annealing AL or what I did today

[madjack]

...spent the whole day annealing and bending Al trim of various sorts, and thought I would pass on a couple of tips... I use the candle soot and yellow flame method, I find the combination to work well for me...when sooting the Al, all you need is a VERY LIGHT COAT of soot...a heavy coat will cause you to over heat the Al, causing discoloration if not melting...that is what happened in this pic...both pieces are annealed;


...in this pic, notice that the piece I am working is not completely sooted. I only sooted/annealed those sections that were in the radiused corners of the doors...the area I am working on is 2/3rd done...a slow steady hand is needed and dont let the flame sit on any one spot...keep it moving;


after annealing the piece was kerfed to help it bend into a 4" radius...we used a form to bend the AL;



two pieces of 1x1/2 angle were used to make the door jambs...the inside is mill finished and will have a trim seal on it for weathproofing and the outside is anodized



I have a bunch more pics and will upload them to my WWW picture gallery to-nite or tommorow...will advise
madjack

[Guest]

Jack,
What are those two triangular shaped holes in the lower area of your door?

[madjack]

...first off, that is not a door(now) it is a bending form and the two triangular holes are places for clamps to grip
madjack

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

Jack, nice idea about the door jambs. It works like the Camp-Inn jambs. How did you attach the two parts of the jambs? I can not see any fasteners. Thanks

[madjack]

..the idea is similar to Camp_Inns, in the pics it is only dry fitted since we haven't applied the Al skin yet...we aill drill thru both pieces and screw them in place...
madjack

[madjack]

..by the way, the trim seal that goes around the inner flange and kerfs is this stuff ;
http://trimlok.com/trim_seal.aspx
madjack

[Loader]

MJ,

That is gonna be one well constructed teardrop! Just how many have you built over the years? Those trimloc seals are nice, thanks for the link.

[madjack]

Earl, this is the first Alligator Tear...but it has been built and disassembled, changed and rebuilt at least 6 time, since we have been prototyping for a possible commercial unit...my partner and I have also been involved in cabinetry, furniture building, machine work, and virtually all other related construction fields literally since birth
madjack

[madjack]

...got the additional pics uploaded to my yahoo photo site(WWW button)...look under annealed and doorjambs...also anyone interested in towing a trailer witha motorcycle, there are pics of a "hidden" trailer hitch that my partner Jim, designed and built for his HD Nitetrain...check 'em out, it's really slick and he deserves a couple of attaboys for the design and fab work
madjack

[greasywheats]

Hey MadJack- wondering what type of aluminum trim you used on the cabin cabinets? Looks like you routed them and then covered the raw edges with a thin aluminum...can't tell from the pics, but is it just an edge cover, or is it a T shape that will act as a door stike all the way around. I am thinking about trying to find a rubber T-shape or H-shape trim that can just be pressed around the routed opening and provide: (1) a door strike, (2) draft stop (especially for the cabinets that lead into the uninsulated tongue box, and (3) avoid having to do a bunch of annealing for all that small radius trim in the cabin and galley....seen anything that might fit the bill?
Thanks!

[madjack]

greasy, that is not aluminum, it is a plastic "T" molding with an alunmized finsh that was inserted into a slot routed into the center of the openning...we got it from Outwater Plastics thru a local cabinet shop...it comes in many colors and sizes...for stops we cut 1/2 Al angle to the appropriate size....all the doors and cabinet framing were done with this in mind so it works out on the money...
madjack

[greasywheats]

Good idea MadJack, and of course...love da pics! That is one fine looking Tear! Keep up the great work!

[greasywheats]

MJ-
I ordered the Outwater catalogue and am trying to get the right Tee moulding for the plywood edges around my cabinet doors, etc... I am using 3/4" ply and am thinking that I want the "Flexible Metallic Tee Moudling"; item # 2490 in brushed chrome (pg 32). Is this what you used? Or did you use the "Flexible Polyethylene Tee mouldings (# 105-679) (pg 28)? Some of the Tee mouldings seem to have some curve to the top of the Tee, while others seem flat. Also- did you use their slot cutter and or notching tool?
Thanks again!

[madjack]

...Greasy, we had a set of slot cutters for the router already so they were used...don't have access to the part # right now but it was a plastic material that had an actual metalic covering...it is basically flat with rounded edges...it shown itself to us to be quite durable....
madjack

[Woody]

Looks pretty darn good Madjack. Never had that good of luck annealing aluminum, but I keep trying.