so the metal surface was not scratched. Be careful of metal chips sliding under the cutting tool and scratching the metal surface. Best of luck to you.

I glued my aluminum to the side then cut the door out of the aluminum with a jig saw. The cut out piece is then used to cover the door. Trim router was used to finish the cut.

Geron

I sandwiched the aluminum between the plywood sides before cutting the profile out. I then cut the profile and cut out the doors, so that all 4 pieces are an exact match. Just be careful if your aluminum has a 'good' side or not (like one side has a color or different finish).



Kerry

Guys,

I used my jigsaw as several of you suggested and a pair of tin snips for the fiddly bits - success!

I cut out the door openings using air nibblers after the side skins were attached. I drilled a small 1/4 inch hole in the lower from corner from the inside out so I could have a starting point in the exact location I wanted. I then proceed with the cut from the outside using the the wall as guide on the blind side. The painters tape you see in the photo was used to prevent scratches from the cutting tool.

You can also use a router, but you will need to slow the cutting speed down using a speed controller of the bit will do more melting than cutting. The second photo shows the router method being used to cut out the window openings. The router method results in a more finished flush cut, but the downside is the aluminum chips it creates. You will find these chips everywhere for weeks afterwards.

Michael, What kind of bit did you use?

asianflava wrote:Michael, What kind of bit did you use?

Second that.

I used a 1/2 inch dia. bottom bearing pattern bit similar to the one shown here:

Thanks, Michael. That info is greatly appreciated!

If you can't slow the router down, you might want to use an upcut spiral bit...typically they have 4 cutting flutes, especially the ones made for milling machines...really smooth cut, almost no chatter...and always wear face protection...not just goggles...you'll also need a jig as I haven't found a bit like this with a bearing on it....the straight cut ones can gall up and that's why you want to slow the speed to give the flutes a chance to dump the material...Just what I've found out....Doug