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Old 03-17-2012, 11:12 AM   #61
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Start with a small drill bit, then step up a couple sizes bigger, keep working your way up until you get to the size you need. This means you are cutting off a small amount as you drill. Works on hard, thick metals too.

PS buy a "C" clamp or two before you hurt yourself badly.

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Old 03-17-2012, 02:14 PM   #62
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
Start with a small drill bit, then step up a couple sizes bigger, keep working your way up until you get to the size you need. This means you are cutting off a small amount as you drill. Works on hard, thick metals too.

PS buy a "C" clamp or two before you hurt yourself badly.
Actually, I was using C clamps. The problem was the stuff was too smooth, allowing the torque of the drill bit grabbed it and spun it like a top. I ended up clamping it into the slot between the sides of a baby gate (of all things!!!). The gate edge kept the Lexan from spinning. Then I used a step-drill (those things that look like cones) because the hole saw I had wasn't big enough and the step-drill was on sale at Harbor Freight . What the heck... it worked!

So... after all that effort, the original deadbolt lockset I bought was CRAP! After trying several times to make it work, it finally just bound up to the point it wouldn't work at all. Feeling extremely frustrated, I went back to Lowes and bought a $50 deadbolt. The craftsmanship is a world of difference. I still had some minor modification to do to the door to make the new keyset fit, but after that, it was plug & play.



I've dozens more photos in my blog so you can see the whole sordid process.

There's still some work to be done to get the latch side more secure. But right this minute I'm claiming minor victory and am just damned happy this part is DONE.
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Old 03-19-2012, 05:26 AM   #63
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Updated YouTube with a couple of new videos (see signature links below). There are two more I have to make time to create that show this weekend's progress, but I was too tired last night to finish them, and I've got to run to work now this morning.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
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Old 03-19-2012, 09:39 PM   #64
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Today after work I spent three hours removing the last items from the back of the bus. The ten minutes was spent taking down the metal locker from the overhead. The next TWO HOURS were spent trying to get the kitchen counter dismantled so it could be reused. I finally gave up and just resorted to a sawzall and hammer. I'll say one thing for the previous owner... that man knew how to build SOLID!


Luckily, I had just enough energy to get that sucker out!

I also discovered the little inverter that was left with the bus. Anyone know anything about this brand?
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Old 03-20-2012, 06:02 AM   #65
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

quick look at trip lite's website,I would guess an older model 1200watt inverter...if it works run it for lights and light loads,should support about 10 amps
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Old 03-20-2012, 07:47 PM   #66
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Today Daphne (the dog) and I went on a test drive. I wanted to pick up some tin roofing for the window covering and decided to take the bus. I have to get used to driving it anyway. Everything went really well until I tried to park it again at the house. I really can't judge tight right-hand-turns. Luckily, only the neighbor's lawn was torn up and nothing expensive like a car.

I also picked up some paint from ACE to try a couple of color combos and swatches. Painting is really low on my list of things to do, but I was out and near the store, so I didn't want to waste an opportunity.

Still have another couple of progress videos to post, but it ain't gonna happen until the weekend.
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Old 03-20-2012, 07:48 PM   #67
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Hopefully no Cats were killed in the onslaught...
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Old 03-27-2012, 09:57 PM   #68
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Well... I've given my blood, my sweat, and today, my tears to this beast. All the proper sacrafices have been made - the bus gods should be pleased and all should be well from here on out!

I wanted to tear up the rest of the flooring today after work since it was so nice and cool outside. Since I don't own a crowbar, I decided to use the mattock I found in the garage to help wedge up the more stubborn pieces. It worked like a charm.... until the last piece! Every other piece of wood I pried up offered some decent resistance, so I was expecting more of the same for the last piece. But Nooooo. It wanted to Jump Right Out and join its brethren piled in the middle of the isle!

So I wedged the mattock under the board...*heaved upward... it jumped... I fell... onto the wood... which slammed down on the mattock... and was promptly stopped by the side of my nose!

I didn't know whether to pass out, cry, or just stand like a pole-axed fool. So I did what seemed the most sensible thing... picked up my tools, locked up the bus, and made it most of the way to my porch before collapsing in angry pain. Luckily, a neighbor saw me and took me to the hospital.

Good news... I didn't kill myself! WOO HOO! The x-rays even show nothing is broken - though lord knows how THAT's possible when I've a great dent in the side of my nose now. Bad news... I will probably have a raging headache for the next several days.

Considering how much worse it could have been, I'll live with a few days of pain.
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Old 03-28-2012, 01:47 AM   #69
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by TygerCub
Well... I've given my blood, my sweat, and today, my tears to this beast. All the proper sacrafices have been made - the bus gods should be pleased and all should be well from here on out!
We are in this life to suffer, the only difference being the amount of **it you are going to get. From now on, every time you "call it a day" count your fingers. If you end with the same number as when you started pat yourself on the back for a job well done!. And let me tell you, the blood offerings HAVE to be renewed with some frequency.
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Old 03-28-2012, 09:51 AM   #70
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

OW! hope you get better!!

as for the inverter. I see a "remote" option. looks like you could wire a simple on/off switch somewhere as a master switch for it to be on or off! nice find!
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Old 03-28-2012, 10:22 AM   #71
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by pipopak
We are in this life to suffer, the only difference being the amount of **it you are going to get. From now on, every time you "call it a day" count your fingers. If you end with the same number as when
I have to hide the knives every day in case my wife whacks off one of my body parts....
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Old 03-28-2012, 08:45 PM   #72
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Owie! Hope you didn't get too ripped up, and that you heal quickly. I can see where you can get into trouble pushing a mattock. Don't think they have a PPE for what that thing did to you. Take care, girl!
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Old 03-28-2012, 09:12 PM   #73
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Yee-ow! The bus conversion giveth and taketh away. Which sometimes really sucketh.

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!
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Old 03-31-2012, 05:12 PM   #74
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Hoo boyo! Change of plans with the walls. Not only do they have rivets spaced at 1 inch intervals, the rivets are steel, have 1/4" shanks, and they are also gacked down with some kind of black tarry nasty crap! ack!

I discovered this after several hours of experimenting with ways to remove the rivets.
  • I tried the cold chisel and mallet... my arms aren't strong enough - and I'm still a little timid after thwacking myself in the face.[/*:m:1j96iic2]
  • I tried to drill out the rivets... worked 'okay', but the drill never stayed on-center, and I had to go back with the mallet to whack off the heads.[/*:m:1j96iic2]
  • I tried an angle grinder... used both the cutting wheel, and a grinding wheel. The grinding wheel took way too long and sometimes left enough of a lip to make pulling the metal up difficult. The cutting wheel was too precise and I still had to use the mallet to whack off the heads.[/*:m:1j96iic2]

So... I'm just using the angle grinder with a cutting wheel to bypass the rivets completely and will just cut out the panels in sheets.

Well... I'm doing that for the rear of the bus.

On one side.

And only because I started the job and don't want to leave it unfinished.

Sheesh! One would think Virginia was paranoid about the type of people that bus originally transported!
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Old 04-01-2012, 08:48 AM   #75
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

for rivits, like on the rub rails I use 7 inch grinder with 7 inch or so cut off wheels with the guard removed... for small stuff i use the small air grinder with 4 inch wheel with no guard.
And since i have done this for years and years, i know someday i might cut some body part off. hasn't happened yet cause i am careful

I dont worry about accidently gouging the metal a bit cause that is what bondo and the d a is for...
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Old 04-01-2012, 09:18 AM   #76
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Bondo, eh? Sounds like I need to pick up some of that because there are a lot of holes on he exterior that need covering. Thanks!
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Old 04-03-2012, 09:07 PM   #77
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

So... for the past couple of days after tearing out the small steel panel in the rear of the bus, I decided to start working on making window blanks. The previous owner gave me three sheets of metal to use as blanks - two solid pieces, and one perforated that will be great as a vent. I cut the first two, primed, painted, and glued some 1/4" plywood to the back, and ... ran out of weekend to work.


This afternoon, I went to the junk yard and picked up one last piece of metal for the third window. Got three quarters of it cut before the cutting wheel ran out . Drove back to Lowes, picked up 3 more wheels, some gasket material, and 1? angle brackets to help hold the blank in place.


After finishing the last cut on the steel, I decided I better fit at least one window into place before it got too dark. Unfortunately, the 1? angle brackets were too large . I figured they might be, but Lowes didn’t have any of the smaller items in stock. Tomorrow I’ll go to Home Depot and see what they have.

The gasket material was a last-minute addition. There was gasket material behind the original windows, but it was removed while cleaning the window ledges. I decided to add new gaskets because the vertical posts are more of a shallow U shape than flat. Left without a gasket, the metal blank wouldn’t fit very well and would probably leak at the first rain. I will end up caulking around the edges outside, but there’s no reason not to err on the side of caution.


I had just enough time to cut a piece of foam and fit everything in place before I ran out of light. Wish I had thought to take a picture from the outside (doh!). I’ll do that tomorrow.


In the mean time, I leave you with a pretty cool reflection of the moon in the door window.
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Old 04-04-2012, 09:01 PM   #78
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Filled in 2 of the window blanks today. I used 3/4" L brackets to hold the plywood and metal in place. Then some 1" foam was stuffed into the remaining opening. The foam will have to be removed, though, since I still have to add caulk to seal the area. Otherwise water will seep in at the edges.


It's not a lot, but as long as I can get SOMETHING accomplished every day I'll be satisfied.
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Old 04-07-2012, 07:45 PM   #79
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Spent the morning pulling all the tools, wood, and crap out of the bus. All the sawdust and metal filings were vacuumed up, then I dragged a hose from the other side of the house and washed the whole interior. "Kaboom" took those nicotine stains right off the side panels! It was amazing how much dirty water was streaming off the sides and roof panels. Damn glad I did it before moving to the next phase.

Thursday I picked up the bundle of 2" foam for the flooring. I'll start installing that tomorrow after I finish the last window blank. I'm excited to finally get a floor back in the bus. There was no hurry while I was still farting around with the windows. But now that the blanks are in the back I'm ready to start some real construction.

One of the things I wasted time doing today was buying a compressor to use to inflate the tires. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I'll keep the compressor because those things are always handy. But I'm getting a little desperate to get air in that tire. None of the tire shops would touch it - said it had too much pressure for them to handle. So Monday after work I'm going to risk driving it to one of the large truck shops with the hopes they will take the time to run a hose out to the tire to inflate it.
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Old 04-07-2012, 08:07 PM   #80
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Your bus has air brakes, right? Can't you fill the tires using the bus. That's what most of us with air brakes do. Those little oilless compressors don't seem to do much pumping at higher pressures.
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