It's a girl!!!

[Zeppelinium]

Shari, are there stakes at the bottoms of the vertical poles? Looks like that thing would blow away!

Zep

[InsideOut]

Yes, there is a large nail-like stake at the bottom of each of the three poles. It has a rigid frame at the front, both sides and down the middle of the top that hook into the awning rail...it's very stable, however it does rock the trailer in high winds like we had during the Resto Rally.

Shari

[Sugarfoot]

Shari, that is one impressive Airstream! Birdy turned out beautifully.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by Sugarfoot

Shari, that is one impressive Airstream! Birdy turned out beautifully.

Thanks...but we're not quite done yet. This weekend I have been building closet doors - ours we thought were going to be fixable, but due to some bad veneer I am having to start from scratch. The veneer, glue finishing is the exact same that we have been using everywhere else with great success - but this sheet delaminated from the backer sheet once it was finished causing air bubbles all over the face of the doors.

Being that we had prepared the doors so well, we couldn't get the bad veneer off - so back to the lumberyard for the materials to re-build them from scratch.

I think we have done just about every project twice on this trailer...

Next weekend, we start the beds...three days ought to be enough to "finish" also, but the way these things go - I'll be surprised if we get done. We really are hoping to have the beds done in time for the ALBQ Balloon Rally ~

Oh joy!

Shari

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

This weekend I have been building closet doors - ours we thought were going to be fixable, but due to some bad veneer I am having to start from scratch.

So this is what a dissected closet door looks like...I took the old one apart so I could make new doors due to the issue we had with the laminate. Basically, the stiles are 1x2's routed down to 3/8" at the overhang of the door. Then there is 1/8" plywood face & back with ripped strips as battens and an extra 1x2 at the handle area. Pretty simple & very light. The new doors worked out great - easier than I thought.

Shari

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Next weekend, we start the beds...three days ought to be enough to "finish" also, but the way these things go - I'll be surprised if we get done.

Well, we made great headway on the beds. The last coat of finish is drying as I type this...we should have them installed by the end of the week - ready to go camping "for real" with by next weekend.

We had the radiused corners from the original beds, but the PO had hacked them up pretty badly when they converted the twins to a double years ago. However, we were able to salvage the corners so we didn't have to go through bending new ones. They are made from 1/4" ply and we were able to use new 1/4" ply and meld the new straight portions to the corners. Then veneer over the entire faces to match the rest of the millwork we've done.

We are using 3 layers of 1/4" bending plywood, contact cemented together then screwed in for the wall ledger. We had bought the bending plywood to make new corners, but then decided to use the old ones. The bending ply worked great as ledger, but we couldn't get a tight enough radius for the bed corners - at least it didn't go to waste.

We are happy with the results - here's a couple of progress shots, I'll post more when the beds are installed.

Shari

[InsideOut]

While waiting for finish to dry between coats, Mr.InsideOut cleaned out the seams of old caulking, polished then sealed them with Parbond & Vulkem. Looks like she will polish up real nice ~ right now Birdy's end caps look like orange segments! Pretty silly, but a point in time never to return ~

All in all it was a pretty productive weekend. Too bad they all can't be three-dayers!

Shari

[pbearsailor]

You guys do more in a Three-dayer than I can do in a Three-weeker. Nice info on the door--I'd wondered what they were like inside.

cheers,
steve

[BarryIowa]

First class job all the way!! Love to watch these posts!

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by pbearsailor

You guys do more in a Three-dayer than I can do in a Three-weeker. Nice info on the door--I'd wondered what they were like inside.

Thanks Steve! It helps that we work on these things together - twice as many "man-hours" per day ~

Originally Posted by BarryIowa

First class job all the way!! Love to watch these posts!

Thanks Barry! The good news/bad news is - in a couple of weeks they'll come to an end...we'll be done!

Shari

[RankAm]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

We made some progress this last weekend between doing our taxes and waiting for finish to dry...:

Here's one little, tedious thing that's now out of the way ~

Shari

Shari: This is way out of time sequence to your post #343 above, but would you please describe the tool in your hand in the photo and describe what steps you took to make the Airstream plate look like new? Thanks, Hank.

[RankAm]

Shari: Again, this is out of time sequence, but I have been reviewing today this very informative thread. Regarding post #347, what tools/processes are required to bend and conform the stainless steel piece that you placed at the base of the toilet over the holding tank? Thanks, Hank.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Shari: This is way out of time sequence to your post #343 above, but would you please describe the tool in your hand in the photo and describe what steps you took to make the Airstream plate look like new? Thanks, Hank.

No problem...it's a sanding stick. I'm a hobbiest jeweler and have them for that. It's a 600 grit mini-belt sander essentially, but it's not powered - it's a strip that you rotate around as the grit gets dull. Basically, I painted the entire placque with Rustoleum "Royal Blue". Let it dry throughly, then sand off the paint from the rasied portions with the sanding stick. I then put a coat of clear lacquer over the top. In "real life", if you look closely at them, the aluminum part is not polished - it is a satiny brushed finish from the sanding stick. You could do the same with 600-1000 grit emery cloth or wet/dry and a popsicle stick...the key is only "burnishing" the raised letter portions. Make sense?

If you want to get your own sanding sticks, they are great for little detailed sanding projects and can be purchased elesewhere, but here's where I think I got mine years ago ~ may have been a local supply shop though. Regardless, you can see what they look like there ~

Shari

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Shari: Again, this is out of time sequence, but I have been reviewing today this very informative thread. Regarding post #347, what tools/processes are required to bend and conform the stainless steel piece that you placed at the base of the toilet over the holding tank? Thanks, Hank.

Thanks! We used a Bending Break to make the tank cover. It's a cheapy we picked up at Harbor Freight - but it worked fine. You can see some pics of it in post #347 in action ~

Shari

[RankAm]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Thanks! We used a Bending Break to make the tank cover. It's a cheapy we picked up at Harbor Freight - but it worked fine. You can see some pics of it in post #347 in action ~

Shari

Shari, thanks for the information about the Airstream name plate and the bending break. I looked at the Harbor Frieght link you provided, and that had an 18" capacity, and I wonder if that was enough for your sheet. Might it have been - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices (40" capacity) or - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices (30" capacity)?

I am very impressed with your bath layout, and I may be able to use a mirror image of your toilet and black water tank configuration in my 1956 Flying Cloud, but at the streetside rear of the coach. Is this the Tornado tank flush unit?: Tornado Permanent Tank Rinser - Product - Camping World. Is the exterior hose mount/plate in the photo in post #345 available for purchase or did you fabricate it?

Thanks again for all of the information you have posted!

Hank

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Shari, thanks for the information about the Airstream name plate and the bending break. I looked at the Harbor Frieght link you provided, and that had an 18" capacity, and I wonder if that was enough for your sheet. Might it have been - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices (40" capacity) or - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices (30" capacity)?

Yeah, it is the 30" model...sorry, I linked the wrong one. We got it at one of their sidewalk sales though & it was only about $30...

Originally Posted by hjlairf

I am very impressed with your bath layout, and I may be able to use a mirror image of your toilet and black water tank configuration in my 1956 Flying Cloud, but at the streetside rear of the coach.

I know a '59 Caravanner has the same layout as ours - corner bath but at the back curbside corner. That's where we saw the raised platform tank to model ours after. I will warn you, it is a very small "room", we call it "The Birdbath"...about all you can do is splash & fluff - which is fine when boondocking for us.

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Is this the Tornado tank flush unit?

Yes, but it is the Direct Tank Access model. I don't think we got it at Camping World though...I think it was at the Airstream dealership shop in town.

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Is the exterior hose mount/plate in the photo in post #345 available for purchase or did you fabricate it?

Yeah, something looks different about it...I think we ended up using a different coverplate than the one that came with it which was plastic. As I recall, we found an aluminum one at a salvage yard. I know Mr.InsideOut did something to it so it would be more secure and not spin out...I'll have to ask him what he did and let you know....that was one of his projects that didn't need my help.

Shari

[Alwhisman]

She's a beauty! Congrats! Look forward to seeing more of her...


Al

[RankAm]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Yeah, something looks different about it...I think we ended up using a different coverplate than the one that came with it which was plastic. As I recall, we found an aluminum one at a salvage yard. I know Mr.InsideOut did something to it so it would be more secure and not spin out...I'll have to ask him what he did and let you know....that was one of his projects that didn't need my help.

Shari

Shari, thanks for the information. I will look forward to learning whatever you can about the cover plate. Hank

[InsideOut]

Okay, time to post some more pics...we did a "hurry up and finish the beds before we head out camping" drill. Seems we always use our planned outings as incentive to finish up projects. This time, it was the Balloon Fiesta Rally with the 4FC Unit...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's some shots of the beds going together...

[InsideOut]

Then we got to making the nightstand platform. First we tried to "make the bend" with 1/4" bending plywood...we either weren't patient enough, were't doing it right or whatever...so we abandoned that. "Take two" was building up layers of veneer...kinda like making our own plywood on the curve. We then butted it up to 1/4" plywood and applied a final veneer layer over the whole thing. This seemed to work much better for us ~