Maintenance & Restoration

dylanear · 07-21-2012, 01:38 PM

And here the progress on my new "throne". It'll have a new Dometic potty under this lid and should match the smooth white finish of the doors and shelves (of of course to some degree, the fiberglass interior pieces)

The Dometic potty:

http://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Portab.../dp/B005Q73D24

dylanear · 07-25-2012, 06:19 AM

OK, a bit more reinforcements and final fitting, adding a hing aside the the "throne" is ready for paint.

The shell in place, everything painted grey will be covered in Allure flooring.

How the new potty fits.

With the lid in place.

Seeing how the old cushion fits, eventually there will be new, matching upholstery throughout the trailer.

Testing the lid fit, should work!

With the potty lid up. Still fits!

The whole potty slides back so there's plenty of room to pull the flush handle. This was a problem with the woodwork the original owner built. The handle would only open about half way, so on occasion I'd have to lif the whole thing out and put it on the floor to pull the handle all the way out. A big reason I was motivated to design and build my own front woodwork.

The painter now understands what I want and I've shown him that it can be done, so he's taking another try. Fingers crossed.

Just a few more wood pieces to finish and I can call the woodworking done. But they are not trivial pieces.

Thomas G. · 07-25-2012, 08:19 AM

Nice work!

Eddie Longest · 07-25-2012, 08:26 AM

Dylan
Everything is really looking great with the woodwork and framing. You could have saved a lot of time if you used the Kreg Jig System for your joints. In most cases you don't need clamps and you don't have to wait for the glue to dry. I'm not connected with Kreg and not trying to tell you how to do your thing just letting you know about other options. Again really great looking woodwork.
Eddie

dylanear · 07-25-2012, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Dylan
Everything is really looking great with the woodwork and framing. You could have saved a lot of time if you used the Kreg Jig System for your joints. In most cases you don't need clamps and you don't have to wait for the glue to dry. I'm not connected with Kreg and not trying to tell you how to do your thing just letting you know about other options. Again really great looking woodwork.
Eddie

I'll check that out, for the next project! But the clamping has been working well for me. Mostly I don't leave it clamped more than 5 or 10 minutes. The Gorilla wood glue in this climate dries fast. Really easy to work with. I'll be drilling and adding wood screws to reinforce places. But the glueing allows for very precise fitting and feels incredibly strong as it is. Pretty much all the glue joints all have plenty of surface area and often multiple angles that give strength.

dylanear · 07-25-2012, 09:17 AM

OK, I took a look. Does seem like a great system if you want to use screws, and they would be faster than my gluing. But I think my glue then screw system is very precise and will be stronger than screwing alone.

GPJ · 07-25-2012, 10:12 AM

Actually, most people use glue with the Kreg or other pocket hole systems. Just drill the pocket hole, add glue to the joint, reposition, temporarily clamp to line the pieces up perfectly, drive the pocket screw and unclamp. The screws keep the wood "clamped" while the glue dries, although the glue is just an extra strength option - the screws are usually strong enough on their own - even for chair legs, etc. Plugs are available to hide the screws, although they are usually positioned to be hidden. Some folks like to leave the glue out to allow some joint flexing to occur in applications like boat and RV cabinetry.

Pocket screw systems have really taken over in small woodworking shops - they work well, are fast (ready to use immediately, no leaving items in the clamps overnight) and are so easy to use. Even if you don't use them in your panel shelves and doors, they may be of use elsewhere in face framing, etc. in your other cabinet work in the trailer. There is even a micro jig version for finer work.

I'm sure you have already looked, but the Kreg web site (kregtool.com) has some demo videos under the media center tab that show how easy the system is to use, and projects made with it.

lhanna · 08-07-2012, 08:24 PM

Oohs and awwws - Looking great! Can't wait to see the finished beauty!

dylanear · 08-16-2012, 03:14 PM

Thanks Laurie, I'm darn eager to see it done myself, getting closer. Here's the last two major pieces.

Front left shelf/seat.

All the woodwork is painted or being painted. Should be installed in the next few days. More pics then.

dylanear · 08-16-2012, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GPJ

Actually, most people use glue with the Kreg or other pocket hole systems. Just drill the pocket hole, add glue to the joint, reposition, temporarily clamp to line the pieces up perfectly, drive the pocket screw and unclamp. The screws keep the wood "clamped" while the glue dries, although the glue is just an extra strength option - the screws are usually strong enough on their own - even for chair legs, etc. Plugs are available to hide the screws, although they are usually positioned to be hidden. Some folks like to leave the glue out to allow some joint flexing to occur in applications like boat and RV cabinetry.

Pocket screw systems have really taken over in small woodworking shops - they work well, are fast (ready to use immediately, no leaving items in the clamps overnight) and are so easy to use. Even if you don't use them in your panel shelves and doors, they may be of use elsewhere in face framing, etc. in your other cabinet work in the trailer. There is even a micro jig version for finer work.

I'm sure you have already looked, but the Kreg web site (kregtool.com) has some demo videos under the media center tab that show how easy the system is to use, and projects made with it.

I'll have to look at this closer, perhaps find some video of these things being used before my next project (but I don't plan on anything like this again any time soon). My techniques on this worked well, but were just darn slow.

D Davis · 08-16-2012, 08:26 PM

Great job Dylan, love watching your progress! Creative, you must have an engineer's mind. I knew a boat builder who reminds me of you. Can't wait for more pics of the finished product. Fine, really fine.
So looks like a shower, What will you use for a floor under and drain? Curious.
I Boone Dock and an outside shower has been on my mind as an addition in the future.

dylanear · 08-17-2012, 12:06 PM

Thanks! My training is in Art/Design, but I do think I missed my calling as an Engineer/Industrial designer some times. I really wish I had more training in those areas. I'll try to get some pics of the painting in progress, I get a real kick out of seeing them smooth and white even if many pieces are just being primered/prepped.

Yes, There is a shower fixture, but no drain is planned at this point. Almost decided to tackle that, but for now I'll continue using a 10 gallon plastic storage tub which fits under the shelf on the left side when not in use. That's what I did all winter. Works fine, but you do have to lift it and pour it in the sink when your done. Removable shower curtains hang from the ceiling when in use, fit in the tub when not in use. Having that fixture will be very nice as I've been using a shower head hose that went all the way back to a quick release on the kitchen sink faucet, with an on/off valve near the shower. I had to set the temperature at the kitchen sink, then climbing in the shower, hit the on/off valve. Thankfully the Suburban water heater kept a consistent temp and I never needed to adjust the temp while showering, but now I can if need be and i'll skip the sink dance ritual before getting in the shower. The previous set up sounds ridiculous and it sort of was, but actually worked very well and was a lot more comfortable than making my way across a cold campground in my PJs, to use the token based, time limited shower.

The wacky thing is that shower space, will also have a fold up/down table/desk surface as well! Not sure how that's going to be attached/hinged. I'm looking at options. I have an extra shower fixture box that may go on the outside at some point for humid, hot weather showering. Eventually I'll get a drain in the floor, either fiberglass some wood or perhaps modify a utility sink as a shower floor. Probably do that when I add a grey water tank, but not sure how well I can get water from a drain under that front floor past the frame and into the tank in back. Curious how a factory front shower drain is plumbed.