go ahead, call me crazy !

[dave campbell]

thanks S. Heisley and Vedette---we're having a great time hashing this project out !

today's weather--- 70% chance of rain and the atmospherique app has a little grey cloud with a lightning bolt sticken outa the bottom----staying out of the cage.

ran out of 1/8 x 1" yesterday----went for more but they were sold out. so today was spent farting around with some 1/4 inch ply. we had about a sheet and a half from another project just sitting there so.....

holy eff it works.JPG (69.51 KiB) Viewed 2384 times

to attach the ply i figure on drilling and tapping a hole at each intersection, and using a machine screw with a nice big tapered head on it.

wraparound!.JPG (75.53 KiB) Viewed 2384 times

to tell the truth--- i lost some sleep worrying about this step. thinking that the gem-points would transfer through the ply wood ! nope---smooth as you please. maybe some shimming.

getting a woody.JPG (84.88 KiB) Viewed 2384 times

to attach the inside paneling i think a 'C' channel drilled, tapped and zapped to the intersections is the way to go.

a couple of posts ago i mentioned turning the frame into a network of T bars through an idiotic welding exercise !?! changed my mind on that one.........

[dave campbell]

hey all--today's update----
still waiting for the next bundle of strapping. hopefully today it comes in and we can get going on project Y.
also researching air rivet tools and i've decided to go with a plain old air hammer. only 25 bucks as compared to 150 plus for a proper riveter. princess auto and KMS tools are both great for customer satisfaction and if i find the air hammer lacks finesse or trigger control, then i will upgrade. rivets are dirt cheap from Wick's aircraft supply---sold by the 1/8 pound. around 5 bucks for several hundred, depending on the shaft size.

[dave campbell]

it's a real treat to see the random little trailers up in the corner of my screen----currently enjoying 'the puffin' i love the height, the hidden wheel, love the balance of b/w----needs a little barbie out in front......

kept it going on the project today---- self explanitory, but i will provide comentary....

not a great angle. thinking i could use more clamps at this moment.

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flip side track 2.JPG (85.84 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

things are going well -----but for those who follow----spend some time and make sure the top spine is securely AND directly over the base spine.
while dialing in my (driver's side) cage bars i did find the top spine to have wandered to the passenger side about an inch !! (at the four foot high mark). probably did not help that i removed all those vertical 2x4's towards the back as i was putting together the other side. kinda had to for some of them, as they where in the way of some of the ribs.... as seen in the photos i did manage to haul it over with some jiggery. and as i had not welded my rib bottomS, on the morrow i can easily get this cage kosher..........

flip side track 3.JPG (82.06 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

thanks for looking and thanks for the inspiration

[KCStudly]

[OP827]

^+1

[noseoil]

It's working. Take a look at a "lapstrake double ender" & some construction images of how they're made. It's very similar to your build & uses the same type of shape for strength. Really enjoying this one, keep plugging along!

[tony.latham]

Dave:

Some of these build threads are better than the reality TV shows on the tube. Much better. And your's is rapidly becoming the top rung on the ladder. (I thought you were crazy and now, not so much.)

Nice work. Great job!

Tony

[Gunguy05]

This is intriguing as hell, looks like you are doing a fine job. I am following along. Keep us updated , and like they say "photos or it didn't happen".

Good luck!

[dave campbell]

hey all--- thanks noseoil for the reference material----that boat is pretty neat !
tony.latham---yup--reality TV sucks, which is why i don't watch it. wayyyyy out of lots of loops but you know what ? don't really care either.....
gunguy05 thanks for the

well i did it !! got the back section mirrored with a mostly straight spine and two halves that resemble one another close enough to be twins. intersections are level with their counter parts (within 1/4" at the worst, anyways) : angles are good : plenty of head room inside ( even though this is the bed end of the ship, i can still stand with lots of clearance ( 5'6" is a handy height to be ))

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rear end cage near done 2.JPG (32.34 KiB) Viewed 2183 times

started my day with a bomb on the motorbike to grab 6 more vice grip C clamps. up to 16 now and i still feel like a few more would be nice.

welcome to thunderdome, raggedy-man ! (tina turner : mad max 3)

rear end cage near done.JPG (35.07 KiB) Viewed 2183 times

[KCStudly]

Two men enter, one man leaves. Two men enter, one man leaves.

[dave campbell]

IMG_5471.jpg (72.18 KiB) Viewed 2190 times

[S. Heisley]

...Still watching! You're doing really good so far!

[dave campbell]

thanks sharon

just a bit of progress on project Y today. other things to do ya know.....

set up the profile on the forward side of the doors---re-purposed the ply wood from the last section. the walls up to about three feet are pretty much parallel, but from there up the curve changes just a bit. i jig-sawed off a long skinny elephant tusk of plywood---the difference between the two areas being just an inch or so along he top.

front end start 1.JPG (76.2 KiB) Viewed 2103 times

the trick now will be to get the front curve to transform gracefully into the curve coming off the doors. as i sat with beer in hand pondering the logistics of such a thing----i thought that perhaps if i treat it just as i did the back end----clamp the H-E-double hockey stick out of the straps at the spine and then clamp the same amount on the other end of said straps where they meet the base, all the while keeping a keen eye on the strap-horizon and how they round the corner-----effectively mirroring the rear end, but this time with a snubbed nose----things should go allright. if they don't i will know right quick......

front end start 2.JPG (52.7 KiB) Viewed 2103 times

cheers all

[KCStudly]

Not sure I get it, but if the problem is getting the contour in front of the door to blend properly, then shouldn't you run the backers/contours straight thru the door and cut them out after the fact, rather than try to form the front, rear and door separately?

Is that what we are talking about?

Regardless, love the project.

[dave campbell]

hey kc studly----

yup--that is the plan but i had to hit the reset button at the back side of the doors. for starters, the strapping i am using is only 10 feet long----also, after negotiating the curve around the back side, the uppermost straps came around the bend awkwardly (crossing trajectories rather than parallel). as for transferring across the doors, i took care to ensure the plywood forms were identical (at least along the side walls) but the form changes as you get nearer the top.

my conniption now is not how to span the doors (although this will be somewhere i need to pay extra attention) but how to negotiate the front end corners and how they will relate to the (side profile) curve of the front end spine. the curves are a bit different---especially at the top---- thanks for the input and interest !!

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