Our Little Tin Can(Done!!!)

[gregp136]

OK, time to move to the inside cabinets. I started with a very special piece of wood.



My Grandfather, John, more than 30 yrs ago cut down a Walnut tree at the request of his neighbor on a small lot here in the city of Milwaukee. He took the main trunk to a friend with a saw mill, and cut it into planks. A few of the planks were used for other projects through the years, but a few remained in my mother's basement through the years, and through a few moves. I could not think of a better use of Grandpa's Walnut than to use it to make the cabinets So I took a plank over to my brother in law again. We plained it, and we squared off the sides, and cut it into the sizes I had determined. He also added a piece of Grandpa's Walnut that he had gotten.

Laurie and I got it home, made the frame and started sanding.




We then applied Danish tung oil (my brother in law's suggestion)....






We put it all together and then installed it. Again, I am not union carpenter (or photographer) , but I think together Laurie and I did an ok job.



And I picked up the aluminum today........

[Ageless]

Major drool factor; I love natural woods and that is drop-dead gorgeous!

[gregp136]

Yes, you are right, Laurie is drop dead Gorgeous!

Greg (with Laurie hitting me saying no)

[perche]

Beautiful cabinets...your grandfather would be pleased. Your build has charm.

[jamwius]

Wow, your teardrop is looking great....good job.

John

[Debistogs]

Beautiful wood!!!!

[AussiePeej]

hey hey hey, matey!! Union doesn't mean jack. Apprentice carpenter here and you ought to see how dodgy some are. Don't compare yourself to union. Chances are you've done better than union
Beautiful finish and totally agree with your BIL, tung oil gives a gorgeous finish as you now know. Looks bril. Well done to you and the handbrake.

[gregp136]

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. We both agrred at the begining to make a teardrop which was right for us, and we are succeeding in doing that. It is nice that other people see the beauty also.


Greg(and Laurie)

[gregp136]

OK, so the question remains.....will the Teardrop be ready to go the the "Cooler Near the Lake" gathering next weekend. Laurie still thinks this is possible. Greg still isn't sure. He is scheduled to work at his part time Job at Kohl's Department Store Tuesday and wed night this week, in addition to his other job, and With Laurie being a teacher, she is busy EVERY night.

But, here we go. Not sure how much we will be posting since we are going to be in the garage all weekend, but I will post what I can, and pics when we remember to take them.

Took off the wheels, and addded a few more screws (overbuild) and then we started working on the skin.





We held the full sheets of aluminum up against the sides, and marked them with a sharpie. Greg then cut them with his new toy from Harbour Freight. We then splashed on contact cement, and put them up.







So we ended the night at 11:30 PM, and we now move on to the roof and the hatch and the door and the trim and the hatch supports and everything else!!!!!

[S. Heisley]

What a great use of that old walnut tree wood! Even if you don't get totally done with your camper, if it's on wheels and it's not raining, I'd take a tarp with me and go ahead with your plans. The thing about camping with a bunch of TD/TTT friends is that they may look at your trailer and come up with a new idea that just makes it even better. Keep up the good work!

[gregp136]

Wow,it has been a long time since I have updated here. I have been under the weather a bit, but I am better now. We have been doing some work, so let me show you where we are now.

Laurie painted the inside of the hatch before we installed it.



We got the the whole outside skin done, and we added the hatch. It is begining to really look like a teardrop.




Here are the hatch and lifts. I used 2 80 lb. lifts and I believe it was Gage who suggested attaching the top ones 5 inches from the hinge and then letting them swing out to set up the height we wanted. Laurie is not a real tall person, so we comprimised.



Now, the hatch weighs no where near 160 lbs., but the lifts are perfect. I believe it all has to do with leverage. I am sure there is a mathamatical formula to figure it all out, but for me it good because it works.



And so we are ready to move on to the doors. I insulated and framed them, and as it looks in the picture, one is ready to install, while the other is ready to skin and trim......Right?


No, that is not the case. I blew it. I did not leave enough clearance for the trim, so I need to rip off the trim, cut it down, and then reattach. Well, I made two hatches before I got it right, I might as well do the doors twice.

More updates will come when I have time, and when I can get to the computer. It is getting to the end of the year, so Laurie is spending most nights on the computer up loading grades. Fun, Fun., Fun.


Greg (and Laurie)

[jamwius]

Greg and Laurie, It looks really nice. I like how you put the aluminum on the inside galley walls. Adds a clean look to it.

John

[gregp136]

Thank you. The aluminum inside the Galley was Laurie's idea. She wanted the "Diner" look. As usual, her ideas always turn out good.

Greg (and Laurie)

[IASCOTT]

There's nothing prettier than naturally dried walnut. Not that steam dried mono tone stuff you get from a saw mill or even the box stores. I also like the fact you didn't cut out the sap wood good choice on your part.

Scott

[Miriam C.]

Now that is nice! I like the galley a lot.