the jelly belly build

[Classic Finn]

Funny you should ask about bubble windows. Want to make your own? I just happened on this site over the weekend. Since we love to fabricate things . . .

http://www.recumbents.com/WISIL/bubbles/hpvbubbles.htm

I just looked at that site... funny somehow.. soon we,ll have someone make a bubble window on top of the ceiling of their
tear... and at what size of a bubble would appear on that ceiling..

I can see a real nice view from up there..

Who,s going to give it a try? Doug? Mike ? Dean?

Classic Finn

[del]

Before we get started Classic Finn can you do me a favor? Go over to Kimi's house and tell him if he wants to do better than forth place, he will need to push just a little harder on the go fast petal. Now back to a progress report.

Needed six more inches to fit a mattress, so here is the supports for the wall. The area behind this will be under counter storage. If I seal this compartment from the cabin, and vent it to the outside (high and low), could I put my battery box, propane tank, and spare tire here?

del

[del]

Progress added the frame work for the last six inches of cabin floor.

Next I need to tie the floor to the wall. I am almost done with the floor framing, yea. The next six inches, that you see of ply, is the beginning of the under counter storage.

del

[SamR]

I am so in awe! Keep up the good work, and the postings

[Tear Les]

Del,

It's looking super!

I feel a bit like I'm at an art galley looking at an abstract painting (and I'm not an art connoisseur); something is stirring me internally and drawing me in yet I don't understand what my reaction is or why yet. I like it but I don't yet understand the steps involved in your getting there. I'm afraid my Ah Ha! moment is going to come when you start showing us your completed art work and even then I'll probably wonder how the heck you did that!

Believe me, this is high praise! I love watching your build even if it leaves me confused.

[del]

Sam and Les thanks.

Finished framing the cabin floor.

Tied the floor to the walls with fiberglass and repaired the wild moment, with the jig saw, cutting out the fenders (woops).
Just before dark I added the wall between the cabin and the under counter storage (pic coming tomorrow ).

del

[surveytech]

heres some round windows.
making them fit might be a challenge

http://www.trucknvans.com/CRL_12_Round_ ... 11035s.htm

[del]

Surveytech the window is tempered glass. Would work if my walls were flat. Thanks for looking, with help from this forum I will have windows. They do have to be bendable around my curved walls. Life would be simpler if I just built my 10' kampster, but why be normal?

del

[Micro469]

Surveytech the window is tempered glass. Would work if my walls were flat. Thanks for looking, with help from this forum I will have windows. They do have to be bendable around my curved walls. Life would be simpler if I just built my 10' kampster, but why be normal?

del

Del.. What if you stuck a piece of lexan in the oven and while still warm molded it against your wall? You would still have to build the frame, but with your skill that shouldn't be a problem.....

[del]

John, everyday I come closer to that conclusion. We will see when I paint the trailer and I have to put something in the holes. I wonder if a heat gun would get it hot enough? Yes I am trying to avoid the fireworks of putting a window in the oven (the fireworks are not from the window, but the owner of the oven).

del

[Laredo]

Oh, oh, oh -- that is what God invented motel kitchenettes for ...

[del]

Laredo my window is suppose to be 20" in diameter, will that fit in a oven?

Yesterdays progress.

Today I put on the lower tail piece and some supports.

Like how a jack has to support it. It will get more support from the spars and ultimately the skin.

del

[angib]

My experience is that heat guns aren't a good way to try to mould plastics - it's just too difficult to get the temperature right over the whole object and too easy to put too much heat into one place (causing little bubbles inside the plastic). An oven would be nice, but even better is a radiant heater - like an old, old electric fire with those glowing-red bars (did you have those in Merka?).

But do you need any of this? Thin plastic will be just as strong as your plywood and will bend about as easily - in fact it will bend a lot further than the ply before snapping. Polycarbonate (eg, Lexan) would be good, as it is so strong. The only thing to watch out for is the window trying to pull the wall flat - for that reason, I'd choose glazing no thicker than the plywood, and even then you'll have to watch out for flattening, as the plastic is stiffer than most ply.

A backing ring of ply on the inside and a very thin trim ring cut from aluminium sheet on the outside would give you a strong joint and a waterproof seal - again, you would need to watch when fitting the ply backing ring that you didn't flatten the sidewall locally.

Andrew

[Laredo]

depends on the motel, I guess ... hm. what about a microwave? (an old garage sale one, maybe?)


angib -- what about a half-panel made from thin Lexan, fitted right into the side or door via a thin bentwood or routed backer frame and the outside edge seal you describe?


Something like an 18'' wide lower edge and 12'' wide upper edge, set right into the wall?

[HMK]

I am just thinking out loud here and mind ya now, I don't know squat, but
I was thinking about a free floating type of window. I am not sure that is the correct terminology, but what I had in mind was mount your window in some gasket material and then glue/seal it in your opening. Sort of the way they do windshields. Make any sense?