Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

Finished installing the couch today.



The hook all the way on the left wouldn't engage because the fabric wrapping around the other side is too thick. Doesn't seem to really matter, though, as the stiffness of the plywood keeps it in place.





Headrest screwed back in easier than I thought.







Cushions back in.









Test-placing the ottomans.



The gap between them and the couch was a bit wider than I had planned, because of how the cushions bulge out.



Need a better filler for this one cushion.





View from the entrance. Underneath I'll build drawers of some sort.



The hammock fits, but just barely. My butt scrapes the ottomans a bit.



Added two clasps to keep the headrest in place.



I'm mounting the clips to attach the ottomans to the couch on these 1X projections, to deal with the gap.

[musigenesis]

Matching clips on the ottomans.



3/8" plywood is simulating the height of my eventual floor, with 5mm underlayment and vinyl planks.





These are fairly easy to lift up and onto the matching hooks, but if they have a lot of heavy stuff in them it might not be so easy. In normal operation, I'll probably only fix them in place when driving.



Took a nap on it right after these pics, very comfy. The two original bottom cushions together are 55" long and the ottomans extend this by 18", so it's only 1" shorter than my 74" bed.

[Phatman]

You’re making great headway Musigenesis. I’m proud for ya!! OUTSTANDING !!!

[musigenesis]

Whoops, I forgot this corner piece of paneling needs to come off again to insulate next to the window, but I installed the couch over it. Oh well, only the top half needs to come off so I'll probably be able to cut it. To quote (sorta) Cool Hand Luke: "what we have here is ... failure to anticipate."



The former coffee table I'm using for my desk is particle board with a teak veneer, with real wood all around the edges, but I trimmed off the back to make it 24" deep. The back edge needs to hold the piano hinge so I'm adding this piece of "real" wood (it's pre-primed 1X4 which is made from short pieces of real wood notched together). I'm using construction adhesive and also the screws made for particle board every five inches.





It will be interesting to see how long this holds up.



An experiment on the ripped edge to see if I can refinish this coffee table top, which is pretty scratched up. Orbital sander and a few coats of polyurethane, looks pretty good as long as I don't sand all the way through the veneer.



My smaller piece of butcher block is splitting at the ends a bit. This was an experiment to see if I could clamp them back together a bit and hold them together with a framing screw on an angle. It sort of worked, gap is maybe half as wide now.



After a couple of coats of polyurethane and sanding. I ripped the edge off of the cut piece and I'm going to turn it upright and use it to create a small backsplash for the desk. It will involve more screws through particle board, which I'm not thrilled about.



My future desk chair, maybe. A few weeks ago I found an absolutely mint version of this chair on Craigslist, but I was lazy about getting it and it sold after weeks of me watching it. This one is going to take some work as it's broken in every way a chair can be broken.

There must be millions of these chairs still around in the world, and I'm renovating this one.

[musigenesis]

Squared up the hole in my hatch. Grinding away the plastic of a hatch with a flap disk is my new least favorite skoolie activity. Got the top handle off, but the metal cylinder for it is a fundamental part of the latch so I'm going to have to cover it with a little cup or something.

Hopefully this will motivate me to order the rivets I need for the Lexan.



More coats of polyurethane for the desk.

[o1marc]

Looking good, slow and steady.

[musigenesis]

The skoolie storage demon has possessed me. I just realized that this chair:



has all this empty space underneath it, and I can build in storage boxes underneath the seat and arms for office supplies and whatnot. Maybe strap an umbrella holder across the back ninja-style.

Also one of those hanging basket fruit and vegetable racks in the shower, on a pivot arm so it can swing out when I take a shower. Not sure if this is a good idea since I also plan to keep the litter box in the tub.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

The skoolie storage demon has possessed me. I just realized that this chair:

Attachment 56205

has all this empty space underneath it, and I can build in storage boxes underneath the seat and arms for office supplies and whatnot. Maybe strap an umbrella holder across the back ninja-style.

Also one of those hanging basket fruit and vegetable racks in the shower, on a pivot arm so it can swing out when I take a shower. Not sure if this is a good idea since I also plan to keep the litter box in the tub.

I did something like that once, only I built a small file cabinet and drawer under the seat to keep some often used stuff handy. I also put a cup holder on one arm and a flat, hinged, fold up and over flat "tray" on the other arm to use a wireless mouse and keyboard on. Sort of a mobile mini desk. I liked it because it allowed me to sit further away from my large monitor and move my chair around and still work on the computer. Reduced neck and eye strain.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by kidharris

I did something like that once, only I built a small file cabinet and drawer under the seat to keep some often used stuff handy. I also put a cup holder on one arm and a flat, hinged, fold up and over flat "tray" on the other arm to use a wireless mouse and keyboard on. Sort of a mobile mini desk. I liked it because it allowed me to sit further away from my large monitor and move my chair around and still work on the computer. Reduced neck and eye strain.

Ha, I'm definitely doing the cupholder at least.

[Mercuric Mind]

Looks great!

[musigenesis]

After umpteen billion coats of poly, attempting to attach the desk backsplash.



Thought I was aiming for the thicker part, but my drill thought otherwise. Almost gave up on it here but decided to try again.



Screwed in through the particle board part.





Looks decent, except I screwed up the other end also by going too far towards the thicker back part.



Attached the piano hinge for mounting it on the wall.



Whole thing looked OK at this point so of course I had to keep going and try to run more screws into it. Managed to make the broken piece on the end bulge out even more.



Decided to try to push in the two cracked parts with brass screws. First attempt here ran into another screw and I had to move it up.





Added some additional decorative brass screws to make them look like part of the design instead of like repairs. I actually kind of like it better with the brass screws.

[musigenesis]

Desk chair demo. This thing is in sad shape, but I feel better making drastic modifications to something that had no hope of life otherwise.

[musigenesis]

I initially tried fixing the split wood on my desk with regular wood filler. I guess I thought it would be an attempt of sorts at kintsugi, but it looked awful.



Scraped it all out and refilled with walnut-colored filler, which was the only dark-colored filler at Lowe's. It looks not bad with a few coats of poly over it.



I wanted flush outlets in the desk, but because this will fold down flat against the wall, the outlets plus their wires coming out the bottom can't be deeper than 1.5". These were all I could find that fit the bill after a bit of searching.



Had to sit and ponder for a while how I was actually going to cut out this small rectangular hole.



Fortunately one good thing about particle board is that you can saw through it pretty easily with a keyhole saw. This was the first time I realized how literally paper-thin the laminate is. It must be only 3 or 4 tree atoms deep.







Right now I straight up hate these things. I don't think anything says "I am low-quality corporate furniture" quite like embedded outlets do. Necessary evil, but something in brass probably would have been less obtrusive.

[musigenesis]

I'm using this latch to secure my desk when it's folded against the wall, but it's backwards for that since it's meant to be on a door. So I cut off the tip and welded it back on the opposite way.









A little cruder than I wanted it to be thanks to an out-of-control flap disk, but it's serviceable at least.













Tried a plastic welding experiment to cover the handle post on my skyhatch.



At least it took a pretty hard whack with the mallet to knock it loose. This will not do, though - a passing branch could easily dislodge it.

[musigenesis]

Temporary supports for the desk while I screw it to the wall. I'm also going to use these for a bit until I install the supporting hooks and wires.



Dimpled the underside where the heads of the wall screws will be. I'm using bigger framing screws for this and the heads stick up a bit, so this is needed for the desk to hinge all the way down.



Glued rubber pads on the bottom and cut a spacer for the hinge. Need the spacer so that the back is flush with the eventual window trim.



Testing the layout to make sure I like it before install. I do.





Hinge all screwed in. Behind the paneling here is a piece of 1x4 that runs along under the window sill, so this isn't only attached to 5mm plywood.





Pre-drilled and countersunk the holes for the block for the latch, since I'm tired of splitting these crappy 2x4s.



I vaguely remember intending to mount this latch directly on the wall, but the holes were spaced a little too wide to run them all into a 2x4. This extra block fixed that and let me put the hole in the middle of the desk edge.



There is about the bare minimum of space below this latch to allow its full travel downward, once I have the underlayment and vinyl planks down. I totally lucked out, I just figured I would have plenty of room and gave it no consideration.



I was able to shave the block down a couple of times and get the latch holding the desk against the wall with just the right amount of force. You need to push in gently on the desk or step on the latch to free it and the desk doesn't rattle at all.



The cords from these power strips are flat so they'll be able to run from under the desk to wherever (not sure how I'm doing the conduit yet) while the desk is against the wall, since it's held 1/4" away from the wall.



"It went according to plan" is the best thing I can say about a skoolie sub-project. My coffee table converted to a desk may look like it was stolen from a bank lobby, but that's OK.

[Lee Savoy]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

"It went according to plan" is the best thing I can say about a skoolie sub-project. My coffee table converted to a desk may look like it was stolen from a bank lobby, but that's OK.

I think it turned out great, I think your build is turning our great too.

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Temporary supports for the desk while I screw it to the wall. I'm also going to use these for a bit until I install the supporting hooks and wires.

Attachment 56339

Dimpled the underside where the heads of the wall screws will be. I'm using bigger framing screws for this and the heads stick up a bit, so this is needed for the desk to hinge all the way down.

Attachment 56340

Glued rubber pads on the bottom and cut a spacer for the hinge. Need the spacer so that the back is flush with the eventual window trim.

Attachment 56341

Testing the layout to make sure I like it before install. I do.

Attachment 56342

Attachment 56343

Hinge all screwed in. Behind the paneling here is a piece of 1x4 that runs along under the window sill, so this isn't only attached to 5mm plywood.

Attachment 56344

Attachment 56345

Pre-drilled and countersunk the holes for the block for the latch, since I'm tired of splitting these crappy 2x4s.

Attachment 56346

I vaguely remember intending to mount this latch directly on the wall, but the holes were spaced a little too wide to run them all into a 2x4. This extra block fixed that and let me put the hole in the middle of the desk edge.

Attachment 56347

There is about the bare minimum of space below this latch to allow its full travel downward, once I have the underlayment and vinyl planks down. I totally lucked out, I just figured I would have plenty of room and gave it no consideration.

Attachment 56348

I was able to shave the block down a couple of times and get the latch holding the desk against the wall with just the right amount of force. You need to push in gently on the desk or step on the latch to free it and the desk doesn't rattle at all.

Attachment 56349

The cords from these power strips are flat so they'll be able to run from under the desk to wherever (not sure how I'm doing the conduit yet) while the desk is against the wall, since it's held 1/4" away from the wall.

Attachment 56350

"It went according to plan" is the best thing I can say about a skoolie sub-project. My coffee table converted to a desk may look like it was stolen from a bank lobby, but that's OK.

I’ve heard of bank robbers never bank burglars

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Phatman

I’ve heard of bank robbers never bank burglars

Heh, yeah I didn't really think through my "stolen from a bank lobby" comment. I can just see the note slipped to a teller: "20s, 50s, 100s and the countertops, and if you scratch the veneer I'll kill you".

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Lee Savoy

I think it turned out great, I think your build is turning our great too.

Thanks, man!

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Heh, yeah I didn't really think through my "stolen from a bank lobby" comment. I can just see the note slipped to a teller: "20s, 50s, 100s and the countertops, and if you scratch the veneer I'll kill you".

It definitely come out looking real good man. I’m not sure we could be in the same room together. Our humor would probably piss a lot of people off !! HeHe !!