Now the fun starts

[twisted lines]

Good eye

Trailer is looking good.

[MickinOz]

make sure that tongue jack is mounted far enuff back so you can open the tailgate of your pick up without them making violent love w/ each other

no need to ask why i share this ;-)

sw

I won't ask.
The jack does clear the tail gate, but that pretty much is a function of the really high bed on my truck.
Given that I will sell this trailer, I should probably move it back as far as it can go whilst still folding up properly.
I have to check all the bolt tensions anyway, so I can do it then.
We have been using a torque wrench for this build, but we were racing the rain to get this done, get the trailer back under cover and everything put away, so it's just nipped up by hand at this stage.

[MickinOz]

:BE Good eye

Trailer is looking good.

Thanks.
Did some research, there are various websites that make all sorts of recommendationss.
Some good rules of thumb out there -
e.g.
use half the width of your vehicle plus a few inches, so that if you jackknife it the trailer body doesn't hit the TV.
don't go more than about 5 feet unless you add bracing for the flexing.
the longer the tongue, the easier to revers but the more leverage it applies to where it attaches to the trailer.
All in all, 1200mm - 1400mm, 4 to 4 and half feet, a is pretty common recommendation.
I'd like to say I planned it like that, but the truth is that is as long as I could get it and still cut out the bent bit.

[MickinOz]

It has now been raining for more than 24 hours and showing no signs of stopping.
My timber is under the carport, and I covered it once I realised that the rain was blowing in, but still some of it is wet.
High probability of rain forecast for every day until next Tuesday.
This is Australia - the Sunburnt Country, I live in the driest state on the driest continent outside Antarctica.

[MickinOz]

Today I put one door on its corresponding wall. Used this to work out the T-handle position.
Figured t out drilled an 11mm hole for the square rod to go through, fitted the handle.
Tried it out.
Beautiful.
Took it apart.
Drilled the other door.
Sanded.
Sealed with mix.

I'm biased, of course, but I do think the black door hardware looks OK on the clear finished hardwood.

door.JPG (38.14 KiB) Viewed 715 times

[celadon]

I'm biased, of course, but I do think the black door hardware looks OK on the clear finished hardwood.

It's lovely!

[pchast]

Nice contrast.

[MickinOz]

Stalled.
Raining.
Average annual rainfall here since 2010 is 10.5 inches.
We've now had 2 inches in a week.
2 inches in a week is nothing to most people, I'm sure.
But when the drainage is pretty much built to accommodate the 10.5 inches p.a..............

[MickinOz]

My windows arrived today.
I wanted small ones to fit in the doors. Not easy to find and hundreds of dollars each.
So I got these.
$112 for a pair. Of course they are now $95 a pair.
10 inch portholes.


The missus says they are cool.

I will mount them so the glass opens inward, as they have a drain in them that will the face out.
They are meant for about a 30mm wall thickness.
2 choices - trim 'em down to suit my 12mm door, or machine a collar.
I'll ponder that a while.

Porthole.jpg (15.66 KiB) Viewed 637 times

[swoody126]

those are COOL !

once you have located and drilled your fastener holes AND dry fitted remove them and tape/hold a piece of fabric mosquito netting/screen over the opening and carefully replace the port in the hole for fying/crawing critter protection

if using some form of water seal use the tape kind so when you need to replace the screen the ports won't be glued in place

LINK PLEASE

sw

[MickinOz]

Yeah mate, the plan is to do exactly that - once she's set up, lay some insect screen under the outside trim ring and screw it back down.
One thing I have discovered since I've been using Ol' #1 regularly - I cannot leave the door open for even seconds without insects zooming into the cabin. And that's in winter time! Summer will be fun.

The only complaint I have is that the drain channel is opposite the hinge, so to put the drain channel down the bottom, the hinge will have to be up the top. I'd rather it swung sideways rather than up, but I guess I can figure out a retaining mechanism.

I got 'em off amazon. There are lots of ads. Mine came from Yaemarine. They cost $57 Australian each, delivered.

You will be able to buy a pair for $49 US
https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-Made-Por ... OME_MIRROR

https://www.amazon.com.au/Amarine-Made- ... 77&sr=8-33

It's going to be a while before I do anything.
From January to October, we got 7 inches of rain.
Now we've had 3 1/4 inches of rain so far in November and its raining steadily as I type.
I work mostly outside, so I have to wait for dry days.

Winter June to August here, was a massive disappointment.
They farmers are trying to harvest something, but they ain't smiling, this rain is far too late.
The wheat is mostly grading as "feed wheat". Good thing there's so little of it that prices are actually up,
Who'd a thought you could get $400 a ton for shriveled and cracked "screenings"

[swoody126]

th-6.jpeg (3.07 KiB) Viewed 627 times

sw

[MickinOz]

Rain has gone away for about 4 days according to the Met Office.
I haven't been totally in hibernation.
Got the portholes set up, ready to screw in once the doors are mounted.

Made a saw track. Nice straight cuts.
Inspiration came from here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0BZLbW1lvQ

Porthole in door.JPG (45.73 KiB) Viewed 595 times

saw track.JPG (54.48 KiB) Viewed 595 times

Cut.JPG (59.77 KiB) Viewed 595 times

[swoody126]

MickinOz, thatsa GREAT LINK

just so simple it had plumb evaded me

sw

[MickinOz]

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.