go ahead, call me crazy !

[S. Heisley]

Wow, it is awesome!

...Ditto!

[rebapuck]

Looks spot on.

[dave campbell]

thanks everybody for your interest and kind words !!

the weather on canada's south west coast has turned a bit sour for a spell---strong winds, rain (very much needed)-----i hear in the vancouver area there's about 65000 homes without power. over here on the southern tip of vancouver island we still have power, and it's windy but no rain at the moment.

i spent yesterday welding up joints that had previously just been tacked----and grinding off peaks at all the joints. if they already did not, the neighbours love me now for sure
today ? SHOPPING SPREE !

this stuff should be great for templates. once for the plywood then recycled for the aluminum skin. 55 bucks got me 320 square feet ---- very durable (construction site floor protection)-----you can vacuum, sweep, get it wet (sort of)--cuts well with an x-acto knife, and it should conform the way i want it to

ram board.JPG (50.86 KiB) Viewed 1950 times

home depot is making way for new products. porter cable has discontinued some items and a result i picked up this air hammer/chisel for 7 dollars no box, as is---
i gave it a test drive and the trigger is good-----not exactly feather control but i can ease gently into the rivet without blasting it....

air rivet.JPG (93.61 KiB) Viewed 1950 times

also went to KMS tools and found a suitable rivet head attachment for the air hammer, and a bag of 3/32 rivet place holders (?)

air rivet stuff.JPG (63.83 KiB) Viewed 1950 times

next phase---constructing the wheel wells--then on to skinning (?)

cheers all !

[dales133]

That ram board is tough stuff i use it for floor protection

[WoodSmith]

At the risk of thread-jacking, will Titebond 2 stick to that ram board? I was looking at that as a foam covering...

[dave campbell]

yes you can glue it to stuff but it looks like delamination nation. ---curious why you want to glue it to the foam ?

nothing new to report today. pouring rain. spent some time getting reaquainted with where the tools ACTUALLY go and played around --- getting used to the rivetting stuff. re-adjusted the spring on the air hammer to accept the rivet bit and made sure i have my drill bit size down for the holes.

first time for everything.JPG (63.29 KiB) Viewed 1912 times

[WoodSmith]

Why I want to glue it to foam? Well as an aspiring foamling I am always looking for an economical alternative to cover the foam, either inside or outside. I've seen the Ram Board before, but was put off by the water / grease / dirt repelling qualities, concerned that it would not glue well. It looks cheap enough for a build, but I don't wanna buy a whole roll to experiment with only to discover it won't work either.

[noseoil]

Dave, you might want to track down a "Drill Doctor" & a bunch of spare bits. With the amount of drilling & riveting you'll be doing in the next few months, it might be a good investment. You could probably find a good used one locally. A lot of people buy them, just use it once, then get rid of them. That's how I got mine. They work really well & as long as the bit wasn't over-heated, it will be as good as new when you're done.

[KCStudly]

Drill doctors are the best thing since sliced bread. I don't know why anyone would want to get rid of one. Perfect drill tip every time.

[dave campbell]

hmmmm the drill doctor......see them in canadian tire all the time, and my gut feeling has always been "witchery----don't waste your money !" but i may take your word(S) for it and look for a good used one. i DO go through a lot of bits some projects......
yes woodsmith the ram board is probably not a good idea re: stain and water, unless one could varnish it ?

you've all seen it before, but here she is with a fresh coat of tremclad gloss black rust inhibitor. the wife and i used 1" brushes and did the whole thing in a couple of goes today, after i hit the whole structure with a wire wheel. talk about reverberation !!

painted.JPG (86.33 KiB) Viewed 1841 times

there are a few more bits to weld around the wheel wells and doors but with the weather the way it is and my upcoming schedule--- today was the day to get her sealed up. i'll grind the paint off when needed.
also---ordering a gazillion 3/16L x 3/32d solid rivets tonight from wick's aircraft supply at a cost of about 5$ per 400

[OP827]

I am watching your build with interest. I wonder what will be your build sequence, you want do install aluminium skin right away or build some internal things first so you have somewhat better access to them, like floor and wheel wells for example

[dave campbell]

I am watching your build with interest. I wonder what will be your build sequence, you want do install aluminium skin right away or build some internal things first so you have somewhat better access to them, like floor and wheel wells for example

i THINK i will be doing the wells next, then a few floor tabs here and there for perimeter support. after that it's time for a layer of 1/4" ply. the floor i can get in the door later. once the plywood is up and sealed , then i don't need to worry so much about the floor getting thrashed on by the sun and rain

[dave campbell]

after some poking around the forum, and playing with some 1/2 " foam i had at home, i think i shall take a leap and abandon the plywood underskin concept, and use foamular. the foam has incredible bending properties, and takes a screw and washer quite nicely---allowing me to countersink easily. also very easy to cut and weighs virtually nothing. and is 12 dollars cheaper per 32 sq.ft !! after comparing the two, i know the plywood will hold a screw better, but at only 1/4" it will be harder to get all the screws flush, so they don't ghost through the aluminum. the larger sheet size of plywood is a plus but 28 dollars per 32 sq.ft vs. $16 per 32 is substantial. the foamular has a superior bendability, and is easy to cut.

it rained all day today so i spent time in the shop and cut about 200 feet of 4" chunks of 3/4 x 1, from the 'dry-dock' 2x4's. the plan is to glue them all over the inside edge of the ribs before i attach the foam to the outside. 4" is the lowest common denominator in length that will get me through the curves, so i just made'em all the same

foam.JPG (59.18 KiB) Viewed 1816 times

bucket o sticks.JPG (58.09 KiB) Viewed 1816 times

[OP827]

Do you have a little sketch or drawing to show how your wall structure sandwich is going to look like with the steel frame, aluminum skin, rivets and then the foam?

[WoodSmith]

+1 on the above, I'm now a little confused. I like the look of what you have so far, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what the wall structure will be. And I am completely in the dark what your bucket o sticks are for.