Now the fun starts

[Tom&Shelly]

HaHa. Plumb. Good one.

Yeah I always wanted one of those fancy pants aluminium saw tracks, but when I found them for sale, they were model/brand specific, mostly for plunge saws, and quite spendy.
I was looking on Youtube for videos on how they actually work when I came across a multitude of DIY vids.
This guy's attracted me because aluminium extrusion options are not super diverse up here in the sticks, and aren't cheap.
At the same time I was looking at the videos, a bloke advertised some melamine coated 16mm MDF shelving on Facebook for $7 a piece. Delivered.

I will rework this a bit. I don't think I need those sight holes, for example. I have only done two cuts, but I found it was just as easy to work out how much to subtract from the desired measurement and just measure to the edge of the track.
Also, my stop blocks, the plywood bits at the end, could stand to be about one row of screws narrower. It's just a tiny bit fiddly getting a 1220mm/48 inch cut done.
OK for a metric sheet (1200mm)
Some glue sandpaper on the underside to give it grip, then cut without clamping it down. Dunno about that.
See the skinning knife on the table? Ran that down the side of the guide to score the plywood I was cutting. Practically eliminated splintering. Really only splinters at the sight holes anyway, presumably that is why he fits plexiglas inserts in a later video..

Planning to make one for the jigsaw, too.

They also work great with routers (specific router and orientation and specific bit, of course). Mine guides along one side only--slightly differently than the one in the Youtube you got your design from. Made mine by running a piece of plywood along a router table with a fence, in place of a jointer to get a straight edge, gluing that to another (wider) piece of ply, and then running the router along it to remove excess from the second piece. Then it's simply a matter of lining up the routed edge of the track to the cut line.

For most of my build, I cut to about an eighth inch of the line with a jig saw, then finished it with the router and homemade track.

Tom

[MickinOz]

I used the router to build this saw track. I had one good straight edge, so everything else was screwed to that and trued with a trimmer bit in the router.
Seems to have worked.
Got a bit done on the trailer today.
Took the wheels off, test fitted one wall, found all the extraneous bits that were fouling it, removed said bits with an angle grinder, predrilled my screw holes and glued and screwed the walls to the floor frame.
It actually came out pretty darned square.

Plan for tomorrow is to get all the spars in, and at least one layer of cladding.

Cleared for action.JPG (194 KiB) Viewed 662 times

Walls up.JPG (142.08 KiB) Viewed 662 times

[swoody126]

i usually keep a good edge of a nice piece of marine plywood handy for an 8' straight edge

until i need it in another project ;-)

the saw guide section in this thread has me thinking on a more substantial/easily created solution

sw

[MickinOz]

I made a rare, for me, cutting error today.
Distance between walls is 1551mm
I cut one of only two 42 x42 mm spars that I have to 1501 mm by accident. Dunno what happened.
I'm a measure thrice, cut once kinda wood butcher.

Had to use the last one, which has a split too close to the middle to cut out, because all my other spars are only 42 x 19.
The 42 x 42mm spars were for where sheets must meet on the roof and front wall.
I'm going to have to be a little creative to make sure the seam doesn't land on the split.

[MickinOz]

Hey SW, your post tally is showing at 666.
Better make another post before you get Lucifer's attention.

[swoody126]

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sw

[MickinOz]

Perfect.

[swoody126]

that is a limestone fence post from the day of the great wagon trains west to Oregon

there were no trees so the folks who droped off the wagon trains and set up farming/ranching on the plains would chisel them out during the winters so they could fence their land

there are still miles n miles of ranch/range fences buit with them today

now back to our reguarly scheduled programing

sw

[MickinOz]

Far out, fancy having to carve your posts out of stone. That's just too much.
Haven't progressed as far as I'd like. Planning to get into it for a full day in the morning.
These build journals should document problems encountered and fixes devised, I reckon.

I screwed up a cut, leaving myself with one last stick of the right size timber, and no more available at our one store that sells timber. They just can't get it. There is a sign on the racks that says there are supply issues and bulk orders of timber are now only available to local tradesmen.
My DIY saw bench really isn't a decent setup for ripping larger stock.
So I had to use my last piece, which had a big split right in the middle that I didn't notice when I bought it.
It went right through from one side to the other.

(You'd think I didn't stand there for ages eyeballing each piece.)

I've yet to buy a stick of timber that is perfectly straight. I deal by buying timber that curves only in one plane, then using the curve to advantage. For example, using the curve to put a slight camber in the roof spars, so by the time I clad it, nothing much is sagging across the span..

Anywhere else, a split in the timber wouldn't be particularly worrying, laying the skin over it and gluing and stapling it would take care of it.

In this case, using the curve in the right direction meant the split was running about level with the seam between two panels. I was worried about flex and stresses simply pulling the seam apart because the backing timber wasn't solid.
I dealt by cutting the piece so the split was right in the middle, eliminating a fair of the split bit by making my housed joint for my middle upright fairly deep, then recessing a gusset of 7mm ply in that extended either side of the split into solid timber.
I now have a 7mm ply butt block sitting behind the skinning panels where there used to be a split.
Hopefully these pictures explain it better.

Housed Joint.jpg (116.61 KiB) Viewed 585 times

Recessed Gusset.jpg (66.26 KiB) Viewed 585 times

Top view.jpg (51.3 KiB) Viewed 585 times

[swoody126]

back in the day ...

folks used2 raise species of trees to conform to their intended purpose

specific curves and other shapes needed in boatbuilding could be found standing in the forests and harvested as needed

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sadly we have evolved into a society that accepts profit driven products offered by the merchants o th day

BTW your gusset will be stronger than had you had/used prefectly straight n sound timber

sw

[MickinOz]

Worked with a guy from Tasmania whose passion was boat building. He was big on looking for natural bends to cut "knees" from.

Delighted to read you reckon my gusset will do the trick.
That framing is for the front wall and headboard. The gusset provides the backing for the seam between the front wall and the exterior front curved skin.
It was only a few minutes work to cut the recess with the small router. I think I may do the inner side so the seam between the head board and the inside curved skin is similarly reinforced.

[MickinOz]

Not a lot done today.
Cut the front lower panel and drowned the bottom 20mm in sealer. (I seal all the bottom edges as I go.)
Made good on my treat to gusset the inside of my split rail.

When I put the side walls on, I just pushed the side mounting bolts in and glued and screwed the panels on. Today I crawled under the traier and drilled through from behind, so I can install the bolts right through.

Have made a change to how I fill dents, screw holes, etc.
I never really got along with the PVA and sanding dust route. By the time I had the mix moist enough to use, there was so much PVA in it that the colour of the timber was lost. Even if I pre moistened with water.
The trick is to use the polyurethane. The colour match is pretty darn good.

Gotta do a shopping trip tomorrow, followed by a weekend away in Ol' #1. My son will be home alone. If the forecast weather rolls in tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to do much about it.
So the trailer had to go back to Mum's for undercover storage for a couple days.

My son threw the wheels and mudguards back on it, and I towed it around the corner to Mum's.
I'm really pleased with the profile. Not so please I deleted the photo from my phone before I transferred it to my computer.

Gotta love the old duck.
She's 81, she's looking at it and she says, "Suppose my little Mazda would tow one of these? I'd only need a 4 wide since I'm by myself. Gee I wish you'd thought of these things 20 years ago."
I looked - she could tow up to 600kg.

[twisted lines]

I understand forecast, been busted my tail;
Next weekz Winter
Enjoy if you can

[MickinOz]

Well it's been nearly a month since I posted on this thread I think.
There has been only a little progress. Between illness, rain, 105 degree days and Christmas, I didn't find much time for building.
I have the front inner "head board" and the outer vertical skin on. I have the front outer curved skin on.
I have completed the bolts that secure the cabin to the chassis.
Essentially, the design allows for the side and front bolts to go through the skin as well as the frame.
I could have recessed the bolt heads, then hidden them with the walls. But, this was too permanent for me. There would be no way to get them out later.
The floor was always bolted, but as I put each wall sheet on I took the bolts out on that side, glued and screwed the walls, drilled through from the back and put the bolts back in.
At some stage, I needed to seal those bolt holes with mix, and tension the bolts. Done now.

Frame bolt down options.JPG (22.15 KiB) Viewed 392 times

I am now stalled at the final spar, the one that carries the hinge. I cannot find an acceptably straight piece of structural pine for that piece.
I must have sighted down every pathetic excuse for "timber" that the local joint has.
Currently stuck. I don't have the right machinery to mill a decent piece from larger stock.
I can buy a perfectly straight piece of 70 x 30 Merbau, for $98.

The other choice is I have some large pieces of "Oregon", which I believe is a local name for Douglas Fir.
They are fascia timbers from a petrol station that have been store in my garage for about 25 years.
I don't know much about Oregon, but It looks simple enough to cut some decently straight pieces from a board, then laminate them together to make a decent beam.
Any thoughts? Is douglas fir good for the job?

[swoody126]

MiO, Doug-Fir is a sought after material over here because of it's straight grain and durability for boat building

your question made me look deeper and here is what i found

"Common uses and applications
Due to its strength, Douglas-fir is primarily used for building and construction. It is hard and resistant to abrasion, making it suitable for uses where wear is a factor, such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts, log homes and commercial buildings. It is one of the finest timbers for heavy structural purposes, including glulam beams and roof trusses.
Douglas-fir is a high-quality wood for the manufacturing of sashes, doors and windows. It is also used to produce a wide variety of products including general millwork, flooring, furniture, cabinets, veneer, vats, ships and boats, transmission poles and marine pilings.
Indigenous peoples in BC have many uses for Douglas-fir, including pit cooking fuel, fishing hooks and handles. They also use Douglas-fir boughs for covering the floors of lodges and sweat lodges."

this is just a piece of what i found @

www.naturallywood.com/species/douglas-fir/

i hope this information gives you peace with using the timber you have

sw