The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[KCStudly]

Thanks Ned!

[GPW]

A Roof is a Wonderful thing !!!

[Olddog1]

Looking good KC. GPW instilled the thrifty, eaglesdare the persistence and you're showing the patience.

Thanks, Lamar

[bonnie]

Looking good KC. GPW instilled the thrifty, eaglesdare the persistence and you're showing the patience.

Thanks, Lamar

Well said.

[KCStudly]

.
Thank you Lamar. I can get behind that.
Bonnie, I see you are making the Nookery your own; good job on the AC door cut in!

GPW, it is a roof, but I'm not sure that I'm going about this in the right order. I'm concerned that if I can't train the front curve well enough, and have it stay trained while I mask, stain it all, and poly at least the main part of the ceiling, that I will have one hell of a time getting the front to curl again while attempting to glue it down. We'll see.

Here's today's update.

So yesterday I measured the gap between the corner of the front panel and the ceiling panel and it was 12 inches. Before I pulled on that anymore I wanted to address this little chink in the edge of the ply; that little pop I had heard and seen. If you look very closely just to the right of the smudged pencil line you can see a split in the first 3 layers of ply.


I decided to reinforce this area with small swatch of fiberglass tape and epoxy resin.


I had to be careful not to cover the screws over. Here it is from the other direction after it cured enough to trim the little riffle off of the edge.


Since this is only a dry fitting the panel was trying to lift between the start of the radius and the first spar. On final installation I intend to glue the main portion of the panel up to the front cabinet face frame, and then do the front radius in a second stage. Once it’s glued on top I don’t think it will be an issue, but for now I added a 2x4 to act as a temporary brace across this area and clamped it down using pipe clamps hooked under the floor.



Then I sucked up on the straps taking the gap down to about 8-1/4 inches.


I’m a little concerned because despite the seemingly good progress, there is still a gap where I would like to put the next batch of screws. I can’t screw into the front riblets too close to the face frame because of a conflict with the pocket screws there.


Next I shaved some wedged shaped shims from a 2x4 (actually, I ripped them on the table saw) to level out the vent spars in way of the vent fan mounting flange. Here is the dry fit.


I figured that the shims were thin enough that the spring clamps would ripple them, rather than clamp them flat. My quick clamps were occupied holding the ratchet straps and the spring clamps wouldn't grip it all with a backer added, so I just screwed the 2x4 off cut down as a temporary clamp bar to spread the load from the screws. Used the Kregg screws because they have washer face heads and wouldn’t split the backer like flat heads would.


I couldn’t reach the front easily, so will glue that one when the ceiling panel is back on the bench again. For now I just worked on it to get it fair, since it wasn’t perfectly fair coming off of the saw. Here is the rear shim after the glue set. I shaved the rear edge flush to the spar with the little matchbox plane and sanded the curb side corner down just a tad ‘til it was nice and flat with the vent riblet. Curb side looking forward first, then street side.


I did all of this while standing in the galley and reaching up over the bulkhead wall.

Here are a couple shots showing how nicely the ceiling is fit to the bulkhead, cabinet face frames, and side walls. First looking thru the street side doorway at the curb side, and then looking thru the curb side door at the street side.



I got inside and traced around making reference marks to show where I will need to mask off the glue areas. I will hold the tape back from these marks enough to be sure that the finish dives under, but still leave plenty of glue surface.

Before leaving for the day I added another temporary backer and sucked the ratchet straps down a couple more clicks, now at about 7 inches to go.

[GPW]

KC, that plywood splitting was the exact problem I had on my wooden trailer , and it only got worse over time ... A little late , but if you glue a sheet(or fabric) to the top of the plywood , it will absorb the tension load and not split as badly ... Within 6 months my un-canvassed top had split in many places... and that was not out in the sun , but under my shed...
One of the many reasons of my dislike for plywood ...

[KCStudly]

That gives me the idea that I could kerf thru a few layers, or, I haven't given up the idea of using hot wet towels yet.

I'm not so worried about the outside splitting a little between fibers as I am the whole thing bursting open like the Grand Canyon! It will get the foam glued over it eventually, and the outer canvas skin; that should stabilize and protect the wood once it is all assembled.

I suppose I could lay some glass and epoxy over that front section once it is glued and screwed permanently.

[GPW]

I’m sure you have something in mind, but we found it quite unnerving to see the plywood top layer splitting so soon ... Knowing nothing of covering it with fabric then , we possibly could have saved it with a “skin” , which now thinking , if a thin skin were to be applied before bending , all that could have been eliminated to a much lesser degree... It’s only natural with such severe tension /compression forces that the top layer would split with the grain ... With a skin pre-applied , you could just bend/fasten it safely straight away, no waiting on Newton...


Moisture might make things worse...

[KCStudly]

The small test pieces that bent no problem did not require near as much force nor instill as much concern as bending the full 63 inch wide sheet.

This is my first time bending plywood so I am taking it slow and easy, eagle eyed and ears wide open. Was that a pop? Did I hear it creak? I'm not so worried about a little checking on the outside; I can stabilize that after if I need to. And I don't want to add anything more to it that will make it even harder to bend, so I think a layer of TB2 and cloth now would be premature. Maybe. Maybe not; maybe the glue would leave enough flexibility for a while(?).

I am, however, thinking about things that might make it easier to bend; this big humid front coming thru might help; hot moisture applied; gradual application of force over time. Hell, I'm not even sure that I should be attempting to bend it yet; I'd like to have the finish on it and only have to go thru this once; but since I already went this far with the dry fit, it seemed like the logical thing to do was take it all the way.

Hmm, what if I get it bent all the way down and fixed (without it exploding in my face ) and then glass it with epoxy leaving the screws exposed? I wonder if I could then remove the whole thing and have it keep its shape (mostly) while I apply the finish to the inside, then glue it back down in place(?). I doubt a single layer of glass weave would have enough rigidity to hold it from uncurling.

She'd look like a big ole toboggan turned up on the bench!

We'll see. I'll give the straps another couple of clicks this evening; cross your fingers for me!

[tony.latham]

Good gawd, KC! Your thread has suddenly starting to read like a good thriller. I've been stalking your build, just admiring (and learning from) your craftsmanship. But now, it's like reading a good suspense-filled novel. Is that piece of stressed plywood going to explode and take out our adored protagonist?

Can't wait to read the next chapter.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Tony, I'd really like to get to meet you someday around a campfire. I'm sure it would be a laugh a minute busting a gut and tipping a glass!

You made me smile right there, you did. Yup.

Cut to the loft at Mecca.
"The air hangs humid as the evening light dims. Our intrepid hero crouches down in front of the sleeping beast, daring to reach out for the ratchet lever as he takes a deep breath. The click click sound reverberates through the night air like the hammer of a gun being cocked; as if he is readying himself for the beast to awaken and the struggle that would surely follow. Will the beast slice our hero to shreds? Will our hero prevail and conquer the beast, grasping victory from the perilous night? Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion of this week's episode of... The Poet Creek Express!!!"

[tony.latham]

"Tony, I'd really like to get to meet you someday around a campfire. I'm sure it would be a laugh a minute busting a gut and tipping a glass!"

Well... me too. I wonder how one autographs a forum thread? Anywho... if you're anywhere near Poet Creek, Idaho a week from this Saturday, the cold beer is on me. But you can take a rain check.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Oh, would that it were. Don't tease me like that.

If you do go, take lots of pictures for me and, if it is bleak and not at all like I remember, break it to me gently, please.

If I recall correctly, the mountain run off in the 'crick' does a fair job at keeping your beer nice and cold (you know, for extended stays when you're trying to prioritize ice usage).

Alright, back to business. I have a couple of pics to download.

[tony.latham]

Oh, would that it were. Don't tease me like that.

If you do go, take lots of pictures for me and, if it is bleak and not at all like I remember, break it to me gently, please.

If I recall correctly, the mountain run off in the 'crick' does a fair job at keeping your beer nice and cold (you know, for extended stays when you're trying to prioritize ice usage).

Alright, back to business. I have a couple of pics to download.

I AM going. We're taking my wife's father –he's too crippled to camp– so it's going to be a jet-through eight hour drive without the teardrop. He retired from the Forest Service twenty-something years ago and really wants to do the drive. He's got friends in Elk City we'll be staying with.

But there will be pictures. Other than the newer burns, that country hasn't changed since Lloyd Magruder was dry gulched back there with the exception of the so-called dirt road.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Your impression of the road and whether it is reasonable to tow my idea of a TD through it would be highly valued input!

I don't necessarily plan on dragging it up all of the spurs, but, as you know, the plan is to drag it across the whole road.

Are you going in at Darby or Elk City?

(Oh, this is so exciting!!! )