building Plan B....

[rebapuck]

There's a learning curve for new skills and I'd say you learned well. Looking good.

[mike_c]

So as I mentioned earlier, I am a deliberate cabinet maker, not having had much occasion to practice. But I do have some pics to offer as proof that sawdust continues to be made.

Let's see, I think that's a good first approximation of where I want the cabin cabinets to be....




And here's the solution, I think....




Cutting some ledger strips on a sunny winter northern California afternoon. "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey...." Only it was actually a beautiful day.




Transferring the curvy bit to to a router template.




Said template.




Next, rout the rough cut cabinet piece to the ceiling template.




Using the first profile as a template for the second-- riding the last 1/64 inch or so of that 1/8 in. template with the straight cutter bearing was nerve wracking, so I used the 1/2 in. copy as a template for the second vertical shelf component. MUCH easier!




Groooovin', on a sunny afternoon....




More sawdust being made.




Uh, ruh-roh. This is what we call "sneaking up on a fit." The upright dividers are still a bit snug, but a little 80 grit lovin' will smooth things right out. They'll slide into place like a poodle going under the wheels, smooth as silk with an occasional thump, after a little relief sanding in the morning. After that, work intervenes-- spring semester begins-- so progress on the trailer will likely slow. Unless this glorious weather continues. It's a joy to work late in the shop on cool winter nights, when it's dry and no colder than here on the north coast.

This is just the first dry fit, without face frames, which are not made yet.



Stay tuned. More sawdust is coming. I won't be able to sleep until those shelves fit correctly.



Mike C.

[mike_c]

I can sleep well tonight-- the shelves and dividers fit smoothly as, well, something smooth. It looks like there's still a bow in the bottom shelf but that's just lens distortion. That sucker is flat.




Here's another angle, from inside the trailer. Again, the apparent bow is just image distortion. This is just dry fit, and not precisely, at that. The vertical divider on the right is just the slightest bit crooked-- none of the pocket screws are actually installed yet. When you spread the glue and run the screws, you're kinda committed!




Nothing is actually glued or fastened except the ledger strips holding it all up.

Next up: face frames, doors, and drawers. Stay tuned! We're hoping to have this thing ready for IRG 4.0!

--Mike C.

[dave_dj1]

Looks good so far but I have a question. What's with all the pocket screws?

[mike_c]

Looks good so far but I have a question. What's with all the pocket screws?

I suspect it's overkill, but they only weigh a gram or two, so why not?

Actually, the screw spacing on the lower and rear edges of the vertical dividers is too close-- three inches between screws. I should have used six inch spacing, or even more. BUT the baltic birch ply is only half inch, so I'll only have about 3/8" worth of thread at the tapered end of each screw biting into the wood-- I know, the glue does all the work in the end, but still-- and it's a suspended cabinet that I intend to bounce across gravel washboard for hours at a time, attached only to the back bulkhead wall via the dividers and to cleats. So yes, it's overkill, but why not, since there's no real penalty?

BTW, I have the dividers turned so that all the pocket screw holes face the central compartment because I'd intended to mount drawer runners in there anyway, thus covering them (or at least concealing them). Plans are changing however, as the other half wants a bin there instead, but the dividers will switch places, again putting those pesky screw holes under or behind drawer runners in the smaller outer compartments. Appearance is the worst problem with pocket screws, IMO. I always look for ways to conceal them. Plugs are a pain.

The pocket screws for mounting the face frames are at six inch or better spacing, so there aren't as many of those.

--Mike C.

[dave_dj1]

Yeah i know how easy it is to get carried away...lol
I'm by no means criticizing, I was just curious. I am a contractor and have built many a cabinets. I know some may not have all the tools to do things the way I would do them.
Keep up the good work and enjoy the ride.

[rand_98201]

its looking good,nice progress.

[lm248]

Started a new post just because the last one was already so long.
Getting ready to cut the decking.



--Mike C.

I kept looking at this picture and saying "I know this guy","I know this guy",
When obviously I don't,
But then I realized, you look like this guy,,,,,



Hi Mike,,,
I like your trailer,,,,,
Looking forward to seeing it finished.
Les

[mike_c]

Hi Les-- You must have seen that pic on ADVrider-- I think my brother iDave posted it there in his latest ride report. That's too funny. The internet sure makes the world even smaller, doesn't it?

The lab is just as messy as my shop, LOL. Hello, my name is Mike C. and I'm a mess-aholic!



--Mike C.

on edit-- and DAMN, I just noticed how much grayer I've gotten since the avatar pic was taken, and that's only a couple of years old!

[lm248]

Mike,
I actually found "this" site through ADVrider,
There is a thread there about small trailers, and campers.
I followed the link someone posted,
And I've been lurking here ever since.
Les

[mike_c]

Yeah i know how easy it is to get carried away...lol
I'm by no means criticizing, I was just curious. I am a contractor and have built many a cabinets. I know some may not have all the tools to do things the way I would do them.
Keep up the good work and enjoy the ride.

No worries-- the other thing I don't have is lots of experience! I wish I had half your knowledge to draw on. This whole project is a chronicle of mistakes!

[dave_dj1]

Maybe not mistakes, more like learning curves!

[mike_c]

Worked on face frames for the cabin cabinets today.

1. Made a template for a curved apron piece, rough cut the cherry apron, then routed the curve. This took the greatest portion of my shop time today.

2. Laminated 1/8 inch strips of cherry to the rear of the outside vertical face frame members to give them 1/8 inch offset from the other face frame members, i.e. to make the verticals stand a bit proud of the face frame and the apron. I have a 1/16 round-over bit to take the sharp corner off those proud frame pieces.

I used so much double sided tape to hold the router template on the first half of the curved apron cut that it took half a can of Goof Off to remove all the adhesive! Holy stick up, Batman! That carpet tape is tough stuff. I used about three linear FEET of the stuff on the first half, and had to soak Goof Off between the template and apron to get them apart and then SCRUB the remaining adhesive away. I used like three one inch square pieces to secure the template to the second half of the cut, and the template didn't budge. Live and learn.

Tomorrow morning I'll laminate on another piece at the bottom of the face frame outer verticals-- baby steps, otherwise I'd have prepped those pieces and glued 'em up at the same time as the strips that're curing out in the shop right now-- and cut the mortises and tenons to mount the apron (or not-- I just realized that I should have done that BEFORE I turned a board with square edges into a big curved piece-- pocket screws to the rescue if I can't find enough straight edge to make the tenon shoulders square).

Pics tomorrow or Monday, depending on time available. I've taken a few, just need to get them off the camera and re-size. My classes start Tuesday-- back to earning an honest living, more-or-less. That'll slow things down.

One more thing I want to say before signing off tonight-- I am REALLY enjoying this build. I look forward to spending every hour I manage to wring out for shop time. What a blast!

--Mike C.

[parnold]

One more thing I want to say before signing off tonight-- I am REALLY enjoying this build. I look forward to spending every hour I manage to wring out for shop time. What a blast!

--Mike C.

You think the build is fun.... just wait until you get to the camping part!

[mike_c]

Sigh-- back to work and the weather's been horrible since mid-week, so not much progress this week. My shop is only partly sheltered and it's really not workable during big pacific northwest storms. Plus the time I have available really diminished this week, between work and meetings in San Francisco this weekend.

But there really wasn't any opportunity to work on the trailer this weekend anyway, not even if I'd been home-- two back-to-back storm systems and although the shop is semisheltered, the floor gets wet and muddy when it rains this hard.

Had some water damage to the cherry face frames for the cabin cabinet that I left laid out on the work bench before driving down to SF on Thursday-- looks like I might have to cut a couple of pieces over again. There was a framing square laying on top of part of the face frame assembly that we had apparently used as a straight edge, and remnants of marker along the edge got wet and bled all over the cherry rails. Black magic marker. Makes me want to cry.

Ah well. It's an adventure.

--Mike C.