My first teardrop - the Kampster, Final Posting

[bbarry]

You all have fun! And keep the handy. Will be fun to show the grand kids the boo boo's.

Yeah, I should really bust out the digital camera and take some real pictures. I've been uploading pics from my camera phone which is okay, but I'd love for my (future) kids to be able to see their dad and great-grandpa working on the teardrop they will spend their childhood camping in. Come to think of it...I'm going to need a kid's teardrop too. The walls aren't even up and I've started considering Build #2. Gosh, I've been drinking too much of the Kool-Aid!

Brad

[Miriam C.]

You all have fun! And keep the handy. Will be fun to show the grand kids the boo boo's.

Yeah, I should really bust out the digital camera and take some real pictures. I've been uploading pics from my camera phone which is okay, but I'd love for my (future) kids to be able to see their dad and great-grandpa working on the teardrop they will spend their childhood camping in. Come to think of it...I'm going to need a kid's teardrop too. The walls aren't even up and I've started considering Build #2. Gosh, I've been drinking too much of the Kool-Aid!

Brad

Now your talkin! You will have a future full of fun and education for the kidlets. What a legacy!

[bbarry]

Progress is slow as I have spent days off doing other really fun things recently (like helping friends move...). No pictures to update, but have completed the interior skinning of both sides. I used a flush cut router bit to trim the skin down to size. That's fun!

I have put one coat of spar varnish on the interior skin. No stain, simply sanded the birch ply with 120 and then 320 grit paper and varnished. I'm really happy with the color from the first coat. It warmed it up just a little and will be nice and light for the inside. I've decided to go ahead and skin the outside while the walls are not mounted to the trailer. This will mean my screw for cabinets, bulkheads, etc will be through the outer plywood skin. Since I've decided to sheath in aluminum, this won't matter.

On an epoxy usage note...I used 24 oz to bond the first side skin and only 12 oz for the second. I think I'm getting better at this?

[bbarry]

Bought some hubcaps yesterday on eBay. They're old Kaiser hubcaps and I really liked the "K" in the middle. If we end up calling this the "Kampster" it'll be perfect.



I'm hoping to find a way to mount these on my existing wheels. I'm thinking of mounting a bearing cover onto the inside and using that as an attachment to the hub (rather than the wheel).

Brad

[bbarry]

Lest Aunti M get upset, here's some pix. I haven't taken my own advice yet and taken a real camera to the shop...so just cruddy cameraphone shots for now.

Here's the left side after the interior skin is on.



And the right side after sanding and varnishing. It's just a little bit glossy...



Brad

[Senior Ninja]

BBarry,

Your TD reminds me of mine. I was going to paint it until we began to check out the wood more closely. We discovered it was Birch! It would be an unforgivable crime against nature to paint over Birch! Then we did our darndest to hide all the fasteners we could. The entire TD is now covered with three coats of lovingly hand brushed varnish. We used a low gloss to hide any flaws real or imagined.

You have a wonderful piece of art.

Steve

[TinKicker]

VERY nice finish Brad! If mine turns out like that it'll be purely by accident--or because I copied someone else's procedure step-by-step. I have almost zero finishing skill. But you did good.
How fine did you sand it? (What grit?)

[bbarry]

Steve - thanks. As with anything, it's not perfect up close (I don't know about work of art). There's the joint between each panel that has a little filler and then there's some dust specks in the varnish. It's not a piece of heirloom furniture though and I'm happy with it so far. This is the first time I've worked with Birch ply. I understand it's often used as a paint-grade ply for cabinets. I agree with you though, it has a nice grain when finished. I chose no stain for mine, just the slight yellowing of the varnish. This will be the inside finish (the outside will be covered in aluminum).

Kelsey - also, thanks. For years, finishing was a mystery to me as well. It seems though that with each project I get a little better. The magic ingredient is PATIENCE! Sand, sand, sand. I took off the edge with 100 grit then spent some time with the 220. When I was satisfied, I brushed it all off and used a tack cloth to wipe up remaining dust. This is crucial I've learned. I was planning on using 320 or 400 between varnish coats but wound up using 220 again because the first coat raised the grain of the wood a little bit and I needed the extra tooth. I have to change sandpaper often when sanding the varnish as it really gums it up. I'm up to three coats now and will check it out in the morning and see if I think it'd benefit from another.

Brad

[Miriam C.]

Thank you for the pictures! You have done a great job with the shinny. I sure wish I had done most of the varnish before the sides were up.

[aggie79]

Fantastic work, Brad.

I can't seem to keep up with your pace or quality. Tom

[bbarry]

I think I'm going to be really glad I am doing as much finishing as possible before assembly. It really takes some patience, as I like to put things together and see some progress, but this will cut down on the work in the long run I think.

I visited the shop this morning to check out the third coat. There are a lot of dust specks in the finish. The sandpaper gets so gummed up when sanding that I'm considering a fine steel wool to rub it down before one more coat. If I still have foreign critters then, they'll just have to stay. I used this method on some cabinets I built and it worked well.



Brad

[bbarry]

Fantastic work, Brad.

I can't seem to keep up with your pace or quality. Tom

Thanks...it doesn't seem like I'm getting very far very fast, but I suppose it's all relative. As to the quality, let's reserve judgment for a while! Your build is looking good, the MDO looks like a good material to work with. Your router cuts look really sharp...I really like the way you are cutting your doors. Because I cut mine out with a jig saw and had holes drilled in it, I wasted the entire cutout and need to use another piece to create the door to order.

Brad

[Juneaudave]

Barry...You can also use 220 wet/dry and wet snad the varnish. That will solve your gumming up problems and also eliminate a bunch of the dust. Also, take a spray (misting) bottle like you use on plants, and dampen the concrete around where you are varnishing....that will help with ust also!!!

[bbarry]

Barry...You can also use 220 wet/dry and wet snad the varnish. That will solve your gumming up problems and also eliminate a bunch of the dust. Also, take a spray (misting) bottle like you use on plants, and dampen the concrete around where you are varnishing....that will help with ust also!!!

That's a good idea...I've never wet sanded before. Would you recommend mineral spirits to wet sand with? That's what I've seen used before. Also, hand sand or random orbit? Thanks for the idea!

Brad

[Juneaudave]

Just use a rubber sanding block and a bucket of warm water with a spot of dishwashing soap in it (the soap helps the water flow better). I think you will be pleasantly surprized at how well this works....Dave