We're rapidly nearing the end of the week and, while the weather cooperated yesterday, Murphy didn't. The thermometer I keep on top of the trailer was reading 16 degC (under the black tarp) by yesterday afternoon so it was just warm enough to get my glass in gear.
I got the glass into the repair area on the radius and started on the rest of the roof when my phone rang...and then again....and again....
Well, I was suited up and had resin mixed so the clock was ticking. I finished off the second pot of resin I had already mixed up and cleaned the rollers with acetone before the resin could cure on them. I checked my messages and it was my wife trying to get a hold of me to see if I could go look at a place (we're looking to move), then calling back to say she'd set it up for today instead...so I could have kept on with the glassing while I had the temperature on my side.
Today I've got the landlady's contractor coming in to look at the rickety deck and we're viewing the new house early this afternoon, so today's probably out. It's supposed to start cooling off again so it looks like I will have to take it to the shop to glass it inside, which means I won't make the goal of having the glass done by tomorrow.
Here is a shot of the radius with the glass on it: a layer of 1oz mat, a layer of 18oz roving, and another layer of mat. There will be some fairing to do before I paint it but it seems to have filled the missing ply pretty well, though it'll show up better when the (temporary) topcoat of grey-tinted resin goes on.
You can just make out where I also got glass onto the first section of flat roof on the far side of the hatch. That's right when the phone started going off...
I have been working inside after it cools off in the evening. Over the last couple nights I've made up some door hinges from a piece of 2" SS piano hinge I had:
I got the first door's outer skin ready for glass and the second one cut out as a blank. The other one will be a bit tricky because I've already glued the inner skin on, so I'm using this one to figure out the sequence to put the other one together. The problem is that I'm gluing a window into the door and there's a return that goes in to fill the rest of the door's thickness. If I glue it together, I would have to pass all of that through the window hole so I need to glass the skin off the door, glue the window in, then glue and clamp it all together. Here's the filler that needs to go between the inner skin and the window. Only the inside edge will be visible and that will get either black paint or fir tape before it goes in...or maybe
fur tape instead ?
Anyway, here's the first door that will get glassed tonight:
The window is as small as it is so I can replace it with an aluminum-framed glass one eventually. It's low in the door so that, when it's tinted, it will blend into the black 'swoosh' that will come down the side of the trailer and so that one can see out when sitting up in bed.
That's the vision at least:
For door handles, I want to go with
these door latches, but they're a bit pricy so I won't be buying them for a bit yet.
In the meantime, I came up with an alternative that ought to work without butchering the door too badly.
On the outside, I'll use SS cabinet locks that I have laying around, along with a small pull handle:
The shock cord will be doubled over and used on the inside as a door closer and also on the inside will be a barrel bolt as a privacy lock.
The only part of the door that I'll need to rework when I do get the proper latches is to plug the 3/4" hole for the lock cylinder with a piece of dowel.