Big Woody Build - St. Pete, FL

[toconnor602]

Thursday, September 15, 2016 - Completing the Side Profile

After a lot of contemplation I decided to use an electric planer to square the panels for my sides. I didn't feel like the pattern router bit would accomplish the job as it was off square on the upper and lower boards in different areas. Also I have not had the best success with a router in previous small projects, didn't want to chance it and eat a huge chunk out of the side

I attached the guide to the planer and kept it flush with the top of the panel. (Pic 1) I set it to take of 1/48th" each pass. I worked about a 1 foot section at a time. There was a slight dip in the roof section due to the jigsaw blade tilting in during the cutout, I was able to smooth this out and blend it in to the rear and front curve. All in all I only lost 1/16th" off the height. I thought it was going to be much worse.

Best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. After multiple passes & constantly checking I was able to get it dead on! (Pic 2).

I took the quarter panel sander after this with 80 grit and smoothed the edges down. I will hit the edges with a finer grit before I stain and seal the sides. Really happy with the way they turned out, every man can appreciate a nice set of curves! haha (Pic 3).

[KCStudly]

I'm glad this worked out for you!

You're gonna find that there will be many steps along the way where you will have to stop and think and work your way through how to make it come out like you want. That's one of the fun parts about building it yourself, the puzzle solving and craftsmanship needed to get 'er done.

[toconnor602]

Friday, September 16, 2016 - Door Cut-Out & Misc Work

Made it out to the garage and set up shop, then it started to rain. I waited it out in the garage and decided to do a little prep electrical work. The wires for the DC power that come out of PD 4045 are quite short so I added a 12" extension to each one. My breakers came in so I fit those into the panel as well.

The rain finally stopped, I set up the first panel. I already had the door location marked from when I marked my profile. I made a plunge cut on the top, bottom and left side. It took me a few minutes to get my guide board set up properly. I was measuring the distance from the blade to the end of the guide. I could swear I was measuring correct. What I didn't realize until a bunch of back and forth ......was that the small square I bought is an architectural square with different measurements on each side, so I was measuring in 1/8th's on the saw and then 1/12th's on the board Pic 1 shows the guide board set in place for my plunge cut on the bottom of the door opening.

I had to do the plunge cuts as I am using the the cutout wood for the doors themselves. After the plunge cuts I used my jigsaw to cut the door out the rest of the way. Slow and steady.

I clamped a board underneath the door so the door would not sag and fall to the ground once I completed the cut. (Pic 2)

I then sanded the long vertical edge straight and made sure I had a 1/8th" in gap the whole length. (Pic 3)

I repeated the same steps for the second door opening. this one did not have the template drawn on so I traced the cutout door opening onto the second side. I would not recommend this method as it went from a fairly straight template outline, to a slightly wobbly trace job to an even more wobbly second cutout. It all turned out fine, just required a bit more sanding to get the long vertical left edge clean.

[toconnor602]

Saturday, September 17, 2016 - Doors, Windows & More! - Part 1

I finished up working around 10 the night before, I would have kept going however I believe the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate the sound of a belt sander as they are trying to sleep. Once I was done cleaning up and putting everything away it was closer to 12 by the time I got into bed.

Back at it early in the morning! I was setting up around 8:30am. I gave my neighbors until 9:30 before the power tools started. I had the 1/8" gap on the left edge of both doors, still needed the 1/4" gap around each edge. I started by sanding the door opening to remove any peaks and valleys. My wife saves the day again. She pulls a scribe out of her art supplies. It works perfect as I am able to set it to 1/4" and follow the door opening and mark the door perfectly to see where sanding is needed. Saved a ton of time as it reduced the amount of re-measuring I needed to do. Still a very lengthy process (Pic 1)

Anytime I had to drop the door in to check I would set the top edge first. I used the belt sander and planer quite a bit. I have been using tile spacers to make sure my gaps are spot on (Pic 2)

Once both door were fit I cut out a 12" x 18" opening in each door to house the window. As with each process the first one always takes a little longer and I learn something along the way. Even though the portion of the window that goes into the door is 12x18, they don't account for the pan head screws on the four corners. The first one I sanded down the four corners of my cutout to allow the for the screw heads to fit...lot of in and out. The second one I cut the opening just a little larger from the beginning and it dropped right in (Pic 3) Doors are now set aside.

[toconnor602]

Saturday, September 17, 2016 - Doors, Windows & More! - Part 2

Exterior Trim Time - I had 2 more sheets of the same plywood I am using for my sides in the guest room in my house....which is now my part-time storage. Laid both of these on the saw horses and used one of my sides to trace the profile. (Pic 1)

I used my jigsaw and cut-out the traced outline with both sheets together. It was then back to the belt sander and planer to get it smooth and square. By this time the belt sander is getting quite heavy - haha.

I then used the scribe to get a 2" mark along the whole curve. I was tired of jigsawing today and I had a new fine blade on my circular saw so I decided to make a bunch of plunge cuts then connect those with the jigsaw to speed the process up (Pic 2). I still need to sand these pieces, my level of excitement for that is at a zero, put them aside for later.

I then cut a 2"strip off the bottom of the boards (still clamped together). These will be my lower exterior trims, sanded smooth and set aside.

[toconnor602]

Sunday, September 18, 2016 - Bulkhead Shelves & Coutnertop

Started out at Home Depot to get a fine blade for my chop saw. I picked up some stain as well. I am going with the Kona for the exterior and Weathered Grey for the interior (Pics 1 & 2)

Came back home and re-organzied the garage to keep the chop saw and table saw in front as I have a lot of cutting to do over the next few days. Got everything set up .....then it starts raining. (Pic 3).

The good thing about FL this time of year is you can usually wait the rain out. Only lasted an hour, during that time I listened to the Detroit Lions lose and the Detroit Tigers win....so it was a nice break.

Rain stopped so I was able to cutout my rear bulkhead, Galley Counter / Cabin shelf and another cabin shelf. No pictures since these are just rectangles. nothing exciting

Lumberyard tomorrow to grab material for the last few pieces I needed before I start going vertical.

[ELM]

Your making good progress. Keep the pictures coming.

[toconnor602]

Monday, September 19, 2016 - Galley Hatch Prep

Stopped into the lumber yard. I am trying to make as many of the interior components from the 3/4" plywood with maple veneer I used for the outside. I stretched the wood as far as I could go but needed one more 12" x 58.5" piece for the above head cabinet. I went with a edge glued maple board. Much cheaper than buying a whole new veneer panel and I think it is going to look pretty cool. for my curved galley hatch pieces I glued together 2 - 1" x 8" boards, clamped them down and let them sit overnight. I thought I took some photos...but looking through my phone, I am mistaken.

[toconnor602]

Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - Galley Hatch Prep Work Part - 2

I one of the glued boards and laid it on the galley end of my side profile. I propped it up a little so I could get a marker underneath and trace the profile. I pulled out the trusty jigsaw and got to cutting. Slow going on these pieces as they are solid wood and quite thick. Thankfully I stopped at Home Depot on my way home from work and picked up some new jigsaw blades. Once I was done cutting it was sanding time. I started with it laying on the side and holding the belt sander at a 90 getting fairly close to the line. I then stood it up, clamped down one side and let the weight of the belt sander help to make the edges square. Once really close to the line and almost square I used the planer set at 1/96" and made quick passes over the edges to get them as square as possible.

Once I was happy with the first one and tested it 1,000 times on the side profile to make sure it matched, I used it as the template for the second one and repeated the process.

[toconnor602]

Wednesday, September 21, 2016 - Pattern Interupt

While I have been working out in the garage, my wife has been busting her hump in the house working on what seems like, 100 different projects. I took the evening off from the garage and helped her cut/nail the trim work for the kitchen cabinets, she has been sanding, painting and finishing. Picture below. I think they came out really nice. Of course, she now wants to re-do the counter top

[toconnor602]

Thursday, September 22, 2016 - Hit A Wall

I came home from a long, mentally draining day at work and could not get myself up off the couch, so i watched movies with my wife! (i did nail in some more trim work for her, but that was quick). My brain was fried and I was tired.....I will live to fight another day!

[toconnor602]

Friday, September 23, 2106 - Galley Hatch Work

Good day in the office, then headed to the garage. I started out by making the concave cuts on my galley hatch pieces. I noticed I had to do a lot of sanding on the first one to get it square. I checked the jigsaw and the base was loose (the model I have can tilt for angle cuts). Straightened it back up and tighten it down. Much easier on the second one! Those are done for now. Set those aside

[toconnor602]

Friday, September 23, 2016 - Side Work

After I was done with the hatch components I brought out my right side. I sanded both side with 220 grit then 400. (Pic 1).

I put on one thick coat of the Kona Stain I am using. I let it sit for about an hour (Pic 2)

I used Mineral Spirits and a bunch of rags to clean the excess off. (Pic 3)

Moved it all back in the garage to let it dry out.

[toconnor602]

Saturday, September 24, 2016 - Stain and Sealing

My wife thought I should put a second coat of the stain on so it will be a little darker.....so I put a second coat of stain on, let it sit for an hour and removed the excess and let it dry (I am doing the door for this side at the same time). I then applied the first coat of clear coat. I am using the water based Spar Polyurethane, dries really fast. Waited an hour, lightly sanded and repeated this process. I was able to get 4 coats on in total before I had to shut down shop and get ready for Date Night with my wife!

[toconnor602]

Sunday, September 25, 2016 - Sealing Continued

I am doing 9 coats for any exterior surface and 3-4 for any interior surface. I was able to get all 9 coats on the right side yesterday. I was not happy with the streaks of the foam brush, so I used a roller. Wasn't happy with the roller lines, so I tried putting it on thicker and thinner...lines still there. on coat 7 I tried to drag a damp cloth with mineral spirits on it over the lines, however the poly I am using dries so fast I could not get to it in time. Coat 8 i tried to work from the bottom up to keep moving the roller line up and hopefully, eventually off the top of the panel....still not looking good.

For coat 9 I went to the store and bought a can of spray polyurethane. I stayed with the minwax- helsma, semi gloss. It is also for interior / exterior. I was really happy with the way it looked.......until I noticed something.

Note to Self: When I think I am ready to sand the previous coat....wait longer....also clean off the sander really good after the previous sanding. Once coat #9 was drying I noticed, some nice little chunks of poly that came off of the sander then were embedded into the clear coat. Not just 1 or 2...but a nice few lines of them across the entire panel.

I then go to clean out the sander really well to get it prepped to sand #9 down.......and I break the little clamp on the sander base..... so that pretty much ended my day.

Thankfully I was able to buy a replacement piece on Amazon Prime and it has already been delivered to my house!!