FoamStream...

[KCStudly]

This will be fun to watch.

+1

The really funny part will be that yours may be done before Mike's.

Hey, watch it! A little respect is in order here.

...is .002 enough room for glue?

It should be if your get it together quickly enough, before the moisture starts to swell the wood! That’s one of the nice things about biscuits (plate joinery); when the glue hits them they swell and provide some mechanical interference fit in addition to the glue bond. Cake and eat it, too kind of thing. Just have to make sure you keep the lid on the biscuit container screwed down tight so that ambient humidity doesn't make 'em swell... never get 'em in the slots that way.

That being said, GPW, you better work fast! Don't leave those ribs sitting around too long before you get 'em assembled.

[GPW]

Thanks Guys , I plan to assemble the ribs as soon as I get home so they can be drying , all in one piece ... Each rib will have 5 parts , 3 for the arch , and two uprights ... nice because there will be no seam in the top center ... That was Vinnie’s idea ... Before assembly I have to slice all those foam blocks so I can quickly add the foam , once the skeleton is assembled ... It should go pretty quick , and the weather is getting cooler all the time , so it won’t be a hot , sweaty mess to work outside ... And luckily , I have a BIG HF tarp to throw over everything should the weather turn inclement ... Trying to get prepared in advance for all circumstances ...


It might be a bit unfair to compare this with Big Mike’s build time as he had to cut and shape every piece, where as this will be more like a Kit assembly , all the hard work done by the machine ... And we don’t have any Snow either ...

[Wobbly Wheels]

You know, I was going to make a smart-aleck comment, but I realized that even Mike is further along than me.


Fortunately, I'm doing some glassing on it tonight...

[wagondude]

And I haven't even drawn a design yet. Mike has done so much (testing, updating the forum, starting a big foamie, tearing down a rotting TD, getting side tracked with yet another wood camper). I don't know where he finds the time to even post on here. Props where props are due.

[GPW]

The time it takes to make a Good trailer , really doesn’t matter that much , it’s the final results that count , besides a “leisurely”, no pressure to finish build, is always more FUN !!! I’ve actually much enjoyed the development of the FS , from the basic idea/ drawings to “engineering” the individual pieces... Taken a while now ..

Big Mike is a Busy guy , thinking how difficult it is just to manage this herd...

[GPW]

Further conversations with Vinnie.... he suggested making some nose former ribs to wrap the kerfed foam around ... Much stronger and easier to shape .... So I made yet another drawing ... I’ll let Vin do the final drawing /design , since he’s the one with the machine ... Nose ribs ... there goes that other quarter of a sheet of plywood ... no waste now ... Two sheets is not bad , affordable to get “the good stuff” ... With the free trailer , it may be possible to bring the basic FS in under $1K ... that’s not too shabby as far as Thrifty goes ...

Funny , the wife on her way home yesterday saw a TD trailer in a parking lot and stopped to examine it .. ( I still can’t believe she showed such interest ) She came home and told me about it ...so i looked it up ... teardropp.com , the Egg camper people .. She liked the pics till she saw it was 10 big ones ... She liked the Egg camper a lot too , but not for 18 BIG ones ... Now she’s showing a renewed interest in the FoamStream , asking questions , and offering her opinions .... Apparently , she has “seen the Light” ... Now that I have her confidence, this should go Much easier ...

[GPW]

Ps. You can see by the drawing that the cabin floor hangs over the trailer frame on each side by 6” ... Adding the foam @ 3.5” thick , means the cabin overhangs by a good bit (~ 10” each side ) ... I didn’t think this is a real concern since the cabin is Light , and the Oak supports the floor underneath .... The wheels should almost line up on each side under the floor .... Hoping I can use the standard metal trailer fenders and just build a simple Foam wheel well above that ... Simple, light!!! The height of the floor above the fenders depends on the thickness of the Oak cross members... maybe a chance to cheat an extra inch or so for more clearance... I know I’ll need a little door step to get inside anyway .. entry being ~ 24” + off the ground ... Maybe a little back porch ... with steps ... could be a fold down , welded to the frame on a hinge ..

Vinnie also suggested a small stylish overhang on the rear of the roof ... that could be practical too , and maybe offer a little drag reduction , depending how it’s designed...

Things developing almost Too fast now ...

[Wobbly Wheels]

Just curious here, but have you figured out how to do the compound curves at the top of the nose ?
I was looking at doing a similar shape before I settled om flat panels - I was either going to cut 'orange peel' section (like the alum skin of your project's namesake, or use big blocks and carve the curves out of it.
If the latter, it seems like a great opportunity to show off your HW skills !

As far as the overhang, the only way I could see it being a problem is if you had a lot of weight loaded on the roof. Commercial RVs are always cantilevered like that and you can bet that the floor you're building onto will be much more substantial...

[GPW]

W2, Vincent was talking about doing compound kerfing , so I sent him the discussion here... He’s way better at “the Math” than I am ... “ Blocks would be OK with me , Fun carving big shapes ... electric Turkey (or Fish) carving knife makes it easy !!! But Lots of sanding left , but it’s soft so it doesn’t take long ... Very Messy !!! For hollowing out the inside I’d probably make a simple HW loop and just scoop away the excess... Here’s a trick I’ve used before on models .... Get a pack of cheap bamboo skewers for a dollar .... mark each one for the desired depth , and stick them up to that mark in the foam , all over ... When you’’re “scooping” if you hit a skewer tip , you know to stop and move on ... best leave a little extra thickness , just in case you get carried away ... After that , remove the skewers and sand the inside with a rubber block wrapped in coarse sandpaper , the rubber bends to the curves , so no gouging ... Made many full fuselages in the past that way ... works Fine !!!

[GPW]

Just some more thinking on this ... With my present foam block situation , and having to slice sheets from the blocks , I seem rather forced to overlay the foam sheets (24” X 3” X 10’ ) onto the skeleton in a Horizontal manner ... 4 sheets to a side ... this would initially seem to be favorable , but now i have to make the kerf cuts 10 feet long ... Using the store bought 4’X 8’ X 2” foam sheets , the foam can be applied Vertically , only requiring four foot long kerf cuts .... much easier ... Viz. the ‘original plan” ... sometimes being Thrifty requires some drastic changes that complicate the labor , to save a few pennies ... A decision to make ... So should I :
1. Slice the sheets 3” thick (still 1” thicker than the sheets, and the same density) and pre kerf all the sheets when 2' wide , then glue them all edgewise, assemble the 5 panels vertically (4 vertical center seams) ... Much like making up 4X8 commercial size sheets ... (2 vertical inside seams )
2.. Apply the 24” wide sliced sheets horizontally , lengthwise , giving 3 horizontal seams , but the length is uninterrupted , and seemingly stronger ... the first two courses of foam from the bottom should be easy , but the top two require the 10’ loooooong kerfs ... Have to figure out an extremely long kerf jig ... shouldn’t be to difficult , just long way to go with each pass ... Might be better in the long run , I dunno ... one thing for sure , all the kerfs will line up ... , not a consideration if you’re going to cover them with something ... fabric wallpaper, brown paper painted ... whatever..
I have to consult Vincent on the kerfing , the math , see what’s required to have all the kerfs close at the specified radius (36” R ) being 3” thick ( 3 sheets and a 1” sheet out of a block ) I’ll have to kerf pretty deep into the foam , maybe leaving < 1” of un-kerfed foam at the outside ... making the closed /glued kerfing a little more important from a structural point of view ... So many things to consider to keep it Simple .. the devil is in the details , and the “changes”

[atahoekid]

Dunno, GPW... Both methods have some issues. Six of one, half dozen of another. Seems like that happens during these builds and whenever you're in the midst of one of these methods swearing and cursing , you're also kicking yourself for choosing the wrong method. Bet if you did it the other way, the same swearing and cursing happens. Just the way it goes sometimes

[Wobbly Wheels]

...you're also kicking yourself for choosing the wrong method.

I see you've read my thoughts about my floor ?



Instead of kerfing them for the long horizontal joints, why not cut them on a bevel like barrel staves ?
That's how hollow masts are built, though they're also tapered which is a bit more math and jig work.

[KCStudly]

Seems like that happens during these builds and whenever you're in the midst of one of these methods swearing and cursing , you're also kicking yourself for choosing the wrong method. Bet if you did it the other way, the same swearing and cursing happens. Just the way it goes sometimes

The Kid gets it. Happens too often. We think and think and plan, and try to use basic methods to achieve great things. It all seems easy on paper; then you have to do it.

GPW, I think you're good on the horz. runs for the flat stuff along the sides, and you may even want to GG these up in the flat first. Much easier to trim and fair any unevenness on the bench than once vertical.

Re: long kerfs - I don't see a big problem with this, but you probably would want to revert back to a mechanical cut (router or skil-saw set at angle...messy and a little tedious), rather than the HW bow. You could go with the wire loop hot iron type HW and a long guide fence. I've had real good luck making long straight cuts using an extruded alum. cutting guide; two sections join together via a spline to make a fence slightly longer than 8 ft. Get a second one and join three sections together. Or go thrifty and make up a straight edge out of scrap wood. Set the wire loop "V" shape and a depth gage and zip away.

Saw Guide Linky

[GPW]

So many ways to do it ....just trying to get it right the first time ... That and considering if anyone else might want to build something similar ? Figured if I make it EASY for me , it would be easy for others too ... Maybe ???

Barrel staves huh ??? Sounds complicated ... I still think doing the original 4X8 sheet idea was the easiest ... Just that I Cheaped' out and went for the much less expensive foam ...
Kerfing’s not that hard ... once I do a mile or so , I’ll have it down pat ... Will try a small HW loop first built into a block/guide as i have some experience with that and a power supply at the ready (Variac) ... That don’t work , out comes the router..
KC, was thinking about the GG "panel s" too ... one big skin side eh ... glue to the top center spar , drape the rest down and over and attach ... some straps may be needed till the glue dries ... 8’ X 10’ side/top half panel shouldn’t be difficult to handle for two people ... even two old people ... Possible to even canvas the panels first (flat) and there would be no chance of splitting or cracking when bending to conform to the skeleton ...

About the slicing ... On this less expensive beadboard (2lb./cu.ft. , same as the pink or blue) If i make 3” slices , will end up with (18) 3” X 2’X 10’ sheets ... and (6) 1”X 2’X 10’ sheets , The equivalent of 9 sheets of the regular stuff... Plus 2’ extra length, and the extra thickness too ... and three sheets of the regular 1’ stock ...
Had I bought 9 sheets of the two inch @40 each , and 3-1” sheets @ 25 each ... that would have been ~ $400.00 USD Plus tax.... This foam only cost me 120USD ... Thrifty ...

[GPW]

Since lots of kerfing will be the order of the day ... came up with a kerf cutting tool to make the job easier ... long , for sliding along an edge guide ... handle to keep hands away from Heat and electricity ...