Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **capnTelescope** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:18 am

tac422 wrote:PS: walls are looking great !
looks like you built the wiring in ?

Thanks TAC. Yes, the wiring is built in. I don't want exposed wiring, so it runs inside the wall along the top. This post shows how I did it. Basically, the left wall brings power forward from the galley and the right wall mostly brings power back from the TV. All connections will be made in the galley.

RandyG wrote:A granite countertop... might as well say to hell with light weight and build the whole thing out of stone.

I know.

I'd need an anti-gravity unit

or I'd have to move the axle back a couple of extra feet. At least it would be solid as a rock. :roll:

OTOH, Rustoleum has a granite-looking Countertop Transformations product that looks kinda like granite. I used their similar garage floor product once. It worked out real good. Hey! I could do the exterior with that and it would look like a Flintstone Drop! :thumbsup:

AlgoDan wrote:Hey Brad its looking good, I will keep watching if you keep building lol...

Thanks, Dan. I'll keep forging ahead. Stay tuned!

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by!

by **capnTelescope** » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:21 pm

Lots of router dust!

Yesterday I went to work on the starboard wall, and finished all the cuts on the front end. Both walls are now at the same level of done-ness, not counting some detail work that should get done today.

Here's some shots before cleanup:

I need to do some inspection with photos. I'll be reporting back. Lots of video to edit down. Stay tuned!

by **capnTelescope** » Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:26 pm

Small steps today. First, a couple more shots from yesterday, showing the semi-finished wall after cleanup.

Next, I did some inspection.

A channel I freehand routed in the nose to let wiring into the tongue box blasted through one of the spar pockets. Repair is required.

The aft bulkhead framing was off a bit, and left a big chunk of wood to be removed. Turn your head to the left and the pic makes more sense. Sorry 'bout that. :oops:

I used the 1/2" bit to rout the cabin cabinet's faceplate framer, which left gaposis at the bottom. I should have used the 1/4 and corner relief here, as well as on the left wall.

The space between the ceiling and the roof (the attic? :laughter:

) turned out just right on the right wall,

but is off by 1/8" on the left wall.

I don't think this will be a big deal, but it just annoys me. This is undoubtedly due to the earlier problems I was having with the router. BTW, the router is working semi-flawlessly since the upgrade. There are a couple of new idiosyncrasies, but the bad old ones are gone. :thumbsup:

It's so much easier to get work done when you can trust the machine not to wander around on its own.

On to the repair work:

Fixing the zit on the nose is fairly straightforward. Rout out an area for a patch piece and reroute the wiring:

Glue in a patch piece to be machined later:

Trying to fix the issue with the cabinet faceplate cut, I added a zit and made matters worse. This is when I discovered that some of the cut planning doesn't agree with the drawings. Blame falls on the Engineering Department. GIGO.

It's beer thirty, and I have a big video backlog. Thanks for stopping by! :beer:

by **RandyG** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:16 am

Those engineering hic-ups will find a way to work.
Are you posting videos of the build as well?

by **KCStudly** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:59 am

One way to hide a mistake is to "celebrate" it as an architectural style "feature". If you cap the wall at the bottom of your cabinet frames with a contrasting trim, such as a dark stained oak flange (I'm thinking a square "rosette" with rounded edges terminating the bottom of the cabinet rail at the wall), or 1/4 round molding, your eye will be attracted to it in a good way, rather than spotting it as a patch in a bad way.

GrantStews hatch fix is a good example. Instead of having a visible splice on an extension to stretch one side of his hatch skin, he added trim flanges to both sides, making it appear like he had planned it that way.

It can mean more work than just a simple repair, but like magic and misdirection, it can hide what you are really doing and wow the crowd while you are doing it. :twisted:

I sure hope the ceiling ledge does not throw everything catty whompus on you. :frightened:

by **capnTelescope** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:30 am

RandyG wrote:Are you posting videos of the build as well?

By popular demand:

by **capnTelescope** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:51 pm

KCStudly wrote:One way to hide a mistake is to "celebrate" it...

Ah yes, the "paint it red" school of hiding woodworking goofs. Tried and true. :thumbsup:

KCStudly wrote:... such as a dark stained oak flange (I'm thinking a square "rosette" with rounded edges terminating the bottom of the cabinet rail at the wall), or 1/4 round molding

I'm not clear what the flange you're describing is (got a pic?), but I can do 1/4 round. Even make my own. Smaller than storebought 1/4 would be called for here, I think, because it's a small space (and goof). Half inch quarter would be too huge in there, IMHO. I'll probably want it for the ceiling, too.

For one brief shining moment, I thought I was going to get off the hook Scot free. I measured and compared the distance to the front on both walls, and got unequal results. I thought I was going to be able to just machine the zit off, and all the ugly would be behind the faceplate, where you'd have to go look for it. Then I measured again (the third time) and they came out even. Drat. :fb

I'm going to measure again.

So once again I can see my way past a problem. Thanks to you, KC. :beer:

KCStudly wrote:I sure hope the ceiling ledge does not throw everything catty whompus on you.

I suspect more than one perfectly good Tear has been built with bigger mismatches. I don't think an eighth inch out of square/parallel over 5 feet is going to show. I think the inside of the cabin will be square, and the outside will be off in the front. There's also the option to trim the nose on the left wall. :ok:

Not that I've been that successful at recuts. :fb

I'll know better once I get the stbd wall off the router table and can compare the two walls side-by-side.

by **RandyG** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:41 pm

Loved the video, I can watch a cnc work for hours. Your machine is awesome, building one is now bumped up a few spots on my list. :applause:

by **KCStudly** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:29 pm

I'll try to model something up tomorrow after work.

I'll try to describe what I am picturing a little better. Let's say that the bottom rail on your face frame is 1x2. Now imagine a flat rectangle, maybe 1/4 to 3/8 thick x 2 inches wide x 3 inches tall. Now round the corners a bit, then round the edges over with the 1/4 inch round over all around, then cut a 3/4 wide slot in the top so it can slide up around the bottom of the bottom rail symmetrically (trim the side under the cabinet as required to clear the side ledger or cabinet floor).

Sort of like a flat square rosette punctuating the points where the rails meet the walls. The fit would be kind of like those pole sockets people are using for canvas bunk rod hangers, except squarish.

by **KCStudly** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:14 am

Here's what I had in mind for the rosette.

If you carry this theme throughout the build, using the same contrasting wood (like walnut) for trim, such as under your light fixtures and switch plates, paper towel rack, door and drawer pulls, etc., it would really add a nice touch of detail.

Just one thought. Another option is to make your own 1/4 round out of a nice hardwood. I made up a bunch of maple at 5/16 inch with a 1/4 inch round over bit and then haven't used any of it yet.