Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Wolffarmer]

Grrr. forum has once again stopped sending me notices and I lose touch with the asylum.

Randy

[Wobbly Wheels]

Help me reel in another canvas convert, will ya'?

Hehe...if I haven't pushed to the epoxy 'dark side'.

[GPW]

Wolf , I never get forum notices , don’t want em’ .... Just searching the Forum every day is great Fun !!!

Nice thing about the Foamie Folks .... we’re not saying do this and use that .... just presenting some alternatives and asking the reader to make an intelligent choice based on their wants and needs (and Budget)...

[pete42]

GPW said" Saw a bug the other day with the front half of a Beetle and the rear of a grasshopper , and it hopped around ... Looked harmless , just a little STRANGE !!! ".

glen you have to move away from the nuclear power plant

pete

[GPW]

Must be something in the water eh ???

[GPW]

BUYER BEWARE:
Sorry, just had to mention this here , Thrifty and all .... Do NOT buy your lumber at HD or L’s ... you know who I mean .. Found Excellent quality American plywood at a little local lumberyard , and MUCH Cheaper than the HD Chinese “crap” ... from Now on , I’m going to “Shop Around” .... convenience isn’t a big deal when the quality of materials is concerned... and the price too ..

[pete42]

I don't buy much if any plywood lately so I haven't looked to see where it comes from
is it marked usa china or do they just make you guess?
we do have ace hardware close maybe they sell usa stuff
china doesn't seem to care what they sell as long as we keep buying they'll keep selling.

pete

[GPW]

just an observation ... The new lumberyard ply , unlike the last batch from HD, is very Nice , only a few tiny voids , and not that many of them , no overlapping plies just haphazardly smashed together in a press ... Very uniform .7” thickness ... Nice finish, both sides usable ... just overall Nicer stuff to work with ....

... and cheaper too ... by 10 bucks a sheet ...

[Wolffarmer]

China can/will supply what ever is asked for. WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes and others ask for crap that they can sell at a good mark up.

Randy

[GPW]

Wolf , I also noticed the HD hardware (bolts and stuff) was all Chinese , and from previous experiences they didn’t have very good tolerances (machine fit) ... and there’s always the idea of their metal being “questionable “ .. ( don’t want the trailer blowing off the frame because of inferior bolts eh ) The local Hdwe. store (ironmonger) had really good bolts ... made here , a tiny bit more expensive , but worth it ... IMHO
I will be using HD or L in the future , but I will SHOP CAREFULLY first ...

[ghcoe]

I have found that HD and L have different qualities between themselves as well as prices. I think that they switch back and forth once they realize they are not fooling the public. We have lumber yards here, but their prices are way steeper than HD and L stores.

[Wolffarmer]

My real point is that it is not crap because it is from China. It is crap because that is what is ordered. We can make crap right here in the good old USA. Or what ever country you are in.

Randy

[GPW]

Quote: “ It is crap because that is what is ordered. “ ... EXACTLY !!! ... Good reason NOT to buy it there ...

And not all lumberyards have the same prices ... I checked around ... The smaller family owned LYs seem to have much better prices ... and quality too ... serving a smaller , more localized clientele ... repeat business seems to be their Goal.. The Big stores don’t seem to care .... Profit is their only motive ... Price point merchandise (low quality) , much like the rest of the Vulture Capitalists ...

[GPW]

Not to be OT again ... Check this out .... On the studio this AM. biggest moth we’ve ever seen .... when it was flying , looked like a Hummingbird ... Strange eh ?

[Wobbly Wheels]

Looks like a big meal for your amphibious 'squatter' !