Another U Shaped Dinette

[br123reed]

Hi everone. ive been a forum member for several years and have gotten invaluable information here for my 69 Sovereign which need deck and frame repairs and all the systems except for electrical replaced.
So, my first post heres my just finished dinette. My goal was to keep the vintage style, and above all keep it functional.
I decided it would be much eaiser to buy the cushions first, and build the benches to fit. The frame is stick construction with 1/8th inch ply. The curves corners were framed with 1/2 inch ply radiused with a router jig. The benches are attached to the floor with wood screws. The backrests are attached to the benches but not attached to the walls. I hate putting holes in the walls.

[br123reed]

Here's the corner construction. I Carefully bent the ply around the corner and glued.
The curves on the backrests were more tricky. I had to sand off the inside layer of ply and placed it over a layer of wood filler to make it solid.

[Hittenstiehl]

That is a beautiful job. Like the color of the wood, the choice of fabric and the table. Also like the shelf top in the 9" gap under the window. Nice work

[65will]

Hello, This looks great. Is your water tank and pump under it? and do you have acess to them? Thought about this for my 69 Trade Wind. Thanks

[br123reed]

The tank and pump are behind the back bench. The picture of the dinette without the cushions shows the top of the water tank- the white rectangular strip. I cut the back of the seat out to steal an extra inch.
The origional water tank was missing when I got the coach so i had to go aftermarket. The water pump can be reached through the bench lid.

[Hittenstiehl]

In closer look I see the tank. Good to know as we will need to put on in our 65 TWind some day.

[Bowmans]

Beautiful work!

[Msmoto]

Very nicely done from design to fulfillment.

[br123reed]

Thanks for the kind words. Heres a entertainment cabinet I'm working on. I tried to do a rounded corner on it too, but the radius was too tight and split on the larger piece. I went with a 45 on the corner instead.

[Rhino33]

As we are currently working on building a U shaped dinette in our 1980 International, this is beautiful!! Now that we are getting to the point of making the cushions, I envy you for the idea of working from the cushions to the dinette!

You should be very proud!!

[perryg114]

Looks nice where did you get the cushions? I am cheap an don't want to spend $1000 on cushions.

Perry

[br123reed]

Thanks, I got the cushions on ebay. $189+60 for shipping. The box was huge.
The seller I used doesn't have any more cushions listed but there are some others.

[aquinob]

Very nice work. You got a great deal on the cushions, smart to design the cabinetry around them so you save what for most folks would be the expensive part.

[MichaelS]

Was just talking with my wife about replacing our couch with a u-shaped dinette. Thanks for sharing your design!

[Budmart1]

Bought our first Airstream - an '85 Excella and would like to duplicate your dinette. It looks great! Since we're new at this, would you be able to provide building instructions and how to convert it into a bed? Would also like to know where to get the table. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[br123reed]

Ill try to give you some construction details. I not big on making plans. I usally just take a few measurement and jump in.

Once I got the cushions and figured out their placement I built the benches (no back rests yet) in three sections.
The benches were framed with two by twos and overlayed with 1/8th inch ply wood. You can see how the rounded corner was made in the picture. I used a router circle jig to make the plywood curved piece on the top and bottom of each side bench.
After the the benches were framed out I attached the plywood. I left about 4 inches overhang on the ends so I could trim them to the wall curvature when I installed them into the coach. I also let a little bit of the plywood overhang on the top and bottom edges. I went back with a trim router and cut the top and bottom pieces flush. I did have some issues with tear out of the ply on the crosscuts. Placing tape over the area to be cut prior helps a lot.
Hope this makes sense. I will post more tomorrow.

[br123reed]

When laying out the benches keep in mind you will need overhang for the cushions. The center bench was one inch wider than the cushion. This gave a half inch overhang on each side.
The back rests were framed from doubled up two by twos, and radius cut using a saber saw. To make the plywood bend I had to sand the top layer of ply off the back. When I tacked down the plywood, I used wood filler underneath to eliminate soft spots.
The table was made from a butcher block table I picked up off Craigslist. I had to add an extra post for stability. To make it into a bed the posts are removed and the table sits on two rails I made from two 1 1/2 inch strips mohagony. Hope this helps.

[Budmart1]

Thanks for the update. We're really getting anxious to get started. Thanks again

[perryg114]

What does it look like in the bed configuration?

Perry

[drew05]

Awesome work! I especially like your table...