ROUND TAIL

[S. Heisley]

Prem wrote:

Any guesses what that taped line is for?

As the plywood is fairly thick, I'm going to hazard a guess that you are going to (or have made) a partial cut in the plywood there to help it bend around the trailer's planned sort of aerodynamically pointed behind? The glistening stuff is some sort of flexible substance that stabilizes the plywood so that it doesn't break or tear there when you bend it?

[Prem]

Finally, roof cut round and 1" x 1 1/4" red oak supports notched in and glued!



P.S. Sharon, yup...but what is it that glistens?

Prem

[Ageless]

You're still on the hook to figure out what the glistening line is between the tape. Ideas???

You made one rough sketch and began building. I have an entire notebook with detail drawings. it's what I did for 36 years; detail, assembly, and installation drawings; everything planned out.

So . . . . . .I just gonna sit back and watch; who knows? Might get some new ideas

[S. Heisley]

Prem wrote:

P.S. Sharon, yup...but what is it that glistens?

I'm going to say some sort of silicone or roofing substance. The only way I'd know for certain is to look at every product at the store and then it would still be a guess. The fact that it looks black in the picture makes me think it is a roofing substance that might be used around flashings and the like.

[Prem]

Sharon & Ageless,

Epoxy resin.

History: I grew up in the 60s making surfboards using polyurethane foam, polyester resin and fiberglass cloth. In the early 90s I built a 26' wooden boat and discovered epoxy resin and all the powders one can add to it to make specific glue strengtheners, sandable putties, fillers, etc. With epoxy: "The sloppier the joint, the stronger the joint".......because hardened epoxy is stronger than wood. Put a little acetone in the mix and it's a laminating glue that penetrates deeper into the wood making a blended wood and epoxy joint.

Trailer floor: I also taped the underside and edges of that dado cut when I folded the rear floor plywood sheet up. That made a dam, so no resin could escape). I dadoed and resined that section of the floor plywood because that was the easiest way to keep from having another butt joint in the floor and a narrow strip of plywood flooring to fasten down separately.

Design: I like winging it. Unfortunately, this trailer is turning out exactly as depicted in my drawing.

Prem

[Prem]

Construction continues:







Prem

[Prem]

Racing the coming rains to get it enclosed:



Prem [/b]

[S. Heisley]

Good luck, Prem.

Further south, in my area, they are predicting up to 3 inches of rain next week. (We need it!)

[Prem]

The right tools make the job fast and clean


Flat, tight roof-wall joint thanks to a brand-new $5 Black & Decker planer I found at a yard sale.


The above mentioned tool.


Favorite tool. (Small, nimble and a lowrider!)


A Makita antique. Brand new from a 91-year old fellow having a garage sale.


Inside view looking to rear

Prem

[S. Heisley]

Prem wrote:

Flat, tight roof-wall joint thanks to a brand-new $5 Black & Decker planer I found at a yard sale.

oOOOo! I want one of those! I'm rotten with a hand planer. What is that white stuff that you used to glue the roof down with?

Um, don't take this the wrong way; but, your rear looks real nice. I can't wait to see this new teardrop creation!

They've changed the weather report...pushed rain to Tuesday but increased the amount to 2 to 4 inches. Get'r'done 'n' covered!

[Ageless]

Weatherman lied!! Predicted freeze last night . . . . got down to 45. Maybe a bit of rain by mid-week. Been really dry up here this year

[Prem]

Sharon,

Hand plane? Oh no. That's just slow w-o-r-k! With an electric planer you just have to steer...and be very careful how much it is taking off. A sixteenth of an inch is usually plenty per pass!

Thanks for the compliment on my round tail.

It's polyurethane glue (aka Gorilla Glue, but I buy off-brand and get a lot more for the $). It foams up if nothing is compressing it. Others say it is not gap-filling. That's true if you allow it to foam up, but if you wipe it with a putty knife right after it foams up, it returns to paste and fills gaps with lasting strength. It bleeds out of tight joints like those shown. The dried excess (foam) just comes off cleanly with a sharp putty knife (not razor knife).

Got a buddy coming to help me today to finish the roof trying to beat the rain early next week.

Prem

[Prem]

Got the RV door hole cut and reinforced today. Also adjusted the rear roof to square and finished the other wheel well. One or two more days of 70 degrees and sunshine until the rain.

Had help from a buddy all afternoon, then we went to a late Beer Thirty for a pint. It was a good day!

Prem

[Alan Wood]

This shaping up to be an interesting build!

[Prem]

Alan,

This is my RV build #9, and it's definitely the most interesting of them all for me. On this project I've had to make up some new-to-me construction methods (today on the tail cone). It's also the first time I've used bending plywood---two laminates with the grain in the same direction laminated to a rubbery film. I used partial sheets of bendy "on the column" (front roof) and bending "on the barrel (tail cone). Guy Mazzio turned me on to it. We re-did the exterior of his bendy ply teardrop this summer, so I've seen what it takes to make the stuff durable. Moisture warps varnished bendy ply something fierce, so I resined the entire outer plywood skin even though I'll be putting an aluminum skin over it. I'll also resin the bottom edges of the entire body once I get the skirts and wheel wells trimmed.

Sharon,



I got 'er done before tomorrow's expected storm! Tail cone is finished. Roof is on. (Tail cone section needs another layer though.) RV door is temporarily in. I tarped the trailer for the next few days of "severe weather." The weather is suppose to turn nice again in four days. Today it was hot from noon until dusk. I worked without a shirt all week.

Once the roof enclosed the whole trailer, I got a sense of how voluminous the thing is. It's cavernous for a mere 12-footer and going to be quite aerodynamic. It has six foot one of standing headroom, but the tail cone is only 4 foot 8 inches high inside because the floor tapers up and the roof tapers down. It's 6 and a half feet wide outside.

Prem