The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[KCStudly]

Back when Karl and I installed the table saw we made sure to shim it so that it was just a tad higher than the out feed/work table. However, when cutting the large-ish piece of thin 5mm ply for the front wall there was enough “flop” or curl and weight in the sheet that it sagged in the gap between the tables and hung up on the edge of the out feed table. So I told myself that the next time I needed to do a changeover on the router, or take it out of the router table, I would ease the edges over. Well, no time like the present, so I used the 45 deg bevel cutter with guide bearing…


… to lay that edge back.


The unfinished edge of the melamine wasn’t the best surface for the guide bearing to follow, so it left a few dips and whoops, but they cleaned up pretty quickly with the small sanding block. It really tamed the little snags and jags of the rough factory edge, and I liked that (seemed like less chance of marring parts in progress), so I went ahead and did the other 3 sides of the table.

Next I set up for making the rabbet for the aluminum trim in the locker sill. By combining the new 1-1/8 inch diameter guide bearing with the 1-1/4 inch diameter cutter the offset matches the 1/16 inch thick aluminum stock.


I almost made the mistake of setting the depth of cut the same 1/2 inch as the short leg of the aluminum angle, but caught myself. The actual depth needed to match the inside of the short leg, so I used a piece of scrap as a gauge and made a mark.


From this I was able to set the proper depth.


Using the divider panel and those little chocks (that I showed previously) as added support for the router shoe I made a couple of dry runs with the router just to check stability, make sure the cord wouldn’t hang up, and things like that; just checking for any gottchas. I find that this can help uncover any issues that might catch you off guard if you just fire that sucker off and blast away.

So comfortable with that, I cut a little section just to see if things fit right.


Nice and flush in both aspects.


So I went for it. Well, fat load of good my test pass did! When I got to the end of the line, since I was holding down and away with my leading hand, when I got to the corner of the locker opening the open space around the cutter was able to drop down around the corner of the locker opening, resulting in a false cut.


Here you can sort of get an idea of how the large open area of the shoe around the cutter could fall off of the corner of the face of the locker where the rabbet for the wall skin is.


Not a big disaster. In fact you could say that I “got away with it” because the trim will hide most of the mistake.


The temporary Dutchman over the striker recess worked exactly as planned.


You can see the difference in thickness between the striker and the trim as witnessed in the removed Dutchman.


Next I used a scrap of the aluminum trim as a guide to score the corners where the rabbeting bit could not reach.


Then I trimmed these out with the small 3/8 inch chisel.


Test piece fit great.


Here is how the trim and striker rabbets look together.


With the sill trim piece in place I could see that it needed to be shifted to the right a little.


Not a problem, since the trim was fit tight, I still had the thickness of the vinyl lining to play with. So I made a sliver cut off the end of the right side miter cut. For safety, and to keep the piece from moving during the cut, I removed the adjustable portion of the fence and used a scrap of wood to clamp the aluminum to the lower fixed fence.


Safety glasses (always), hearing protection, and a slow feed rate.


That is much better!


Now I could mask and get some primer inside of the case.


I used some temporary bolts to plug the threads in the T-nuts.


I had intended to just jamb out the corners and outside edges, but once I got going it just made more sense to coat it all.


And that’s the name of that tune.

[KCStudly]

This looks sort of weird, but to be sure that there are no unfinished edges peeking out from behind the vinyl liner, I painted around the corners, edges and hole locations with color matched paint.

There won’t be any vinyl on the sill (or divider) so that got painted, too.

The front edge of the floor and toe kick spar that enclose the back of the locker well would be very difficult to finish once the locker is installed so I fit the toe kick, traced the area to be masked, and masked both the floor and spar. I also hit the top edge of the floor in this area with the sanding block to round it over a little, taking the sharp off.


Set up the 3/4 round over bit in the router table and did the ends of the toe kick spar.


To secure the bottom of the wall to the floor I went with two 2-1/2 inch long deck screws in the thick part at each end of the spar (where the wall/roof foam will be along the sides of the locker), and I toed them in at an angle so that there would be no problem getting the cordless drill on them once the wall skin is in place. Used a scrap with appropriate angle as a visual guide to set the drill angle. Did this with the spar clamped hanging off of the edge of the bench.



This last one is after flipping it around to drill the second side.


In the narrow section of the spar that will be inside of the locker I predrilled straight down and will use 2-1/2 inch long Kregg screws, but in a standard configuration, sans pockets. They are narrower than the deck screws, have a washer head and the long square head driver should make it easier to drive them down in the locker well.


Now with the toe kick shimmed (to simulate the wall skin) and screwed down, I applied the primer where needed.


Once the primer had a chance to flash off a bit, I removed the toe kick again so that they wouldn’t get stuck together. I’ll brush the gray paint on with the parts separated.


Grotto Jeff and his brother Jud invited me over for an impromptu burger cookout, but first they came over to check out my progress. Jud had not seen it since the wall blanks were in their rough state (i.e. before any of the staining and poly had started). He was very complimentary. He also commented on how roomy it seemed inside the cabin and galley compared to what he would expect from a more traditionally shaped TD, and how much storage space there would be.

Before catching back up with them, I finished laying the second coat of poly on the front wall skin and face of the locker door. I used the same 2 inch brush on the door as I had started with on the wall, and hope that I don’t regret it later. I probably should have switched to the smaller 1 inch brush.



p.s. It was a very good burger with some "Whats-that-here" sauce blended in, cooked on a heavy grate over a bed of oak coals, on a nice soft sesame seed bakery roll with a little ketchup. Simple, but yummy.

[Shar]

Thanks for showing closeups of the credit card modifications. That is a helpful tip.

[KCStudly]

No problem. I'm happy that you found something useful!

[lfrazer98]

Just had a few minutes to scroll through some of your photos. You really do a beautiful job working with wood. Wish I had all the tools and know how. Just wanted to say thanks for all your help with my build and yours is quite beautiful

[KCStudly]

Thank you very much for the kind words, Lauren. You and dad are doing a great job on your build, too. I like the way you did your slide out tray with the laminate!

The tools "come with the territory", I guess, being mechanically inclined.

Still, this is truly my first attempt at anything this ambitious in wood (... or other medium, I suppose), so the message I want to send to everyone is, if I can do it you can too (it's not perfect, and neither am I ). Plan well in advance, pay attention to the details, commit yourself to what level you want to build at, and make the commitment to see it thru. Don't underestimate the cost in time and materials, and don't give up.

At one point I had spent a bunch of hours laminating the wall edges for the galley hatch area and they weren't coming out the way I wanted (uneven edges and warped), but I asked for advice here, thought about it for a time while working on other things and came up with a solution. Even if I had thrown them out and started again using different techniques, it was a learning experience and I didn't give up.

...and I am still having trouble mastering the use of polyurethane.

[lfrazer98]

Thanks for the words of support and advice. If there is anything that I have almost mastered, it is poly! I am polyurethaning every piece of this build and it is the only thing that I have solely had my hands on. The rest is mostly my dad and I help him out. Can I ask what color stain you used for that rich, dark color? It is beautiful! I know it is partly the wood type, but the color is very rich and beautiful! Time for dinner.... We only take food breaks so we can get as much done as possible.

[KCStudly]

It is Minwax Red Chestnut No. 232 (select color tab) oil stain on Okoume marine ply from Noah's. The Okoume tends to have a pink blush color and an even grain that takes the stain very well. If you look at some of the Red Grandis shelf ledgers I made for the galley shelves, they also start out pinkish, but the alternating grain doesn't take the stain as well (it is stringier, seems a little harder, and tends to chip out readily).

The maple is Minwax "Natural" oil No. 209.

The poly is Minwax Clear Gloss High Build

I have stuck with the high build because I didn't want to change mid project, but if I have to buy more (I'm a little more than halfway thru my second gallon) I think I will give the regular stuff a try, or switch to an exterior grade (probably should have used an exterior grade from the start).

[KCStudly]

My plan was to use the 3 day weekend to get as far along on the front wall assembly as I could. Instead I took yesterday off and watched the Indy race, then went to moms for a family gathering, then watched the drags last night.

This morning Yvette and I went out to breakfast and I sat and watched at least a dozen big 5th wheel and tag along camp trailers go by. One little tiny popup went by, and there was an early nicely restored Serro Scotty in the parking lot (picture on Vette’s camera); may have been a Hilander.

So after an errand and some relaxing back at the house, I went out to Mecca for a couple of hours to lay down another coat of finish.

We had a front come thru so our nice cool weather changed to hotter and a little humid. I had the fan running in the loft and should have shut it off; got some dust in what probably would have been the 3rd and final coat of poly on the front wall skin.


The 2nd coat of poly I put on the front of the locker door the other day had some pretty glaring dry spots and will need some more work, but for now I put a second coat on the back side.


I finished up by putting a second coat of the gray paint on the locker sill. This is the final finish for the sill so I wanted good coverage. The other areas are “just in case”, so I didn’t bother with a second coat.


Once I am happy with the “good” side of the front wall skin, I will layout and mask off the area on the front side that will be inside of the locker well, and will prime and paint that, too.

[KCStudly]

I made a big move on the front locker tonight.

Started by laying out the pattern on the back side of the vinyl. After tracing the first half, flipping the pattern over and getting it in position, when I checked the diagonals at the corner reference points I found some inconsistencies and had to make some adjustments. Measure twice, cut once.


Before cutting the little notches for the sill, I did a dry fit, tucking the corners into position and confirming their locations were accurate.



I was concerned that the 3M 77 contact adhesive might have too much grab, so I considered using TB2, but a quick test on a scrap and the stir stick I had used for the paint proved that the TB2 wouldn’t have any initial tack at all.


By using the 3M 77, but only spraying the case, I got plenty of tack and could still nudge and press the vinyl around a little, or even pull it back up enough to reposition sections.

I sanded the edges and rounded the corners of a paint stir stick to use as a paddle/squeegee to push the vinyl into the corners and get it to lay flat.


The sill was a little troublesome because it kept me from just being able to fold the vinyl back on itself easily. Also, the way I had planned the overlapping corners so that the edges of the seams were less prominent (like hanging siding on a house with the laps facing away) meant that I had to start at the bottom and work my way up. So I glued the bottom in first then folded the rest up. I wrapped the sill in rosin paper to mask it off, so I wouldn’t get the spray glue all over it.


From there things got a little busy and I was more worried about keeping glue off of the good side than taking pictures. I sprayed a pyramid shaped area up the middle so that I could unroll the vinyl, getting it centered while still being able to align the top corners, then I could fold each corner back over the sill, work my way up the sides and get the rest all glued up. I used a chunk of the template paper as a shield to keep over spray off the good side while lapping the corners, and along the edges.

Used the utility knife to trim the excess…


… and removed the masking.


In hindsight I should have painted the face of the opening inside of the wall skin rabbet before installing the vinyl. Even though this will be covered with the trim, it would be better if the wood is sealed. I’ll have to mask and paint. Also, there was a small spot on the sill where the paint lifted with the tape, so I will have to touch that up.

In this detail shot of the top corner you can see how the side flap tabs print thru a little, but that won’t be at all obvious from the normal viewing position (in fact you would have to bend down to look up under the locker door).



Had to do a dry fit with the wall skin to have a look-see. The raw band around the opening should have been painted.


Still, I’m very happy with how it is turning out.

Next I need to punch holes in the vinyl were the bolt holes for the perches go, and install the hardware.

[RandyG]

The color of the vinyl is the color I have for my final paint, what color will your topcoat be?

[KCStudly]

The color of the vinyl is the color I have for my final paint, what color will your topcoat be?

Well, now that you mention it, I am thinking about using it for the major color outside. My plan has always been to try and tie the color into our Jeep, which is black, but without using black (collects heat and could cause issues with the foam). So the plan has been to use some black for accents and a gray or silver color for the rest; maybe some pinstripes to separate the main colors.

All along I’ve been thinking long slender black scallops over gray. One of the reasons I like scallops (besides the fact that they are so cool in their own right) is that they are reminiscent of traditional flames, which I love, but don’t have the talent for.

Something like Charlie B’s orange and white Lilgizmo in the Hall of Fame, except with less black than his orange.

I hope me using gray doesn’t conflict with your plans. I know some people want their campers to be unique.

Anyway, here’s tonight’s progress. I brought my hole punch set with me.


I picked the size that just fit over the barrel of the T-nuts, but ended up going up one more size so that there was something backing up the cuts.


By locating the holes with my finger, I was able to center the punch reasonably accurately, and then just twist to make the cut thru the vinyl (I didn’t end up using the hammer as that is less controlled and could result in cutting into the wood below).


Next I made a slight adjustment to the top trim piece; temporarily installed it and the sill trim; and proceeded to cut the side trim piece to fit.





I used the little file that I got at the swap meet to deburr these, and to round the corners over. I also used a center punch to prick punch ID marks on the back so I can tell which one fits where after powder coating. Here you can see the rounded corners.



Next I transferred the hole locations from the top trim to the sill piece (for symmetry), and laid out the hole pattern for the side pieces. I’ll drill and countersink those next time.

On the way out I snapped a couple of shots of one of Karl’s latest projects; a balcony going off to be galvanized.

[RandyG]

I too have a black suv but didn't want a black camper and was going to have some sort of black pin stripe or decals. I guess who ever gets to that point first will have a copy cat. I'm fine with that, we're way down south but you never know; we may cross paths someday. Nice work on that trim, it's tedious getting those corners perfect.

[KCStudly]

I guess who ever gets to that point first will have a copy cat. I'm fine with that, we're way down south but you never know; we may cross paths someday. Nice work on that trim, it's tedious getting those corners perfect.

Cool.

Because the cabinet case was very square, the trim didn't take that much effort. I just set the miter saw at the 45 deg detents, locked the angle in good with a block and clamp, and crept up on the length. I had one do over on one of the side pieces when I cut it too short, and the extra layer of vinyl at the top corner flaps kind of made the top piece roll down to the outside (the slight shadow line in one of the above pics), but I hope to correct that while installing the wall skin and final screws.

Thanks for the compliments.

[Wolffarmer]

Black would be about the last color I would get for a vehicle. Shows every bit of dirt I do not care about washing off.