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Topped Off   

Posted by Xeric - May 28, 2012 - 6:51pm
So, okay, I've been thinking of a building project for a while now, and suddenly here was this long weekend with no major plans, and so off to the shop I trundled.

By the end of Friday I had even fewer hairs (because I did a lot of head scratching), and I had this:

Cap 1
Cap 1

Back down at the shop reasonably early Saturday morning, and the rain had let up enough so that I could confirm that Tab A and Slot B were, indeed, going to play well together:

Cap 2
Cap 2

By and by (with less head-scratching, more doing, and a trip to the lumberyard thrown in there for good measure), we had this:

Cap 3
Cap 3

and, by the time I gave up for the day, this, I think:

Cap 4
Cap 4

Sunday I was there earlier still, and soon enough had this:

Cap 5
Cap 5

Those windows are more than fifty years old.  They are all that remains of a little camp trailer I bought surplus from the State of Montana maybe fifteen years ago.  The poor old camper was beyond repair, but the windows still work beautifully, and I'm charmed by their retro, uhm, charm.

The white stuff is FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic).  You're familiar with it—it's on the walls of many of the commercial bathrooms and/or kitchens you've ever seen.  We shall see how it holds up to time and UV exposure (and we'll see the same about the top covering, which is a surplus sheet of high-pressure laminate (a.k.a. Formica)).

Cap 6
Cap 6

By the end of the day I was pretty much done.  Had a couple of odds and ends left to take care of, and today I did them and then spent a couple of hours cleaning up the shop, which looked like the whole crew had been there all week.  Got home in time for some decent light, and so dug out the good camera, and here's what became of the weekend:

Truck Cap
Truck Cap

I'm beat.  Time to go back to work!

15 comments on this journal entry.    [ add yours ]
Xeric
Oh! This!
Xeric Avatar

Location: Montana


Posted: Jun 2, 2012 - 1:15pm

The big truck is necessary for the towing of big trailers, which my work and my recreation both require pretty regularly; it was also a more-or-less necessary consequence of some rather complicated financial considerations.  The small cap is 1) still plenty large enough to camp in, and 2) will not hurt and may even slightly help the admittedly poor fuel economy.
 
ScottN
under-employed worker bee.
ScottN Avatar

Location: Condo in Gaza needs remodeling. Still, I Thank TFSM I saw the divot where the landmine was placed.


Posted: Jun 2, 2012 - 1:01pm

I think the inventiveness, craftsmanship, (re)use of materials and design is great.  My one Q., though, is: Why take a big truck, built to haul people and a lot of stuff and build a tapered small canopy for the bed, thus restricting it to carry less; all the while getting poor mileage?  (Sorry if I rained on the parade here. {#Stupid}  Maybe I simply missed something?).
Alexandra

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Location: PNW


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 9:24pm

Way to GO, Mr. X!
Monkeysdad
Ceiling fans and coasters...distribute them equitably today.....
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Location: Simi Valley, CA


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 3:08pm

Top drawer!
OlderThanDirt
What A Trip!
OlderThanDirt Avatar

Location: In Transit


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 3:05pm

You are definitely a craftsman!  Well done!  {#Cheers}
Coaxial
SHINE ON
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Location: 543 miles west of Paradis,1491 miles east of Paradise


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 1:40pm

Very cool, Scott. Well done.
Antigone

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Location: A house, in a Virginian Valley


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 7:32am

Sweet! I knew from the very first picture what you were making.
JrzyTmata
You say tomato, I say STFU!
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Posted: May 29, 2012 - 6:41am

awesome!
hippiechick
Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?
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Location: topsy turvy land


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 5:38am

You got skillz!
lily34
STFU
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Location: GTFO


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 5:31am

that's pretty amazing!
miamizsun

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Location: (3261.3 Miles SE of RP)


Posted: May 29, 2012 - 4:39am

nice {#Cheers}
jadewahoo
Coachman to the Other Side
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Posted: May 28, 2012 - 10:59pm

It is the end of May. You still have snow on the ground. You need to put that truck and camper shell to good use. Drive down to Arizona.
Xeric
Oh! This!
Xeric Avatar

Location: Montana


Posted: May 28, 2012 - 9:06pm

Leslie—the frame is a variety of stuff salvaged from the scrap pile.  The back frame (around the door opening) and the bottom rails are a "multi-core" plywood—a very good void-free ply with about twenty-two plies per inch of thickness.  Nice strength for around the door (in 1/2" stock) and good for clamping against (to mount to the truck) for the bottom, uhm, stringers (3/4").  The arched "roof beams" are also that multi-core ply.  Top stringers are more conventional 3/4" ply, and the front form is actually 1/4" masonite (originally I was just going to use that to make a template, but then decided nothing more was necessary there).  The rest of the framing is fir.  The sheeting is el-cheapo luan ply, 1/4".  
Leslie
FIGHT THE H8
Leslie Avatar

Location: Antioch, CA


Posted: May 28, 2012 - 8:32pm

That's AWESOME! What kind of wood did you use for the frame? The flat, side panel looks like poplar.
arighter2
.
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Location: dubuque


Posted: May 28, 2012 - 7:48pm

Wow! You really excel at what you do. Looks gorgeous!