CNC Build: The Bed and Breakfast at 4 years and 40,000 miles

[capnTelescope]

I've been busy taking care of "other 'portant stuff" for the last two months, but now getting back into the build. The Hill Country Gathering is two weeks away and I need to get down to biz.

I shot some video of cutting the lifters for my cabin tambours a few weeks ago, and just got around to editing it. Cutting time is about a minute each, not counting fiddling about while getting ready. Much faster than what I tried to do on the table saw, with much better results. Also, my poor old fingers were much safer, even with the SawStop. You don't think I completely trust that thing, do you?

YouTube is "processing" the video, so it may not be up yet. If not, come back in an hour. I read in Wired magazine that they pay people to watch these videos before publication. 99% are just fine, and the one percent that aren't are really bad. Like ISIS bad, if you get my drift. The pits of depravity. Wired said it is a real burnout. Awful pun not intended.

This video runs 5-6 minutes as the CNC cuts out several lifters. Enjoy!


Oh, yeah. you might notice that I finally figured out what to call the darn things. They're not knobs or handles. They're lifters! You have no idea what a load that lifts off my mind to finally find just the right word.

Speaking of lifters, I'm also trying to figger out gas springs for the hatch. More on that in a later post.

Cookie update
I found that moving the oven rack up a notch ended any issues with burnt bottoms.

Thanks for stopping by!

[capnTelescope]

Weather here's been crummy, like everywhere else. Cold and rainy. Great for testing for leaks around the hatch. Not so good for fixing leaks around the hatch.

I moved the Tear out of the garage last week in anticipation of rain and to hydrotest. And to get the TV inside, since it leaks around the camper shell.

I've still got a water intrusion problem, though it's getting better. No puddles this time.

My theory is that water is seeping in between the weatherstrip carrier and the wall. Water comes in from high up, finds its way down into the crack the left arrow is pointing to, then moves towards the aft end, where it spreads out in the area the right arrow points to. This is kinda like sealing around the bathtub. It looks like it should be okay, but water gets in anyway. More caulk and try again!

[Alan_H]

Cap'n, I've been reading your build thread from the first page for the past couple weeks and finally got to the current page. Lots of progress, and lots of ingenuity going on here.

Very impressive work!!

Thanks for all the details, it's inspiring for those of us who haven't embarked on our builds yet. I have a 5'x9" trailer that was a home-built by my dad and grandfather that is going to get re-purposed from a utility to a Tear and your details and explanations along with others here are inspiring me to get going.

Keep on keepin' on!!

[capnTelescope]

Thank you, Alan. It's responses like yours that keep the builds and journals going. Thanks for wading through what's getting to be a loooong thread.

Now, get going on that build. It's some of the best fun you can have with wood.

[capnTelescope]

Last weekend I got the trailer out to Pedernales Falls State Park for a second outing.

The week before, weather and other obligations finally allowed me to get busy getting ready to go.I made a list of things I needed/wanted to get done for the trip. It grew from one post-it note to three as I went along. Big surprise: most of the list got done! During the trip, I made a new list. Only one post-it:

Yellow = before. green = after


Got the new mattress and the sheets into the cabin, Somehow.

Actually, it wasn't THAT hard. It's a combo memory foam/inner spring mattress. It came all rolled up, Other than being heavy, it fit thru the door just fine.

Word to the wise: When you're making a cardboard mockup of the cabin, don't forget to take into account the mattress. Mine turned out okay, but it was close.

I put OakInteriors' suggestion to work on the stove/oven slideout, and put a second slider in the back:

This made a huge difference in the rigidity of the whole thing when slid out. Thank you, OakInteriors!

I decided to move the propane inlet pipe about six inches to the left to better use floor space.

I didn't have time to fill in the old hole, so I took the yellow rag and stuffed it down the hole. It just looked like I was being my usual untidy self. The new hole wasn't quite in the right place, so I have to fill in that mess too.

Failure to plan ahead
The biggest F2PA was the backup/rearview camera. I got one that fits on the license plate, right in the center of the hatch... looking directly at the bike rack post.

Stay tuned, more to come.

[capnTelescope]

Executive summary:
I've been telling people on the guided tours that I would build some drawers and a cupboard under the counter in the galley. Time to follow through.

In kitchen design, there's a lot of talk about the "Kitchen Triangle." Ingredients go in and nothing edible comes out. No, wait. That's the Kitchen Bermuda Triangle.

The Kitchen Triangle has to do with the placement of the stove, sink and refrigerator near to the food prep area. Unfortunately, those great thinkers forgot a very important fourth feature: the Trash Can. I don't know about anyone else, but when Chef Telescope cooks, there will be trash created. On my second outing, I more or less secured a tall kitchen trash bag to the hitch receiver. That left the trash bag on the ground where a certain person had to stoop down to put anything in it. Therefore, the Kitchen Quadrangle is born.



Drawers
At the Hill Country Gathering, one of my fellow campers brought some hunks of cedar timber for firewood. I rescued several chunks for the drawers.

First, resaw to a usable thickness. In this case, a half inch thick. It took two cuts, one from each side.
First cut:

Turn over for second cut:

Using half-inch instead of 3/4 lumber gives me an extra half inch inside length & width in the drawers.

Voila', wah-lah, walla:


Cut to final size and take 'em to the CNC to cut box joints:

4 drawers * 4 sides * 2 ends = 32 cuts. I did the joints for the Yeti tray on the table saw. The CNC was much faster and easier.
Note the corner relief radius at the bottom of the notches.

That corner relief allows the square face of the "finger" to set all the way to the bottom of the notch. Some glue and some clamps, and you get this:

Sand everything flush, done.

The next step is to build a framework for the drawers to fit into:

I used pocket hole screws for joinery.

After measuring once and cutting twice, it all looks like this:




I had a bunch of tambour slats left over that I ripped down to 1/4" thick and glued to the front of the drawers.

A set of clearance-priced drawer pulls from HoDePo finishes up the look.

[capnTelescope]

Trash Can Holder

I mentioned before that I wanted to get the trash bag off the ground. I used to hang it on the truck's radio antenna. That wasn't too bad when I was cooking on the truck tailgate, but add a trailer-length to that and it's too far away.

Start with the kitchen trash can that served me well for several years. It's gotten kinda yucky looking for the kitchen , but not too bad for the campsite.


Replace with a handsome new can in the kitchen.


Build a frame to fit the camping can. Just like building a drawer, but no bottom. see the post above. Trim off the can bottom even with the frame. Install tall kitchen bag, add a couple hooks to mount it on the cooler tray:

By pure coincidence, the trash bag frame and the cooler tray are the same width!

I hope no one mistakes this for a potty.

The over-the-door towel holder that gave me the idea gets to go camping as a reward:

The kitchen quintangle is born!

The bottom of the can that I cut off got repurposed as a shop trash can.

[capnTelescope]

A few pix of the final result:






There's still a few things to do back here. I've gotta do something for a counter top. The fill tube for the water tank needs a redo because it gets in the way when sliding the stove in. The sink and faucet get moved to the second tambour from the third. A door for the cubby beside the drawers. Etc.

(Edit) And trim panels for the sides to hide all the construction and wiring and ugliness that shows now. (/Edit)

Thanks for looking!

[KCStudly]

Nifty!

Where does the trash can frame and lid travel when underway?

[capnTelescope]

Where does the trash can frame and lid travel when underway?

They're going to have to go in the back of the pickup. The frame is just too big to go into the cubby hole. It can keep the gray water bucket company.

It happens when something wasn't in the original plan.

[KCStudly]

Ah, I guess having that capability is an enabler. I'm worried that I will get to the point of loading up for the big trip and all of the big items will have to go on the mattress. There is room under the galley counter, but the bag chairs and solar panel will all be competing for space with the kitchen stuff. Mostly depends on the head count; with two people in the Jeep the rear seat stays out and there is quite a bit of room. With a third person the seat stays in and cargo space is drastically reduced.

Que sera sera.

[capnTelescope]

I had two SUVs before the Taco. The farther behind you things are, the more they're out of mind. The Explorer was better that the Bronco II. When things are in the bed of the Taco, you kinda don't care whether they rattle around or not. Things in the Tear are really out of mind.

[tony.latham]

Bro:

Your galley is really rockin'.

T

[capnTelescope]

Thanks Bro. I have to humbly agree.

[noseoil]

Cap'n, looking very good now. Takes a lot of detail work, doesn't it? Beautiful job!