They May Be Minor BUT . . .

There are 13 doors to make in total and they go like this . . .

Cut pieces of tubing to length allowing for the gaps and edge trimmings etc..
These are cut square ended and then put into the milling machine to have a 45 degree corner mitre machined.
This means I can be cutting the next one while this is going on and is far more accurate than any other way I can think of.


















Weld the tube together to make a rectangular frame a little smaller than the opening it is going into.
Grind and dress the corners flat.


















Cut, mitre and drill welding holes on matching pieces of angle "iron".


















Fit the angle iron around the internal side of the frame with 5mm spacers in between the tube and the angle.


















Clamp everything in place


















and weld through the holes.


















Grind the weld off flush


















and prime ready for painting.


















Then the actual door seal, called "pinchweld" is pressed into the pocket created.
This will also need mitre-ing at each corner . . . a process not yet determined as this is strange stuff with a metal strip running through the part which grips the angle to provide strength so you can't just cut it with a knife!


















Then the fibreglass facing is applied to the other side


















and finally the trim angle is applied . . . again with the appropriate mitre-ing !!


















Thirteen times and only a couple of common sizes . . .
what was I thinking ?????

Minor Surgeries Only Now Required . . .

Well it turned out pretty well as promised . . .

After finishing all the tricky little reveals around the "utilities tower"


















The main doorways























and the lower edge of the front and rear























The "silicon edge seal man" was let loose while I did a few other things at home on the truck.
He finished about 1 o'clock and then it all had to be loaded back on the truck.
It all works OK but if I was going to do it again I could think of a few little changes to improve the speed of the job.
It takes about 90 mins. to pick up, place, align and bolt down the house unit ready to go.




































Very happy with the result :
I would recommend this organisation - very pleasant and helpful people :
Panelvan Conversions
55 Burlington St, Naval Base WA, 6165
Chad and Tony Hubbard 0400 900 033

So after a minor deviation so Sich could have a "look see" safely home again . . .
Now the other 90% can begin . . .














Thought I'd start off by putting the roof vent in position.
At this point with winter approaching my first concern is to seal it all up as a priority over fitting out as I may have to stand it in the rain if I need the factory space for something.
















The vent had some funny recessed upstands moulded into the mounting for the fasteners to go through. It's a European design so maybe their fasteners are different from ours but I could not find any screws or bolts etc to go into that shape so after much deliberation I decided to turn down the head of some stainless steel machine screws to fit.
Seems a bit of overkill but it was the only way I could think of.

















So finally it is all resting in place ready for silicon and bolts first thing tomorrow.












Now if I can just find someone who can supply the "thick roof adapter kit" that is listed in the brochure but no one seems to know anything about . . . . then I can get on with the next bit instead of having to make that first !!!!

Skin Graft, Day 6

Monday morning slow start . . .

and the pieces needed hadn't been cut over the weekend . . .

so the first two hours was cutting and bending 2mm aluminium sheet into angles of various web sizes and then cutting to length and trimming notches into the ends to allow for the "centreflex" hinge to meet.
Then drill and countersink for rivets to hold it in place.
I have decided to try and do without the face rivets for all the trim angles.
The flanges are smaller and the large rivets would look a little strange.
So we are riveting in the gap between the frame and the door.
For this reason the rivets need to be countersunk to avoid problems with clearance and having to make the gap too large.


















This process works quite well and the results are promising in the first couple of bins.
Unfortunately it highlights a very small problem - the bending tool used for the angle is also used to bend much rougher material (like "chequer-plate") which has left surface imperfections in the tool which have transferred to the aluminium.
The worst ones are fortunately on the inside edge where they cannot be seen when the bin doors are closed.
There is not much which can be done here and I will have to console myself with the thought that a small amount of use when finished will probably result in much worse markings . . .


















This one also shows the previously mentioned problem of finishing the lifting point tubes which will be capped later.























Most of the bin doors close along the lower edge where the design does not have a bottom runner exposed.
Only one or two bins require edging all around or at least on three sides and therefor have to be mitred.
This one is for the gas bottle storage bay.
Looks OK at this stage. . .


















The pace picked up a little after lunch and all of the lockers along the bottom edge are now done and one of the upper bins. The main doors are cut and mitred and just resting in place waiting for silicon and rivets tomorrow.


















That leaves only the corner caps, which I want to be welded (which causes a little consternation) but the weld can be ground smooth and be placed on the top where you will have to be in a tree or on a tall ladder to even get a glimpse so I am not too bothered by that problem.


















The current schedule calls for all that to be out of the way probably by after lunch tomorrow.
Then it will get a cleanup in preparation for (what I think will be a whole day of) finishing every aluminium edge with a thin fillet of silicon.
Fortunately there is a guy who is considered "the neatest finisher on the planet" who will be left to do all that bit.
So . . . with luck Wednesday late or Thursday will see it ready for pickup . . .

Famous last words . . .

Skin Graft, Day 5

Not too much joy to start the day.
No one had come up with "magic" solution for the corners and lift point openings.
I decided to just cut back all around the openings and silicone in some protective plastic pieces which cover up the raw edge of the plywood and make it more difficult for any water to get in.


















These are then covered with the corner angle which is cut away to "JUST" clear the opening.























I always planned to have a capping block fit into the tube to retain the lifting legs which are stored in there when not needed.
I will make the caps slightly more elaborate to match in with all the trimming pieces and hopefully it will not turn into an eyesore.


















Seeing Friday is a half day for the regular workers there was no chance of getting the rest of the metal work made this week and all the corners had been fitted so that was the end of today.
There is a chance that the owner will bend the rest of the angles over the weekend, fingers crossed, as that would mean that an early start could be made on Monday morning . . .

Skin Graft, Day 4

Most of the morning was spent preparing all the angles for around the top edge.
Cutting to length, deburring and drilling.
Several trials convinced me that we were not able to keep countersunk rivets sufficiently even to achieve a really good appearance so it was decided to go with very broad flat head aluminium rivets.
First up after lunch was the rear end.


















Then around the corner to the left hand side.


















Continuing down the Left Hand Side























Across the front and round to the Right Hand Side.


















This is the view along the top down the Right Hand Side when finished.
There is a join half way along there !!


















Quite happy with that !!

Tomorrow is the vertical corners . . .

Skin Graft, Day 3

Day 3 started with cutting out the Left Hand Side.


















And soon all cutouts were done on that side.


















So it was now possible to get a proper feel for the shape , size and arrangement inside.
Looking toward the back (sleeping, seating / eating area).


















Looking toward the front.
An interior wall has to be built to partition off the bathroom / toilet and all the cupboards to be made for toilet system, gas bottles, hot water system, air conditioner and bathroom storage cupboards.























It was then taken outside and the dusty work of trimming all the edges to match the steel frames was done.
Scaffolding a must for all this type of work.




































Finally ready to start on trimming corners.
The people doing this job are basically truck body builders so strength is more important than appearance on the scale of priorities but they do appreciate the weatherproofing requirements and are most accommodating in working out how to deal with everything.
They have come up with a very neat solution to finishing the front and rear lower edges which are a bit of a problem as there can be no protrusions into the square tube which accommodates the lifting leg.
This means no rivets in that area!!
And edging around the opening is starting to look like a nightmare.
Obviously a problem I did not have even the slightest appreciation of at the time of designing.


















Hopefully some magic solution will occur to someone overnight . . . . . . . ????

Skin Graft, Day 2

Day 2 started a bit slower with one of the guys working on my project unfortunately being ill and not arriving until about 9 am and then having to go again at about 12. Still he made valiant effort to keep it all going.

This is a close up of the edge of the laminated panel:
White = Gel-coat / fibreglass
Grey = resin and chopped glass bonding layer
Brown = 3mm ply reinforcement

You can see how well it all bonds together (maybe the bricks do work !)



















Work started with preparing the rear end


















and that panel was soon in place.
Because of the natural tendency to curl and all the double sided tape as long as the edges were retained it didn't need any other support while curing so the cutouts were measured up while the side was being prepared elsewhere.




































RHS fully cut out


















LHS prepared


















and sheet in place.
This was the most difficult side as there is no way to get at the ends and edges as all the other sides/ends are closed up but it was pretty flat and didn't need much except for the tape at the edges.


















As all the adhesive needed to set before the rest of the cutouts were done and the main worker was off ill that was it for today.

Still - not a bad day !!

Tomorrow is cutting out all the rest and starting on the corners and edges.

Can't wait . . .

Skin Graft . . .

An early morning start required as the location for the "skin graft" was at the other end of Perth about 60 km from where I am.
Never the less the "house" was successfully off the truck by about 8:30 and ready to go.























The roof was going on first so preparation began by sanding all the roof beams and then washing down with the appropriate solvent.


















The previously prepared skin was trimmed to size and then lifted onto the roof for a "dry fit". ie No glue at this point.























After it was determined that all was well (ie the correct size and shape) each end was then lifted and glue applied.


















In addition a glue / sealer was applied to all inside beam and sheet joints.


















So when viewed from outside it all looked lovely and flat and shiny . . .










































Some heavy sheets of ply were then lifted on top and distributed to keep even pressure over all.

The end was going on next so the sheet was prepared by cutting to size, sanding all edges and joins while still flat on the table.


















The frame was sanded and washed like the roof but for the vertical surface some double sided tape was added to each beam and then the adhesive / sealer applied alongside it. You can just see the red colour of the tape protective layer before it is peeled off. You can also see some supports under the bottom edge of the house frame which will help hold the panel in position while the adhesive sets. The double sided tape is quite interesting as it performs several functions. Unlike woodworking adhesives where for the good ones a very thin layer is required these adhesives require quite a reasonable thickness to remain, in the order of approx. 2mm thick. The double sided tape is about that thick - so it provides a gripping force to hold the sheet in place while he main adhesive sets and also provides a very even "packer" to prevent the adhesive being squeezed out.


















The sheet is then lifted into place and pressed firmly onto the adhesive tape.



































At this point a break was taken to make the last side panel as it had not been previously prepared.
Again it was interesting to see the technique.
The outside surface is a layer of fibreglass coated with a very smooth layer, called the "gel coat" which is imported from Europe in a large roll.
The required amount is rolled out face down and cut off.


















A layer of fibreglass resin and chopped glass strand is then sprayed onto the back surface


















and carefully rolled out to remove air bubbles


















Then thin sheets of ply are layed edge to edge along the wet fibreglass to end up being bonded to it.
Now the owner of the business tells me he has a complete vacuum bagging system but insists the following system gives at least as good a result!


















So while that sets in preparation for fitting tomorrow the first side is also prepared. Lots more of the sanding, washing, taping and gluing. The red protective covering of the tape is removed before fitting up.


















The side is then lifted into place and "pushed" firmly into contact with the tape.


















From the inside holes are carefully drilled through in all the corners of the areas to be cut out.


















and then the pieces carefully removed with a sabre saw.


















So tomorrow should see the remaining end and wall in place and the rest of the cutouts done.

Then begins the corners and edge finishing of all the cutouts.

I seem to get the feeling that the quick part may be over . . . but it's great progress so far!!