CapeBuild Build Journal

[Tom&Shelly]

I have no useful suggestions. Just watching in amazement!

Tom

[rjgimp]

Haven't checked your build thread for a few weeks. The entirety of page 17 just left me in stunned silence. Holy crap, man...

Awesome. Just bloody awesome.

Got me thinking about transferring this "new technology" to the foamie world for the purpose of bending sheets of rigid foam to construct a Benroy, Canned Ham, or Bread Loaf. Could a guy make a wide flat box like that and have even, 190-ish degree heat throughout the interior to make rigid foam workable...?


Outstanding, John.

[Capebuild]

Thank you all for the comments and following all this. I feel like building the oven is like building another trailer. If this works maybe there's some retirement $$ to be made in being an itinerant acrylic bending journeyer. Everybody needs some curved windows, right? But really, thanks for the encouragement.

I've got the form for the front window all made and trued up. Just need to get some appropriate fabric to cover it with..like natural felt or flannel of some sort....something without synthetic fibers (that would melt). The form would get wrapped in that as would the masonite I'm going to use that would rest on the metal framework in the oven that supports the plastic sheet while it heats up.

Got the top installed today with 3 temp gages salvaged from some previous grills. I'd try it out today but it's raining pretty hard. Maybe tomorrow. I'd like to experiment with it outside of the shop in case it turns into a fireball. It's burning season here so maybe no one will notice.

Will keep you posted.

John

[Tom&Shelly]

It's burning season here so maybe no one will notice.

Hmm, evidently that means the opposite of what it does out here in the West!

Anyway, hoping for no fires on your part!

Tom

[rjgimp]

Hilarious…

[Onajourney]

Impressed and obsessed with your build. I have a suggestion with your form which I used when bending some 3/4 poplar. Make some blocks glued and screwed that are perpendicular to the form for clamping.

[Capebuild]

Nice bending jig there... Onajourney. Thanks for sharing that photo.

Finally, the weather is warming up (a bit). This past Sunday it hit 62° (which is close enough for me to be 65°, the temp the Wilsonart Contact Adhesive says to use the product). So applied the aluminum sheet to the 2 doors. All went well. Back down to the high 40's and low 50s this week, but come the next warm day will tackle the sides of the cabin.

Installed some foot rests/storage bins in the floor. Will urethane them today.

Regarding the "oven".....after diddling around with it finally realized the "diverter" was causing issues. The temperature would get up to around 250° and the burner flames would cut out. I thought the regulator might be bad (my first thought when someone gives you a grill they could at least make sure the regulator is fully functional Finally removed it and got a new one. But, alas.... same issue. After a little reading come to find the regulator has a kind of kill switch shut off if there is some differential between gas in the line and what is being put out (or something like that, I now forget). Anyway, I thought maybe the heat was building up under the diverter to a greater degree and was causing issues. I first cut a bunch of holes in it... then just removed it all together. After I did that, lo and behold the temp went up without the burners going out. Got the oven up to 300°, which is the temp needed to soften the acrylic for bending. Will hold off on that 'till I'm ready to install the large front window and small window on the hatch.

Welcome Spring!!

John

[Capebuild]

3.23.22
Today... covered the foot wells with indoor/outdoor carpet. Found some nice (and inexpensive) carpet at Ocean State Job Lot (kind of like The Dollar Store). Cut it up to size and attached some VHB tape and velcro on to hold the pads in place. Turns out the back side has a nice rubbery type surface. With some left over scrap attached that to some .250 thick slabs of ply to use under the water jug to keep the jug from sliding around while traveling (thanks Tony for that idea).

I wanted to create a table of sorts for when the bed is in the couch configuration and was going to just get a piece of pipe to hold a ply top. Went to the hardware store and found this nice Purdy paint roller handle that extends from 2 to 4 feet. There's also a Purdy roller holder that has a quick connect feature that allows it to attach to that extending handle. That handle diameter is exactly what I was looking for (1.250"). I'll cut the tip of the handle off (the part with the quick connect) and attach that to a piece of ply which gets covered with formica (will be the table surface). The extending handle will get cut down so it can hold the table at a minimum of 15 inches and extend up to 17 or 18 inches. The part attached to the table bottom will be off center (front to back) so it will be able to rotate around and have the table either closer to you as you sit on the couch, or .... rotate it 180° and have it be a bit further away from you providing a bit more room between your (our) knees and the table top.

John

[Capebuild]

3.25.22
quick post.
Got the table together. Just need to apply the laminate top and edge banding.
Wish the temps would get a bit higher so I can go ahead with the aluminum application.

John

[TimC]

Very clever. Looks like that mount could be adapted for multiple table locations.

[swoody126]

as per h'usual ...

you continue to amaze me w/ your progress

sw

[Capebuild]

April 5, 2022

Well, the weather seems to be warming up here, a bit (slowly, at Mother Nature's pace).....so decided to start installing the aluminum siding. Just one piece today. But tomorrow hope to get the sides completed. That will allow me to install the doors, some exterior lighting...... etc.. I have a feeling once I get the aluminum completed things should move along quite quickly to get this thing on the road and see how it performs. One step at a time. Also got the aluminum trim on the couch/table. Finessing the couch/bed conversion with a bungee strap. Need to get a smaller length strap.... on order. And tweak the bed platform a bit.
Today, brought polycarbonate sheet and ACM panel over to the CNC shop to get some moldings and some of the windows cut out.
Moving along.
John

[Ottsville]

That is really looking beautiful John.

[bdosborn]

How are you sticking the aluminum to the wood skin?

Bruce

[Capebuild]

Thanks, Ottsville.

Hi Bruce.... I'm using Wilsonart 500 contact adhesive. Using the orbital sander to put a slight tooth on the back side of the aluminum. Will then use aluminum moldings at the seams. I had considered just "floating" the aluminum sheet... but chose to go the contact adhesive direction.
If you see this, I have a question for you. There's been a thread under the electrical section regarding grounding to the chassis. The part that caught my eye was using an AC to DC charger and your comment that if using an AC to DC charger, it should be grounded to the chassis (if I'm interpreting that correctly). I did not. My 7 pin connector coming off the TV is grounded to the chassis but that is a separate system from my cabin's DC system powered by a lithium battery. My question is if I'm using a Victron IP67 12/24 volt 5-25 amp battery charger (to charge the lithium house battery) should that be (somehow) grounded to the chassis? Thanks!

John