construction continues on the Menehune Swoop!

[green_eyed_diablito]

i've been thinking a lot about the potential puddling and the more i think about it, the more i think it will not be an issue. i don't like camping in the rain and avoid it like the plague (easy to do in SoCal). in addition to that, the TD will be stored under cover at home.

driving in the rain won't be an issue because airflow will keep it from puddling, and should i ever be caught camping in the rain, i'll just wipe the water off when the rain stops.

i liked kicking around different ideas with you guys/gals. you're all a cool bunch of peeps!

-miguel

[teardrop_focus]

Your progress is impressive! I might have to swing by late Saturday afternoon for a look-see.



I'll be headed north from Irvine on way home to WLA. Lemme know if you think you'll be around, Miguel!

[green_eyed_diablito]

Your progress is impressive! I might have to swing by late Saturday afternoon for a look-see.



I'll be headed north from Irvine on way home to WLA. Lemme know if you think you'll be around, Miguel!

PM sent

[green_eyed_diablito]

i've been working on the Menehune, but there really hasn't been anything worth a pic until today. last week i finished skinning the roof with two layers of bendy ply and i built the cabinet doors.

the galley is just about finished. i have not installed the knobs on the lower doors because i want to check clearance after i build the hatch.

notice that the grain and the doors match - the insets on the doors are from the same piece of ply so that the grain pattern would carry across to the adjacent door. but it's killing me that i screwed-up on the upper cabinet faceframe...those two dark pieces stick out like sore thumbs.

please excuse the rotated pic. photobucket is having issues.



i covered the exposed wires with corrugated plastic.



i routed the edges to give it a little flair



i made an icebox with 1" EPS, then lined it with fiberglass sheet (i don't know what the stuff is called). the icebox is designed to be used with dry ice so there won't be issues with melted ice water.

the doors will be sealed and insulated. i would have finished insulating the doors today, but i ruined the last piece of fiberglass i had when my table saw blade caught it and blew a chunk off. luckily, it missed me.



this pic shows some of the pieces in place before i installed the forward wall.



again, sorry about the rotated pic.

[planovet]

Nice job! I'm finishing my galley now so I know the joy. (I rotated the pics for you, it was hurting my head this early in the morning )

[2bits]

I really like that you a re taking advantage of that dead space at the bottom of the galley that so many time I see just not being utilized. Beautiful cooler! Oh and I had to look for those two face frame pieces, I think they look just fine

[S. Heisley]

2bits wrote:

Oh and I had to look for those two face frame pieces, I think they look just fine

Me too and I agree!

[TheOtherSean]

Very nice cabinetry work.

Like everybody else, I had to stare a bit before I could find the darker pieces. I think it looks fine.

[green_eyed_diablito]

planovet,
thanks for rotating the pics for me. i don't know what was going on...i imported to photobucket right side up, but they would load sideways.

2bits,
seeing the unused space on other TDs made me think about bumping out that lower cabinet. i was going to make it storage, but then someone posted pics showing how he made an ice box - he made it seem easy, and it was. i want to look for that thread so i can thank him.

all,
thank you for making me feel better about the mismatched rail and stile. i'm feeling better about it.

[green_eyed_diablito]

hello, everyone. i got a little more done this week:

most of the side trim is installed. the trim around the door and along the roof is next. i stained the trim before installing because i didn't want to risk staining the body.



the joints are nice and tight! the screw holes will be filled with birch plugs and stained to match. the outside surface will be trimmed flush with a router.



i made my own interior trim by cutting 1/8" slivers from a 1x2 piece of poplar.





the 1/8" thick trim bent nicely along the contour of the ceiling without the need for steaming. there will be trim along the door's edge that will match the exterior trim.
and that's Bear, our newest addition to the family.



this weekend's selection:

[dmckruit]

Very nice!!

I noticed the two darker portions of the grain on your side panel almost look like fish.



I do have a safety concern about the use of the dry ice box. As the dry ice evaporates it gives of carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so my concern would be if it were to leak into the sleeping cabin, it may cause the occupants to suffocate. I would be careful here, and maybe put a vent somewhere for the gas to escape.

[green_eyed_diablito]

Very nice!!

I noticed the two darker portions of the grain on your side panel almost look like fish.

I do have a safety concern about the use of the dry ice box. As the dry ice evaporates it gives of carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so my concern would be if it were to leak into the sleeping cabin, it may cause the occupants to suffocate. I would be careful here, and maybe put a vent somewhere for the gas to escape.

i never noticed that. they do look like fish. and because my ply came from the same log, i have two similar "fish" on the other side.

thank you for pointing out the CO2 danger...that completely went over my head when i decided to go with dry ice. the box is well-sealed, but it's too much to risk. i'll have to rethink the design either to vent or to switch to traditional ice.

the walls are made of an unpermeable, flexible, fiberglass material and i sealed the edges with silicone. what's your opinion? do you think that's enough to contain the CO2?

seriously, thank you for pointing this out.

[ParTaxer]

With that danger, I would go with the Mikey Theory. If it can happen, it will!!

Mike

[planovet]

Looks great so far!

[teardrop_focus]

Beautiful work, Miguel! That galley looks fantastic!

I've been pondering vent alternatives to the ubiquitous ceiling vent fan... and perhaps for your cooler we can devise a very small 12V vent system complete with a tiny fan to exhaust the CO2... it could be swiiched on when retiring... but you'd also need an additional micro-orifice in the cooler shell to allow air to enter the cooler.

This would be similar to the vent layout I'm thinking of to vent my deep cycle 12V storage battery, since it will be buried within the teardrop near the trailer axle.