Silly Foamie Ideas

[jakie]

If we cut away the foam to fit the stringers, would we not gain two ways? Firstly, we would have more wood to foam contact, and secondly, we could glue the foam pieces to one solid piece, with the wood 3/4 encapsulated. It would be very easy to finish that way, with no bumps or divots. Does that make sense? If you wanted a wooden inside finish, it would easily attach to the stringers, and glue to the foam as well, with no gaps. One could also add a wooden "footer" to attach to the floor, and have the stringers attach to cuts in the wood footer, and the foam on top of the footer, and the grooves cut in the foam to fit the stringers. I hope this makes sense. As per Conedodger on June 2, page 119

[GPW]

Jakie, Sure, that sounds Good !!! Many ways to do this ... All depends on what you think is right ... Everybody does seem to have their own ideas ... which is good !!!

[GPW]

Just can't seem to shake this FoamStream idea ... All I can think about lately ... Have to figure out a floor for my 54" wide boat trailer ...Might have to do some extensive under floor framing for such an overlap (72").. Or maybe I should just weld on some more steel to the edges ... ???

Looks like it's going to be another "budget" build ... have to start scavenging ... portholes , periscope, ships wheel ...

Going to make up a full size cardboard mockup of the end wall this weekend , just to check the sizes and measurements ... as previously mentioned before , It would be nice to use the full sheets ... just kerfed and glued ...everything should just fit right together... Simple !!!

[depatty]

Just can't seem to shake this FoamStream idea ... All I can think about lately ... Have to figure out a floor for my 54" wide boat trailer ...Might have to do some extensive under floor framing for such an overlap (72").. Or maybe I should just weld on some more steel to the edges ... ???

Is 72" the inside or outside measurement? If outside then you're looking at 11" per side to the outside or 9" per side to the inside of the walls. That amount of overhang doesn't seem too bad depending on the type of floor you are planning. If twas me I'd build the floor as a sandwich, with ply top and bottom, foam in all the center voids with 2" joists on 16" running from side to side and as a perimeter rail, and glue everything together. With the lightweight arched foam walls I'd think that amount of overhang would be fine.

Just my $.02 worth...

[GPW]

Dave I believe the floor will work out to 76" wide total width ... which would give me a true 6' inside , mounting the foam on top the floor (as above ^) ... That floor sandwich does sound like the best idea ... I'll have to rip the framing strips the exact width of the foam , just so it can be glued together solid ... should be strong ... all the edges double wrapped with the fabric , should prevent most rot problems ... Now I'm wondering if 1/4- 3/8" ply would work for the floor ply ... the foam and framing should be strong enough , eh ? the shell should be pretty light ... Figuring 12 sheets of foam (120lbs. ) some wooden ribs .. (? say 50 libs) canvas , glue , paint some screws and bolts ... probably the whole shell (less the floor ) maybe 250lbs. with a few windows ... Still pretty LIGHT ..

Still haunted by the thoughts of a dropped floor cooler ??? May be impractical for my layout .. That and I just bought a coleman 5 day ice chest .. The mid size with the wheels and handle ... that should be "convenient" ... fit right under the Mini galley .. I'm SURE the wife wouldn't mind a "wine cellar "


Today we'll take some 24" X 48" x 1/4" green foam boards , tape them together and fab an end plate (cross section to better refine the measurements ... then use that as a template to layout the rib bending ... Thinking of doing it Indian style , just stakes driven into the ground at the proper location and the wood strips bent over those ... still looking for a source of Hickory , because a 1/4" strip bent in the 3' radius shown would be darn near impossible to break ... It will take a "set" but won't break ... We've built many longbows out of Hickory , never broke one , even when overdrawn by an excessive margin ... Should make excellent and STRONG framing ... the foam will really just support the canvas ...

All very much like that Conestoga Wagon with a foam/fabric skin instead of a canvas... nothing new here , all well proven ...


Thinking the inside will look like the inside of a victorian dirigible ...

[GPW]

Made the end wall/former mock up out of 1/4" FF foam ... inside measures 6' across and 6'3" at the peak , just as predicted by the drawing ... Now I can take real time measurements for the exact rib lengths ...

It looks Big enough , but not enormous ... and I can stand up inside Roof washing should be Easy ...

[GPW]

... and a floor plan to fit my 54" Wide trailer ...

[eaglesdare]

i see lots of paintings on the walls. are they yours? can you get a close up on some of them?

[elginrunner]

i see lots of paintings on the walls. are they yours? can you get a close up on some of them?

[GPW]

Couple landscapes done in the impressionist manner ... the rest are Nudes ... don't think Big Mike would approve ...

[GPW]

Measured the form , and it's exactly 96" from the floor to the peak around the outside ... so a full sheet of 2" X 4' X 8' foam , kerfed in the appropriate spots would work , no trimming ... no waste ...

I could even go wider by adding a center section at the roof ... 7' wide
would be ideal ...

[eaglesdare]

did you do those paintings? those are great. i really like them. and on a second better look, i do see there are some nudes up there. lol

your new foamie looks great also. this one will be a fun build to watch.

[GPW]

Thanks , that's what I do for a living ... or did until I retired because greedy art dealers wanted 80% ... Now I just paint for FUN !!! ... and make trailers ...

[droid_ca]

so are you going to build this onr off frame as well, did you ever get your new trailer

[GPW]

Although I did get a July 4 25% off coupon for HF , just didn't have the fun tickets at the time ... Too many expenses at home right now ... must save up for the new trailer .. Selling a painting or two would finance the whole business, but since I 'm a dinosaur in the contemporary art world ( painting things that are pretty and recognizable ) that's unlikely ... One portrait commission would pay for the whole trailer .. but it seems folks would rather have their picture on facebook than on the wall ... Times change !!! Dinosaurs just fade away ..

Building a Foamie cabin off the trailer is pretty easy ... I could build the FoamStream in my studio and just haul it out and pop it atop the trailer, much like I did with the little Foamie ... Too HOT now to work outside ..