FoamStream...

[eaglesdare]

well can't say i didn't try to talk you into it. i'll just have to have a meeting of the minds and show everyone these sketches of yours.


at least i finally know how to do the pic thing


now about the cat....he looks evil and sneaky. i am not a cat person, i like them, but they own you.

[GPW]

Great job on the pic !!! Better than me ...

Sam the Cat ... Her Worships' “familiar” ..... No worries , sleeps all the time .... now can you guess where ..

[eaglesdare]

OK, figuring that going with the rounded form , I'll have to do a LOT of kerfing ... So came up with a simple guide for the router .. Just some scraps to make the job a little easier ...

how far apart are your kerf lines? and how deep are you cutting the kerf?
remember i need details.
i do believe i am going to attempt this shape. going to go and buy a router and a piece of wood for the guide. are we using the 2" foam for this?

[eaglesdare]

ok now that i have read this whole thread again: which would be the way to go? stringers? and if you use them, does this make a foam sandwhich? would all foam be a posiblity? could pvc tubing be used? my floor should be in this weekend (i hope). so i will be ready to start working up.

[wagondude]

I would keep it simple by cutting ribs out of whatever you want (ply, cedar, whatever) to the shape you want. Then glue the foam to the ribs with dowels through the rib into the foam. Then slip the next piece of foam over the ends of the dowels and glue it to the frame. That would keep you from having any odd protrusions. But I really suspect you would be ok with just the foam and canvas as long as you had a bulkhead (bedroom) wall inside also made with just foam. As long as you put a little curve to the top, it should be self supporting ( arch). Make all the bends with a heat gun and build a form to get consistant bends. Dowel all of your edge joints to keep everything straight.

[atahoekid]

Maybe it's just my impatient nature, but I tried bending foam (1/2", 1", 2") with a heat gun and all I ever got was melted foam. Actually 1/2" foam is relatively easy to bend as is. Used it on the trim pieces for the top/side joint on my foamie. A couple of small kerfs in the tighter bends and it bent just fine I did all of my bends with kerf cuts. Very messy with pink foam bits all over the place but a nice way to get a consistent and even bend

[eaglesdare]

if i remember correctly we used 1" on my roof, but we had to kerf for the curve. i can't really imagine trying to bend the 2" stuff. might have to go with the 1/2 or 1 inch and then maybe putting another on top. but then again, i only used the 1" on my first one and its just fine. but i also wrapped with canvas. i am thinking paper on this one, so there could be a difference because of that.

[GPW]

My original intent was to kerf all the panels (tedious) and just bend them to fit the frame ... stringers inside would be the attachment points for not only the foam , but all your other “attachments” ...

[GPW]

More ... On the FS , only the top half is bent , the bottom half is flat ... no problems there ... since the top panels are only 4’ wide , kerfng should be easy (still messy) ... Best set up a table (far outside) and do all the panels at once ..
Bending foam is possible ... the secret is to get both sides to 190deg. F ... heat guns simultaneously on both sides , bent over a “form” , would work , still kerfing might be easier using the simple jig ^ ...
I think if I’d try this a small cheap hand held Rotozip type router would be the easiest thing to handle ... probably find one cheap at Harbor Freight ... Figuring on a 12’ length , means you’d only have to kerf 6 panels , and only half way down ... Probably take only a few hours to do all that once you’re set up ...

The frame ... This is the part that’s always buggered my thinking . Ideal would be steam bent wooden ribs with wood strip stringers running fore and aft ... Foam panels glued to the stringers . That would give the most interior space... Originally looked at pre-bent wagon bows , which were a bit pricy and too short , but then I realized that the bows only go half way down and could easily be joined to straight pieces at the bottom ... with 5 ribs needed , it wouldn’t so bad to just buy them if you’re not set up for bending ribs...

PVC pipe Sch 40 would be a frame /rib alternative , but still requires bending over some type of “form” .. Having made several Bows (Archery) lately out of PVC , I can attest to it’s strength ... even possible to flatten it for easier stringer attachment with screws ...
Many ways to go about this type of build ...

[eaglesdare]

i am reading this correctly, that you could use 1 piece of foam for the straight and bending part? the same flat piece will also be kerfed and bent (but not all the way)?

i guess i wasn't thinking of 1 solid piece for both. i was thinking of the flat part as 1 piece. then another piece for the bending.

i can't wait til this floor is down and i can stop pondering all the different ways of building this one. i know going with straight edges and box shape would be the easiest for me, but i just don't like the look. i have to go with curves, just looks better to me. and any imperfections can be covered with added foam edging. which i am going to try to add to the first foamie. maybe i can get that stupid bump look out of there.

[GPW]

Eagle, I always thought this pic said just about everything Just translate it to a Foam covering and that’s that ... In the Vintage plans section ... http://tnttt.com/VintagePlans/connestogawagon.pdf Old style adapted to new materials and given a sleek foam nose ...
Darn, now you have me re thinking my position with the new trailer ... The wife is unimpressed by the Low wider idea ... But the New Freebie Trailer would be wide enough to pull off a Foamstream ... probably only idea "she “ liked so far ...

Maybe if we “brainstormed this idea together , we could come up with an EASY way to do it that wouldn’t be a total Bust for the Piggy Bank ... There’s Got to be a way !!!

[eaglesdare]

that pic is way too small for me. so i went into your album, and wow, you did rosey! that is really cool. i so wished you lived closer to me, i want to learn to paint like you!!!!!!

now back to that pic to find a size i can see.

[eaglesdare]

i wonder how difficult it will be to do the front round/curved, as well as the sides(walls). there may have to be some scuplting there? or some fill ins?

[linuxmanxxx]

I have an idea and I'll draw it out later and I think you would love it. On my phone and it sucks to draw on.

[GPW]

You can Draw with your phone ... Boy, am I an outdated dinosaur ... Interesting to see your idea !

You know , for ribs there’s always aircraft style formers , that could be made in sections and notched for the stringers ... 3/8” plywood ...definitely Old School . but Easy ... just more sawing ...