Out of square?

[kenafp]

It may be too late to correct this. But as I got along with my build, I sorta noticed that my measurements were a tad off.
And the body doesn't seem to be square anymore. I don't know what I did, but here's the dilemma. ..
I'm almost at the point of putting on my galley lid hinge support on the main body.
With one side being off by 1/4 -1/2 inch, do I install the support square to the wall, or do I measure from the end of the galley? Theoretically, I can see my galley lid either looking a little crooked when opened , or having to be built off-square to compensate for the error.

[dales133]

I haven't got that close to then end of my build but I'm a qualified tiler with alot of building and cabinet making experience and my advise would be make you hinge spar square to your best wall and compensate with the rest.
Realy important that you hinge square especially if you've never done this kind of thing as it gives you a place to start you know is correct

[backstrap bandit]

I would do the same thing dales133 said I would rip a piece of material to add to the spar or re cut the spar altogether but cut it out of square to square things up but if you continue as is you r looking to have some real problems

[kenafp]

Thanks. I will be attaching the hinge to my galley back wall. I will make sure it is square on one side wall.

[halfdome, Danny]

I have a pretty good guess what went wrong with your out of square build.
Occasionally I have run into sheet stock (usually plywood from other than North America produced) that is out of square when you buy it.
You can cut it on a perfectly square table saw and it will still be out of square.
You're just mimicking the out of square sheet.

To square a sheet up I do the following.
I rip to the desired width first.
I then use a home built square crosscut sled that accepts up to 30" wide stock to square up one edge and then cut to length using the fence.
If I run into a situation where I need a piece wider than what my sled will accept I clamp on a straight edge and use a router to square up the sheet.
If you don't have a sled the router method will work just fine.

Make sure your framing square is actually square by placing it onto a piece of sheet stock and drawing a line
(on the inside of the 24" leg) then flip over the square and try to draw the same line on the same side of the square.
If the lines don't match up then you square is out of square.
There are ways to fix a square with a nail set and hammer that I won't go into here.

I'd also check for square by measuring from opposing corners with your tape measure.
The measurements should be exactly the same to be square.
I hope this is of some help as you progress through your build.
Danny

[tony.latham]

Ken:

If you swear us all to secrecy, no one will ever notice this blip when you hit the road and start giving "tear tours."

I've got a few blips on mine that are left out of the walkarounds and will remain a secret unless a fellow builder shows up and wants the "insider tour." But that's after they've given me the secret Teardrop Builder's Handshake.

Tony

[ctstaas]

I agree with Danny. When I built mine the frame came out perfectly square but the plywood was over a 1/16" out from the factory so when I married the cabin to the frame I had some splaining to do. It wasn't that big of a fix and is not visable now. As long as the side are similar minor variations in out of square are not too hard to fix. I also think the hinge should be square when installed ( what ever square is?).
To check for square I always measure corner to corner diagonally. To establish a square line I draw a 3-4-5 triangle. It also contains 30-60-90 degree angles and can be used to see if one corner is square.
Enjoy, Chris

[KCStudly]

A 3-4-5 triangle is not the same as a 30-60-90.

Using 4 as a baseline, it's more like 2.3 - 4 - 4.62 inches

Angles of a 3-4-5 triangle are 36.87 - 53.13 - 90 deg

SOHCAHTOA

[dales133]

Yea any multiple of 3 4 5 will work just make it as long as practicle.
I often use it for squaring up decks or wall frames

[Redneck Teepee]

A 3-4-5 triangle is not the same as a 30-60-90.

Using 4 as a baseline, it's more like 2.3 - 4 - 4.62 inches

Angles of a 3-4-5 triangle are 36.87 - 53.13 - 90 deg

SOHCAHTOA

3 squared equals 9.... 4 squared equals 16.... they total 25 and the square root of 25 is 5.....3, 4, 5 method is correct

[KCStudly]

Undisputed. 3-4-5 is an excellent way to find exactly 90 deg. And I agree whole heartily with dales133, use the largest multiple that fits your part for best accuracy.

It is just not the same as trying to find angles of 30 and 60 degs.

[Tripmaker]

Here is a possibility. I don't know what you are using for a frame, but when I did my build I used a bolt together Red Trailer. On each of the sides the side rail overlapped the cross member. When I installed my floor and bolted it to the frame the center of the floor pulled down to a point lower than the sides. I didn't notice it until I put up the side walls and installed an in square bulkhead. My top spars were all the same length as the bulkhead, but when I put a square to the sides and the floor it was not true. Unfortunately I didn't figure this out until I ripped out the bulkhead. The simple solution was to take out the center bolts between the frame and the floor and put some washers in as spacers between the two.

[kenafp]

Right after I took delivery of the trsiler, installed the floor platform, I sat on the side of the tongue and felt something give.
Concerned, I inspected the welds and everything appeared sound, with no breaks.
I just left it up to my imagination and continued my build. I finished the floor and put up the walls. I installed the spars. When I put in the first piece of paneling for the interior skin, one side was a good 3/4 " higher than the other. I tried to force the gap, but it didn't work. Now, I am at the stage of building the hatch and one side is longer than the other by close to an inch. My sides were cut together and are mirrors of each other. And the edges of the walls on the floor are, maybe, a 1/16" out. I can't figure it out, and really don't want to take it apart and start over.
If I am careful with the measurements and the build of the hatch, I'm pretty sure I can make the situation disappear when closed. My concern is having it water tight back there.

[dales133]

The only thing that comes to mind when you say one side is 3/4 inch higher than the other is your trailer frame or floor is out of level or both.
When you build something with multiple parts it's easy to gain a few millimeters on each section and end up with quite a Descrepency.
It sounds obvious but easy to overlook.
I'd suggest you measure the frame of the ground after leveling it up first in each corner and the middle and see what you get.then check the floor for gaps between it and the frame.
Somewhere you have a variable or several that need elimination.
As for the length difference you realy need to check everything for square and go through meticulously and check for horizontal Descrepencies
Hope this is of some help but you should find where you've come unstuck if you work backwards til you find it

[noseoil]

Use two thumb tacks & two lengths of string to see if the platform is flat. Put a tack at each corner, then use the string to check the diagonals. If the strings touch in the middle, all is well. If not, the platform is more like a potato chip than a flat panel.