Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on building a canned ham in the spring time and so today I was perfecting my profile and had this crazy idea. I used an 11"x17" piece of graph paper and a bezier curve to draw it and still meet my height requirements at any given point in the trailer. The thing that had me wondering about my profile was...How in the heck do I transfer this to my full size trailer!? I plan on plotting on a giant graph on the plywood just like I did on the paper, so what I need is a really big bezier curve! It occured to me then: If I make a big curve out of nice stiff plywood, then I can not only draw the template with it but use it as a guide for my router! It would eliminate any free hand cutting....Any one try this yet?

I'll try to figure out how to put an image here to show any one not familiar with a bezier curve what one looks like.
I think the other term for this tool is a French curve.

I found a link. this is what I'm asking about, only made with wood. It could be a good addition to any tool kit!
http://seamslikealot.blogspot.com/2010/ ... rsize.html

My last build is sort of a Standrop. Not really a standy and not really a teardrop. But I first drew out a profile on paper. Then transferred to cheap 1/4" plywood. I drew it out by measuring as close as possible to my drawing. Then my eye took over. I found what looked good on a small piece on paper did not work completely. The best look was a full size mock up. After getting the pattern made on the 1/4" I traced the profile on my 3/4" sides. I over cut the lines of the pattern by about 1/4". Then I screwed the 1/4" pattern to the outside of my sides. This way the aluminum sheeting would cover the screw holes. Then I ran the router using a flush bit with a bearing on it around the pattern. That produced a great cut and and pattern for side 2 as well. The 1/4" pattern was also helpful in figuring where all the shelving, cabinets, door and windows would go before cutting things. Just draw everything on the pattern and stand back and look. Don't like it sand it off and reposition.

This is my 1/4" pattern sitting on the trailer for some perspective.



Here is finished product.

Did you free hand cut the pattern as you tweaked it? That's nice work by the way...

That's how I'm doing mine. I've just router cut the birch sides, it's worth taking the time to perfect a pattern as you'll save a lot of time in the long run.
http://mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47117

Here's my pattern for mock-up
[/url]

This may or may not help....

Years ago I was being cheap and decided to paint a sign on the side of one of my stores rather than paying a professional. My plan was to print the graphic onto graph paper then make a much larger graph on the building with chalk and transfer the design by hand.

While I was working one of my employees took my drawing and copied it onto a clear sheet using the copier, then rolled an old overhead projector out to the parking lot and turned it on. Much to my amazement it was a perfect and simple solution!! I could shrink or expand the image simply by moving the projector.

My suggestion for transferring a profile to "life size" is to do just as he did. Added benefits of it being very easy to re-size or change a design before you cut a single bit of wood.

one of my employees took my drawing and copied it onto a clear sheet using the copier, then rolled an old overhead projector out to the parking lot and turned it on.

You gave that employee a nice raise, right?

Great idea!

Rob

I printed out a sketch of the tear with a grid on it and then copied that grid onto the 1/4" pattern material. My wife numbered the grid and then roughed out the main points on the curves. I then used a long strip of wood and bent it to match the points. This provided smooth curves while staying close to the original design. After rough cutting the pattern with a jigsaw I smoothed it out with a combination of hand plane and a sanding block.

As mentioned above it is a good idea to screw the pattern down onto the actual wall. I didn't and just clamped it. In a couple of spots the bering on the router bit slipped in between the pattern and the wall causing a gouge. Now I have some repairs to make on the walls. Later, for other parts, I screwed the pattern and the parts to be routed straight to the workbench. That way nothing moved while I was routing.

There are some pics of us laying out the pattern in my album and also in our build thread.

Good luck

Onno

Like Woodbutcher, I made a template. Instead of 1/4" plywood, I used 1/4" mdf. First, I drew a 3" grid using a drywall square. I used a home-made compass to layout the radial curves. For the non-radial curves, I used a wood batten. (The fixed points are temporarily held in place with double-sided tape.)



Since I was using plywood as "framing" I drew in the shelf, face frame, bulkhead, and floor locations, as well as hardpoint locations for the electrical inlet, fenders, and wall-mounted interior lights. Then I cut the template. Here is a picture of it ready to trace onto the sidewall framing.



After I traced the template, I rough cut the plywood with a jigsaw. Then I afixed the template to the plywood with double-sided tape and used a router and pattern bit to clean up the edges.





In case you are wondering, the red marks are areas that I did not cut or route all the way through. I skinned the interior of the sidewalls and then came back later and routed the doors to separate them from the sidewalls.

Blotto Bros wrote:... one of my employees took my drawing and copied it onto a clear sheet using the copier, then rolled an old overhead projector out to the parking lot and turned it on ...

Something I've been suggesting/advocating for years ... ... works like a charm!

Looks like great minds think alike!! Of course that leaves me out since it wasn't my idea...

Never done it with a teardrop, but I built custom archery equipment off and on for a number of years. The best method I found to create a new bow form was to lay the whole thing out on thin stock, jigsaw it to near dimension, then block sand it to exact and smooth lines. One your lines were correct, use a router and a straight bit along the edge of your thin stock and into the 1 1/2 beam material we used for forms.

It works, and it saves a TON of sanding! Makes a lot of sawdust in a hurry, though.