foam builds (foamies that have been built or in the process)

[eaglesdare]

well i can't find it, but what thread is the nail gun in? i have been searching and searching, still can't find it. i remember reading it, but i just can't find it.

[linuxmanxxx]

well i can't find it, but what thread is the nail gun in? i have been searching and searching, still can't find it. i remember reading it, but i just can't find it.

Ok easier just to say what it is....18 gauge brad/staple air gun from harbor freight they always have it on sale for 19.99 and sometimes even less. The brads are the nails and then it has the ability to just load it with staples instead of the nails. We use the 3/4" staples to tack our luan up with and between 1" to 2" for the brads for putting our 1x2 frames together. Fast and efficient just remember the nails come out and will puncture you if you put any body parts in line with the nail trajectory. It has safety that you can't just shoot a nail in open air but remember when you are nailing and if you reach around to support something don't place your hand behind where you aim. I was lax early on and barely got the end of a 2" brad shot through reminding me that my fingers aren't as hard as the nail and it to date hasn't been repeated

[allan1]

here's a link to setting up a level surface and some info on torsion boxes - similar idea to hollow core doors (not really hollow as they have cardboard inbetween the door skins) and SIP's (the foam core sandwich you are talking about. Hope it is useful.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/PlansAnd ... x?id=28855

and another one ... the leveling of saw horses is at 7:10 in video.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-18- ... rsion-box/

[GPW]

Better say an air nailer needs a compressor too ...

[linuxmanxxx]

Yeah Louella the air nailer needs an air compressor to operate it and a hose to connect it to the air.

[TJinPgh]

And a rough sketch of a possible interior layout ... for your consideration ... and that’s just for one wall ... the other wall could have many functional applications .. another Big cargo net , a folding table/desk .. clothes hangers... lots of possibilities ...

Sorry for the bad scan ... my drawing was too large ..

Ok, so, I've been following this thread as a possible alternative to doing a tip-out in order to get a 6' wide sleeping area.

Had thought about this idea before but never sketched it out.

Just a couple of observations.

Looking at this sketch compared with the overhang thoughts that were mentioned later in the thread, it seems a bit skewed.

The general discussion seemed to build the upper part 6' off of a 5' wide box... giving a 6" (m/l) overhang on each side.

Maybe I'm wrong but, if you're going to try to use that overhang space for anything useful (let alone the galley like in this drawing) you're going to need more than 6" to do it.

Seems like a 1' overhang would be necessary to do anything worth while in that space.

Which, would certainly work for a 4x8 trailer but would make supporting the overhang even more critical.

It might be worth mentioning, though, that the overhang needs to be supported in the rear. The bed platform extends across the entire width of the trailer in the front. Assuming the overhang is attached to the bed platform, then there is no need to support it from underneath at that point. It will be self-supporting.

The bigger question would be how to support the overhang in the rear, would it not?

[GPW]

Angle Brackets ... like Steve said ...

TJ , it was just an exploratory sketch , not an engineering drawing ... so changes need to suit the builder/user It would be entirely possible to weld in a fully bracketed/braced “shelf" frame support all around the box ... if you really felt that was necessary ...

[bonnie]

Yeah Louella the air nailer needs an air compressor to operate it and a hose to connect it to the air.

So, how big a compressor? Nope, let me rephrase that. How small a compressor will work? I'm not sure I will spend the money, but I would like to investigate a bit.

[eaglesdare]

i don't see a problem with the space at all. while there might only be 6" for the lip, there is still that 5' floor space. plenty of room there to build in another 6" or even a foot to add shelves for boxes/baskets.

and this sandwich thing, the more i see that it has to be perfect, the more i am leaning towards another floor. i am going to go back to the original concept of kiss. and go back to the 'if i can do it, anyone can do it' way.

[allan1]

Yeah Louella the air nailer needs an air compressor to operate it and a hose to connect it to the air.

Have you tried out any electric nailer / staplers? Do you have an opinion about their ability to do a good job?
An opinion about getting good structural strength strength for everyone to tear apart - bear with me ... What you all call wings, lips, overhang, etc I call a cantilever. I'm trying to sort this issue out as well for my project so hopefully this info can be useful to eaglesdare also.
Although skin adds strength, cantilevers need to be braced effectively to carry the load of the walls and roof. Bracing also = increase glue surface for skin strength. There is probably some magic formula carpenters use floating around.

One type of bracing that can be done is on both end walls. The end rails of the cantilever framing would extend across the end walls framing and be 'nested' into the uprights using dado or slot joints (glued and nailed). Using plywood strips might be stronger than 1x material for this. Framing supports for the cantilever that join the two end walls could be a half lap joint into the top of the 'floor to cantilever wall' - with the upper wall framing sitting on this joint and screwed. I think it would be reasonably strong. To increase strength at any of these joints, wood blocks (glued and nailed) could be added on both sides to increase glue surface.
Wish I could draw or do sketch up but I cant so I have to try words but conedodger had posted something that relates to this in the adhesive section I think.

[eaglesdare]

what about an arch, as gpw has mentioned before. you could use one solid 4x8 piece, just cut out the arch. this would also be attached to the floor, and with the right cut out, attached right to the lips also.

i have a little princess party in less than 20 minutes starting, dishes still need to be washed, and i am sick! i hate to say this, but my daughter will be on her own for this party, i am going back to bed.

[allan1]

what about an arch, as gpw has mentioned before. you could use one solid 4x8 piece, just cut out the arch. this would also be attached to the floor, and with the right cut out, attached right to the lips also.

i have a little princess party in less than 20 minutes starting, dishes still need to be washed, and i am sick! i hate to say this, but my daughter will be on her own for this party, i am going back to bed.

Duh, I missed his mention of arches and ply. I tend to think in terms of 'solid' wood - not much experience with ply. That would be a more elegant solution which I think I'll use in my designing stage (thanks) - have to research about the problem of getting a good gluing surface for the skin to the end grain of ply (filling and sealing it somehow). I think that I'd still want to brace the stringers going across these frames for added rigidity and because they attach through end grain (is that the correct term?) - don't know if that is excessive worry / overbuilding on my part.

Hope you feel better soon. My grand daughter (5) had her party in August with at least a dozen of her pals - I wore ear plugs, reminded myself to smile / nod a lot and hummed Gloria Gaynors tune (I will survive) as they consumed sugar.

[linuxmanxxx]

i don't see a problem with the space at all. while there might only be 6" for the lip, there is still that 5' floor space. plenty of room there to build in another 6" or even a foot to add shelves for boxes/baskets.

and this sandwich thing, the more i see that it has to be perfect, the more i am leaning towards another floor. i am going to go back to the original concept of kiss. and go back to the 'if i can do it, anyone can do it' way.

I'm confused about what you mean by perfect for the sandwich core? Nothing perfect at all needed just make sure you have relatively straight wood and square the 4 corners with like a standard carpenters square. Nothing can't be fixed by a jigsaw or table saw if you get a bit off but if you square it you won't have any problems. I have the cheap 2hp 8 gallon compressor from harbor freight been going strong for about 3 or 4 yrs now used a lot and can get on sale under 100 dollars and its always handy to have some air on hand at the house.

You can use that brad nailer for things at the house putting in new trim finish anything it's a very handy thing to have indeed and makes nailing something together very fast.

[GPW]

Brad nailer is a Handy tool , long have I wanted/needed one ... Going to HF to get one ... got a tiny compressor that will work for my limited usage ...

What about Cedar T&G floors ??? The old timers used T&G flooring ... worked for them ... these days probably cheaper than plywood ... and lighter too ... Rot and bug resistant , no de-lamination worries down the road ...

[GPW]

More ideas , further refined ... gallery/image_page.php?album_id=1860&image_id=87961