Steam Bent Wood Teardrop

[Trogdor]

Hi everyone,

I have been lurking on the forum for awhile now, reading peoples build journals and planning to build my own teardrop! I found this site via the Grizz Pod as it is also detailed on another site I frequent.

Anyway I have been planning this trailer for some time, and I have been changing the details quite a bit! Currently I am plannning on using the Grumman 2 plans that are so helpfully provided on angib's site. I was planning on using birch ply etc for the sides (5 x10) but after learning how much it cost (120.00 plus VAT each!)and how difficult it was to find my father suggested using a hardwood like oak and steam bending it into the shapes I needed.
This appeals to me as ply is easy to damage, difficult to move/store and is quite expensive. The oak laths on the other hand are much lighter and cheaper and can be left outside as being a hardwood they are reasonably resistant to rot.

I also copied Grizz in purchasing a caravan chassis, I got it from ebay for a good price. The guys I brought it from were amazing as I turned up in a fiat seicento to fit it all into, I am not sure if you have these cars in the US but they are very small! And they spent three hours helping me remove the floor which they disposed of for me and also helped me dismantle the trailer and get it in the car, (we also had to dismantle some of the interior and have part of the trailer sticking out, but we did get it all in!

Anyway here is a pic of it once I had got it back and put back together,

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I have also copied Grizz by modifying the trailer to suit the teardrop profile, this entailed moving the tongue further back and cutting the rear back a bit. I also added in some cross members at the rear and also bolted in the stabilisation jacks that were part of the floor. The stupidly yellow (don't ask) car behind is the car I used to bring it back.

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Once I had the trailer I found some oak laths so I could give steam bending a go, I don't have a picture of my steam box but its basically a PVC drainage tube with a fitting cap at one end which has a fitting that can take the output pipe from a wallpaper steamer, this sits on two work stands and has wood dowels inside that the laths sit on.

Anyway here is a pic of the lath bent, (I don't have any forms yet so its just bent using the trailer as a form)



Since then I have been moving house, (losing that driveway space/garage) and other issues that have got in the way.

These past few weeks I have been getting back into it and have made a scale(ish) model of my basic frame.





It was supposed to be 1/12 scale, 1 inch to 1 ft but while its 5 inches wide its 4 and half tall? I think I know where I went wrong!

At the moment I am waiting til I get paid, (as a full time PhD student I get paid in quarterly intervals which really sucks!) and I will be then buying the oak I need to build the frame, I am also most likely going to using a hard wood for the floor.

I am not sure if I will be using my trailer frame as it amazingly heavy and over engineered, all I really wanted from the chassis was the axle and coupler with brakes. I am most likely going to get someone to build the frame for me to the design on angib's site.

Hope that was of some interest to people, please let me know your thoughts!

[rowerwet]

If I had had the time my sidewalls would have been steam bent ribs laminated into a super strong arch for the side wall frame, I will be watching for what you do

[Larry C]

Why not rip the boards into strips to use as lamination's glued together. That's what I did.

[grizz]

Welcome !!

I am glad you used steel to brace the rear.

I made loads of mistakes along the way..... My secret.

Not sure where in the country you are, but you are always welcome to pop in or PM me for a number if you want to chat.

Love the steaming idea.

I bit the bullet on the 5x10 ply, it is stupidly overpriced if you can find it.

Look forward to your progress.

Shout if you need me.

[eamarquardt]

Greetings,

I made a test rib out of strips of 1/8" Baltic Birch. Virtually no wasted material (just saw kerfs), easy to do (clamped lay up to short pieces of angle iron screwed to plywood), and no springback upon removing the cured rib from the form.



I'd be careful dealing with Grizz (Rian). Not all of his steering wheels are on the correct side of his vehicles. I think he's confused on which is right/left or he simply can't make up his mind which he prefers. Beware!

Cheers,

Gus

[rebapuck]

I love the models you guys make. I'm going to have to try that myself one day.

[Trogdor]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies, I had looked at laminating but it looks just as much work as steam bending if not more as I have no way of easily cutting strips of wood.

Plus I think steam bending is really cool!

I had a chat with a boat building supply company and they have suggested using ash to bend so I will hopefully getting some from them soon!

Although I am having thoughts of going to the foam side!

Grizz, thinks for the advice I have read your thread several times and have found it very informative! Unfortunately I am nowhere near you, live in the North West close to Liverpool.

[grizz]

Yep.

Guess Manchester is a bit far for a cuppa.

Not so much trying to sell, as make aware. But I will be removing the 5x205 VW pattern adapters and selling them along with all four Radars with tyres I have, selling them on and buying a pair of 6x139.7 Chrome smoothies with similar white walls as the truck has as soon as my engineer says he can make me a pair of adapters.

If you know anyone, point them in my direction please.

[Trogdor]

Oooh grizz those wheels are really tempting!

However I know how much you paid for them and also how much the adapters were and I have nowhere near the funds to cover them, which is one of the reasons why I am tempted to build a foamie teardrop, much cheaper!

Although I really want a wood framed aluminium skinned teardrop.

I was planning on doing some test bends using the oak I have but its been a bit too windy here, I have to do it outside and I don't fancy mixing steam and wind!

Hopefully I will get a chance this week.

Cheers