Hey guess what Ya'll... I'm back!!!
It's been 4 months, give or take, since I posted. Which seems like a life time. It's been so long I doubt anyone still follows this build, but just in case, here goes...
So I did it. Yep... I kicked cancer. 26 days in the hospital. 15 rounds of some nasty chemo. 33 rounds of radiation. Blood clots in my leg. Two years being sick. Great Doctors. Great Family. Great Friends. And Prayer. Lots and lots of Prayer. And if you prayed for me, don't stop. Cancer takes its toll on your mind, your soul, your family... I still have a long way to go. Also, thank you to those who supported me. I couldn't have done it without you. We really are in this life together my friends. Sorry I missed some posts and Chriatmas greetings. Just fighting the good fight had me kind of, well... busy.
Anyway... enough of that.
Now, on to that that thing we've all come here for. The Astroliner Build!
Let me catch you up. Little by little, here and there some work is being accomplished. The interior is the main focus right now. Building walls, cabinets, seats for the dinette, storage compartments, indirect lighting features. I know you want pic's, so here you go. Oh, in case you forgot by now what Miss Astroliner looks like, let me refresh you:
We've been working in the Dinette area. All Birch, Lacquered, Rubbed, Polished. I get stupid with it I won't lie. But danged if it ain't worth it! That Blond Birch and the Hot Flake still really do it for me... Come see it in person and tell us what you think!
We left off somewhere around here:
We started building the framing for the bench seats around the Dinette. Of course, I had to have it sitting on an angle, with rounded birch fronts, curved bodies to match the tabletop so it can be lowered into a bed AND it had to fit the curvature of the front wall of the coach and the angled bathroom walls! Now that the level of difficulty is through the roof, let's do this!
Lots of crazy measurements, some math, and a Chinese Abacus later, we started to test fit the pieces BEFORE any glue or nails. That was fun. No it wasn't. I guess it depends how twisted your idea of fun is...
Notice how the frames had to match up to angled walls, curved tabletop and curved walls! I also needed a place to hide the fresh water tank and pump. Our estimates say she's light in the tongue so the extra weight of the 30 gallon tank will help that easily. I know... 30 gallons of fresh water is probably overkill, but hey... I want what I want.
Next we ran 1/4" Birch through the drum sander until it got bendy. We glued the pieces on the frames, then epoxied the insides for strength.
Time to install the speakers. We had a bad combination of thin walled benches and heavy duty magnets on those speakers that weighed a lot! So I made frames to fit, then glassed them in with carbon fiber for strength. I was worried about bouncing down the road with the weight of the speakers pulling on the Birch. Well, no worries now as you can see...
Next came lids for the bench seats. Notice how they have to fit the lowered table (which still needs paint btw.)
All the new pieces were lacquered and polished, and are now ready for upholstery! I'm thinking retro muscle car interior, what do you think?
I had to kick back for awhile and just take it in. This is how I get inspiration and ideas...
Well I guess we're all caught up now. This weekend we'll be working on the footboard/TV/TV stand for the bedroom. I have a pretty cool surprise in mind for that!
Oh... one more thing I want to share. Carrie told me at Christmas she got me a "Thank you for not dying on me" present. So what do you get a guy who almost dies but doesn't? A Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe, that's what!
Yes I know... spoiled as can be by a really great girl! Oh well, we've been through hell and were looking forward to riding some stress away!
So until next time...Happy building (and riding) my friends!
Michael
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by razorback » Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:31 am 
