Yesterday, however, I finally got my fenders framed. They just need the top skins now. Andrew's plans called for a solid cross-piece to connect the two sides, but I modified it to use lumber that I already had. I hope he's not mad at me.
Here's a front view of them with my favorite beverage, and as you will see, my cross "spars" don't perfectly meet side to side. I think the tape measure must have been broken, because I know I measured and cut them all to the exact same size:
Here's a side view to show the profile, for those that haven't seen it. But what the heck happened to my beer?
I then glued and screwed additional 1/2" ply to further strengthen it. Right now, I only did it on the insides of this framing. I really doubt it needs it on the OTHER side, but I'll probably do this overbuild anyway. (If I'm ever at a gathering with Gage and he gets on his back to look at the underside of the fender, he'll make fun of me that it's ugly.)
That's it for pictures, because fenders don't really merit more than this. Plus, I had to run into the house to get another beer.
Next step is final sanding to smooth the edges, and put the top skins on. My HD doesn't carry 1/8" material, but a friend of mine says that years ago, HD used to stock this in their DOORS aisle, replacement skins for the doors. Any truth to this, you think?
After the top skins are on comes the finishing. While my ORIGINAL plan was to use analine dye on these, then epoxy, I think I'm changing my mind. (Don't kill me, Dean. He spent a lot of time educating me on these dyes.) I really want to get the right tone, and do a lot of experimenting on scrap pieces. It's real simple to pick up small, cheap cans of stain at HD, as opposed to having to order dyes over the internet and mix.
Might change my mind though. Just don't know. But for now, I'm leaning toward a Natural stain, no added pigment, which will darken up the wood just a little. Epoxy over THAT should darken it just enough more to keep it truly wood-looking.
Or better yet, let me do my first poll, which I just learned has to go at the start of the thread, so this entire thread is pretty disjointed if you ask ME.
I'm just excited that I almost have fenders.
