Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Dreaming

Don't worry, the drawer is only a threat to my DIY toilet.

[musigenesis]

Built the tie-in shelf-sort-of thingy to connect my kitchen cabinet with the under-bed drawers.







I'm going to mount a fire extinguisher in this little corner nook, so I placed a piece of 3/4" plywood on the end for attaching the straps or whatever. I want to have one fire extinguisher on either end of the kitchen so I don't ever find myself staring at my one fire extinguisher through a wall of flames. Here it will also keep me from banging my shin into the corner of the bed.



Covered the framing with my usual 5mm underlayment. I really hate mitreing corners but it looks nice in the end.









I will probably mount another power outlet with USB ports just under the countertop, so I can keep my phone and gadgets here.



View from inside the closet.



This little shelf is 3" below the mattress so my feet can hang over the end of it.



This bit under the couch is the only interior carpentry/cabinetry I have left to do, at least until I install my water stuff and the washer and dryer in the back.

[Phatman]

The more you post, the more impressive it gets!! Keep up the GREAT work MG !!

[musigenesis]

Built the rolling cart thing to hold my dial-a-weight dumbbells. This will go under my couch with a pair of track/guides and have one of my usual cabinet faces on the front. I'm going to need something a bit beefier than my roller clasps to hold it in place, of course.







100 pounds of rolling death (each one can be dialed up to 50 pounds). It's funny, I weigh about 175 pounds right now but at my heaviest some years ago I was at 225. It's hard for me to imagine walking around all day carrying one of these things, but that's exactly what I was doing.

[musigenesis]

Started trimming out the front side of my couch.



One of the runners for my dumbbell cart.



These were incredibly unpleasant to install. There's 9" of clearance and I had to use my right-angle attachment on the drill. Would have been much easier to do this before the couch went in.



The guides keep the cart pretty well in line and it doesn't bind going in and out. I'll add some stops just above the 2x4s so it can't bounce up.



Finished framing and trimming the front and measured for the doors and panels. The left side will have a door that opens downward, the middle door will be fixed to the dumbbell cart and the right opening will have a fixed panel in front of it, since that space can be accessed via the hinged couch headrest above it. Thought about doing drawers on each side of the cart, but I didn't feel like trying to reach in under the couch to install the sliders for them.

[musigenesis]

Panels for the undercouch storage.



Attached the hinges and clasp for the door. I put the clasp on the right side since that corner was bowing out slightly. It did nothing - this variety of clasp is pretty secure but it doesn't seem to do any really pulling-in. I might try adjusting it but the tiny screws they come with are just such a pain.





The front for the dumbbell cart fit perfectly. I assumed I would have to do a bunch of tweaking like I did with everything else and add some angle bracing to get it snug against the framing, but none of that was necessary.



I did manage to screw up and not place the pull handle in the center - another victim of me trying to read a ruler upside-down. Fortunately easy to fix.



These blocks on the back of the door will keep the cart from bouncing up. I'll add a cargo strap to keep the dumbbells themselves from bouncing up.



Mamma-jamma deadbolt to keep the cart in place. Hopefully this will be sufficient.



Screwed in the fixed panel on the right. If this looks like the couch is bowing out somewhat between the left and center doors, that's only because it is.

Once I put the final flooring in place, I'll add the piece of framing for underneath the middle door, but this will be fixed to the door itself and slide out with it. Have to do it this way since the cart's wheels wouldn't go over it otherwise.

[musigenesis]

Spot-welded up a cover for the latch on my skyhatch. These things normally have a handle on top which is watertight, but I don't want the hatch to be opened from the outside so it had to go. I spent a lot of time looking for something that could be riveted over it but I never found anything, so it's DIY time again.







You cannot hope to stop Dynatron-550, you can only hope to contain it. And apparently you cannot hope to contain it, either. I bought a whole case of these tubes last year, but this is the only one that's tried to escape so far.





Finished bondoing and sanding the cut inside edges. I'm not super-happy with how spongey it feels against the XPS foam backing and I expect the edges will crack over time, but oh well. It looks pretty good right now.



Primed the latch cover.



Taped and painted everything.











Tomorrow I should be able to rivet on the latch cover and the piece of 1/4" Lexan I have for this and be done with the thing. Just in time for 10 days of no rain to test out whether or not it's really watertight.

[musigenesis]

Did an experiment (fortunately) riveting 1/4" Lexan to some plastic from my roof hatch with 3/16" SS rivets.



Complete fail. I guess the plastic is too soft and the SS deforms through the hole and the piece pulls right out.



I guess I need to try this with aluminum rivets or just use screws.

[ol trunt]

I have had good luck using 3M brand double stick (foam) tape to attach lexan to various surfaces. It also works well with polycarbonate which otherwise is about impossible to secure. I used 1/2" angle iron along the front and rear edges on my polycarbonate as insurance against wind lift and it has held up for ten years without leaking. If you follow this idea, be sure to pay the bit extra for "real" 3M double stick tape--there is a difference!

Be absolutely sure there is no "oily" or silicone residue on either surface before you apply the tape.
Jack

.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

I have had good luck using 3M brand double stick (foam) tape to attach lexan to various surfaces. It also works well with polycarbonate which otherwise is about impossible to secure. I used 1/2" angle iron along the front and rear edges on my polycarbonate as insurance against wind lift and it has held up for ten years without leaking. If you follow this idea, be sure to pay the bit extra for "real" 3M double stick tape--there is a difference!

Be absolutely sure there is no "oily" or silicone residue on either surface before you apply the tape.

Hmm, that's an interesting idea. It would certainly be easier than rivets or screws. I have a strong bias towards mechanical fasteners, though.

[ol trunt]

Me too---that's why I used both.
Jack

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Did an experiment (fortunately) riveting 1/4" Lexan to some plastic from my roof hatch with 3/16" SS rivets.

Attachment 59756

Complete fail. I guess the plastic is too soft and the SS deforms through the hole and the piece pulls right out.

Attachment 59757

I guess I need to try this with aluminum rivets or just use screws.

A washer on each side, is used to rivet hinges & light brackets to fiberglass on aircraft. The rivet squeezes the two together, pinching the resin & limiting the rivet expansion. Often a backer strip of aluminum or steel on each side. Maybe this would work for you? (With .1910 holes)

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by DeMac

A washer on each side, is used to rivet hinges & light brackets to fiberglass on aircraft. The rivet squeezes the two together, pinching the resin & limiting the rivet expansion. Often a backer strip of aluminum or steel on each side. Maybe this would work for you? (With .1910 holes)

No, I have no access to the inside of the hatch to do this, unfortunately. I should have experimented with this before filling the inside with XPS and bondoing over the inside of the square cut-out.

[musigenesis]

I knew aluminum rivets were going to fail but I had to try anyway.



Drilled the holes for the latch cover.



Two dabs of construction adhesive and Dynatron-570 (the white stuff!) around the edges to seal it.



Decided to use 3/4" #12 SS machine screws to attach to the plastic of the hatch. They grip pretty well and a lot easier than riveting anyway.



Cut the plexiglass to fit around the latch cover and the rounded corners.





Marked out the screw holes (every 2").



Lexan is so easy to drill. Love this stuff.



Ran in two screws to hold it in place and then drilled the rest of the pilot holes in the hatch.



Bead of Dynatron-570 around the edges. I decided not to use construction adhesive as well as screws since it doesn't really seem to adhere too well to Lexan and I think (hope) the screws will be sufficient.



All screwed in and glopped up. I got good squeeze-out all around with the edge bead, so I think this thing will be watertight - at least initially. My big concern will be what happens to it after it sits in direct sunlight all day for a long time.



Looks good from the underside, which is all I care about.



We're supposed to get some thunderstorms tomorrow night, so I'll install this on the bus tomorrow and see how it does.

[peakbus]

Great looking skylight! And your interior is really coming along. You are making great progress!

[Frochevy]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I knew aluminum rivets were going to fail but I had to try anyway.

Attachment 59774

Drilled the holes for the latch cover.

Attachment 59775

Two dabs of construction adhesive and Dynatron-570 (the white stuff!) around the edges to seal it.

Attachment 59776

Decided to use 3/4" #12 SS machine screws to attach to the plastic of the hatch. They grip pretty well and a lot easier than riveting anyway.

Attachment 59777

Cut the plexiglass to fit around the latch cover and the rounded corners.

Attachment 59778

Attachment 59779

Marked out the screw holes (every 2").

Attachment 59780

Lexan is so easy to drill. Love this stuff.

Attachment 59781

Ran in two screws to hold it in place and then drilled the rest of the pilot holes in the hatch.

Attachment 59782

Bead of Dynatron-570 around the edges. I decided not to use construction adhesive as well as screws since it doesn't really seem to adhere too well to Lexan and I think (hope) the screws will be sufficient.

Attachment 59783

All screwed in and glopped up. I got good squeeze-out all around with the edge bead, so I think this thing will be watertight - at least initially. My big concern will be what happens to it after it sits in direct sunlight all day for a long time.

Attachment 59784

Looks good from the underside, which is all I care about.

Attachment 59785

We're supposed to get some thunderstorms tomorrow night, so I'll install this on the bus tomorrow and see how it does.

Looking great! Hope it holds up during the thunderstorm test!!

[musigenesis]

Bored this morning so I decided to go over and install the skyhatch.





The Lexan got a little scuffed at some point (probably from the band saw) but it's not super-noticeable.



Another happy accident: the other hatch fits perfectly under the couch. The Lexan is pretty heavy, so both of these hatches weigh about the same amount.



Since I'm not 100% confident yet that the skyhatch doesn't leak.



I like how it's not visible from the outside that this is anything but an ordinary emergency hatch.



First time since I've owned the bus that nobody can break in without literally breaking something (or picking the MasterLock on the door, I guess).

[Bert06840]

Great progress! The entertainment keeps coming.

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I like how it's not visible from the outside that this is anything but an ordinary emergency hatch.

Yeah, I’m into that too. Going to put a strip of white material (aluminum or PVC I think) around my solar panels so a casual observer will be none the wiser.

First time since I've owned the bus that nobody can break in without literally breaking something (or picking the MasterLock on the door, I guess).

I’m not there yet. These buses are incredibly easy to steal. Mine doesn’t even have an ignition key. Nor a lockable door.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by peakbus

Great looking skylight! And your interior is really coming along. You are making great progress!

Originally Posted by Frochevy

Looking great! Hope it holds up during the thunderstorm test!!

Originally Posted by Bert06840

Great progress! The entertainment keeps coming.

Thanks guys!

[musigenesis]

Oh well, so much for testing my skyhatch's watertightness any time soon.



Good time for me to paint the darn thing, I guess.