Dale and Terry get a '66 Tradewind

[dbj216]

Hi Slats: Funny, I got my DW a new DeWalt table saw for Christmas. She was quite surprised. She lets me use it now and then. I find it much more accurate than me holding a circular saw and trying to follow the line.

I think you are going to really like that U shaped dinette you are building in the front of your Trade Wind. I left the "travel lounge" with the fold up table in mine. But the Globetrotter has a u shaped dinette and my son loves it.

David

[Slats]

Thinking ahead to seat/bed cushions, what should I be looking for in foam cushion material, i.e., type and density of foam, etc. Suggestions anyone?

[Bubba L]

Slats, we went to a fabric/upholstery store. They had foam samples you could feel. We had 6” cushions. 2” top and 4” bottom. The top was soft and the bottom was medium firm. But personal preference for your butt. We rigged a 12vdc hot wire to cut. Good luck

[Slats]

Thanks, Bubba. After I posted that question, I answered it myself. I remembered we got our last mattress - the best one we have ever owned - at Hawn Bedding in Lee's Summit, MO, just outside of Kansas City. They make custom mattresses on order for any purpose and even tout their mattresses for 18 wheeler sleepers. They are a locally-owned business that was established in 1946. See https://hawnbedding.com/custom_mattr...ck-mattresses/. I think they make any type of cushion/mattress you could want.

[islandtrader]

Originally Posted by Slats

Not a whole lot of progress lately, but did manage to get plywood cut and piano hinged for horseshoe side benches.

Slats...looks familiar

[Slats]

Nice cushions.

[docflyboy]

Slats-We got the best mattress we ever owned from Hawn also. Don't forget about Comfort Felt and Foam on Cherry Street down in Midtown. They are truly fabulous and have all the equipment to slice and dice your foam just the way you want it. Hope that helps. Jerry

[Slats]

Thanks a bunch, Jerry. I always value your input. I'll check them out.


So here's my latest progress in this seemingly never-ending project (actually, I'm just fine with that; I feel extremely fortunate for having something involving contemplation and tangible results to do with my time). In this case, I contemplated my corner pieces, which I had cut an inch short and was resigned to making do, when my anal-retentive side (well, maybe more than a side) would not let me leave well enough alone. So I grabbed some plywood from my mounting pile of scrap wood (there are limits to my anal-retentiveness, after all), sawed away and pronounced it art. There is al least a little symmetry in the whole mismatched arrangement, which, in any event, will, mercifully be covered with cushions. The side panels are new 1/4" finish birch plywood. They will be framed in mahogany trim; the top side trim pieces will do double duty as cleats to support the table top in the down position for the bed.

[Slats]

Here's another one to lend perspective. I also had to glue and screw a 1" shim across the back end of the middle section over the tank in order to bring that piece out even with the corner pieces. Do-overs, do-overs. Where does one find the time? Morning breaks and we get another day's worth of it. At day's ends and we wonder where it went. It's really an apt metaphor for life, says this old guy.

[Slats]

Whoops. Wrong one before.

[Slats]

This one. This one. Sheesh.

[Slats]

Resized it twice. Still no cigar. I give up.

[Hittenstiehl]

Here you go

[TouringDan]

Slats- Glad you are enjoying the designing, building and unavoidable do overs.

My overall plan for our Tradewind is that it will never really be done as I will be continually making improvements. I do find that I strive to keep things as simple as possible and also accessible so that repairs are as simple as possible. My head spins when I think about the complexity of the new Airstreams and how all that complexity is buried somewhere in the innards.

Dan

[rasmuw]

Looks great, Slats.

What thickness plywood did you use for the horizontal surface?

Is that a Springfield pedestal base?

Thanks.

[Slats]

It is a Springfield base. I used 3/4" plywood, mostly because that was what was laying around. But the other night when the committee in my head called a meeting to order at around 3:00 a.m., several prominent members of the committee pointed out how heavy 3/4" plywood is and how I might want to reconsider. But I paid them no mind, telling them I'll just buy a bigger truck, if need be. Or get some 1/2" plywood and use the 3/4" stuff for patterns. Lord knows I spent enough time cutting it to fit, so the heavy lifting, so to speak, has already been done.

[islandtrader]

Originally Posted by Slats

It is a Springfield base. I used 3/4" plywood, mostly because that was what was laying around. But the other night when the committee in my head called a meeting to order at around 3:00 a.m., several prominent members of the committee pointed out how heavy 3/4" plywood is and how I might want to reconsider. But I paid them no mind, telling them I'll just buy a bigger truck, if need be. Or get some 1/2" plywood and use the 3/4" stuff for patterns. Lord knows I spent enough time cutting it to fit, so the heavy lifting, so to speak, has already been done.

I went thru the same thing...finally I figured out that it only added about 90#.

[rasmuw]

Originally Posted by Slats

It is a Springfield base. I used 3/4" plywood, mostly because that was what was laying around. But the other night when the committee in my head called a meeting to order at around 3:00 a.m., several prominent members of the committee pointed out how heavy 3/4" plywood is and how I might want to reconsider. But I paid them no mind, telling them I'll just buy a bigger truck, if need be. Or get some 1/2" plywood and use the 3/4" stuff for patterns. Lord knows I spent enough time cutting it to fit, so the heavy lifting, so to speak, has already been done.

Thanks for the reply. Your pictures reminded me to look for the brand and model of the base, which I seem to have not recorded when I eventually get to the dinette. (We had a gaucho.)

You and I must have the same committee to which we must answer! You appear to have used as much as two sheets for plywood. That would make for an additional 40 pounds over 1/2". No worries there.

[TouringDan]

Ok, I also have to answer to that committee! My wife just rolls her eyes when I tell her why I was up at 3:00 in the morning.

Dan

[Slats]

I've been working away on these sub-zero days. The pump is wired up and the plumbing to the pump and tank is laid out, ready to cut and paste in place. That braided vinyl 1" hose will be the system drain and will go through the floor. When I have more time I'll explain the valve functions if they are not self-evident. I made removable supports for the hinged lid above the tank, with an eye to making any need to remove the tank in the future as painless as possible. Each end of each support rests on an aluminum angle ledge.