Hull breach! (cutting through the shell)

lapeer20m · 09-25-2006, 03:55 PM

the floor is the toughest part of the skoolie body to cut through. The floor has at least twice as many beams as the walls or cieling.

It's not too difficult to cut through. The most obvious thing to watch out for is the frame, don't wanna cut into that! Before you make the cut, crawl underneath and make sure there isn't any wireing, brake lines, fuel hoses, ect in the way.

The sawzall is a good general purpose hole cutting machine, one advantage is that it'll cut through pretty thick material, and it'll cut through wood and metal. The disadvantage is that it's difficult to cut a perfectly straight line, and you might not have a sawzall.

An abrasive blade on the standard circular saw is one of my favorite cuting devices. It's good for straight lines, not so good for material over 1.5" thick or cutting wood.

A cut off wheel on the angle grinder also does a good job of cutting holes, but is less effective usually than either of the above 2 options.

how big of a hole you gonna cut? If it's say 2x2 i don't think any reinforcemtnt would be needed....

soused moose · 09-26-2006, 08:40 AM

I cut my bus up with a combination of Sawzall , framing saw w/metal cutting blades and an angle grinderw/cutting wheeels.

Cutting through the floor was the easiest partâ€¦
Just set the depth on my framing saw and cut right through the plywood and steel â€¦
Popped the section right out .
But I didnâ€™t cut through the under-floor steel framing.
For that I suggest using a sawzallâ€¦.hate those things ,but they sure do work for cutting through multiple layers of steel and framing.
The best way I found to cut a bus up with a sawzall is drill out a hole at the 4-corners of your cut (using a holesaw attachment on your drill)
Then if its on the side of the bus â€¦cut the bottom out first so your saw doesnâ€™t bind up.

Michael

eggman · 09-26-2006, 05:21 PM

If you want to be able to verify where you are going to end up with the hole before you cut it, use a 6"long 1/8" drill bit and use it to locate where you are going to be coming through the floor at. This way its alot easier to plug an 1/8" hole versus a 12" x 12" hole.

the_experience03 · 09-28-2006, 10:37 PM

You most likely used a hole saw designed for wood or that claims to be "all purpose." Get a good bi-metal saw with LOT'S of teeth per inch, don't be afraid to use a little WD-40 to keep things cool, and turn it slowly. I used a holes saw for lots of stuff on my bus and quickly learned that all-purpose means good for nothing.

GoneCamping · 09-28-2006, 10:48 PM

For a few pointers on how and where to make the cargo deck and put in the doors, you might want to take a peak around my camping forum (victorylane.proboards3.com) and look in the mod's & repairs section...

specifically....
Cargo Deck (it's not done yet, and cetainly isn't perfect, but might give you an idea or two...)
http://victorylane.proboards3.com/index ... 1158539920

Cargo Door....
http://victorylane.proboards3.com/index ... 1150077877

Note, when I cut out the cargo door, I first removed the bottom rub rail, this made the cutting much easier.

I started the cut with a 4" angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel, cut a small slot in each of the cut directions, then used a sawzall to complete the cuts with. Actually, the second (smaller square door) I used the angle grinder with cutting wheel for the entire thing, it actually cut better than the sawzall did...

captainkf · 09-28-2006, 10:48 PM

True dat! I would recomend buying a set now, so you have all the sizes you need instead of having to run to the hardware store everytime you need them. Then having compatability issue's. Just my two cents.

-Richard

Ryan Grimm · 10-02-2006, 10:12 AM

From the "Life In Hell" cartoon:
"If You Drink, Don't Drill."

You CAN cut a straight line with a Sawzall. The trick is to place a straignt piece of angle iron on either side of the cut line. The sawzall doesn't want to go through the greater thickness so tends to follow along the line...path of least resistance, y'know. Showed this trick to a guy restoring his Jeep frame. He was amazed, having struggled so long.

Hole saws are wonderful things. Sears has many sizes, and W.W.Grainger has 'em in graduated in 1/16ths.

One trick for "relocating" a hole is to drill a piece of wood with the correct hole saw size. Then place this as a guide over where you WANT the new hole to be.....it will act as a pilot and allow you to recut the hole, even if offset substantially.
BTW, this also allows you to gang holes for a long cutout.

the_experience03 · 10-02-2006, 12:39 PM

You just described my redneck tablesaw. My tools are pretty limited, but I needed to cut straight lines on an 8 foot piece of plywood for the bus. As straight as most people can cut with a circular saw, it doesn't take long to get a 1/8 inch gap at that length. I just used an old piece of angle iron clamped down and ran the saw along my "fence." Works great.....almost as great as my redneck impact wrnech (socket, breaker bar, 3 foot pipe, hi-lift jack).

Elliot Naess · 10-04-2006, 12:37 AM

Cutting steel with a hole saw, I found that a steady flow of water from a garden hose
keeps the saw cool and sharp and makes the work go easily.

wmah · 10-04-2006, 08:24 AM

I finally cut some holes under the floor on the body to mount a storage box and my water heater. I used my cheap electric grinder that I bought almost one year ago. Well after make two cuts up/and down and then starting to cut across, the cheap thing finally gave up. So off to the store I went and go a Milwaukee grinder. No I didn't really abuse the cheap one, I just used it a lot more then I figured I would. And when it bit the dust it actually started smoking.

GoneCamping · 10-04-2006, 10:06 PM

You scare me with that post!! I bought an El-Cheapo at harbor frieght last year, it has done an awful lot of work, and only has a few jobs left to do. It even came with spare brushes which I think I've lost them already. So far so good....it has held up remarkably well....so far!

wmah · 10-04-2006, 10:37 PM

Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I used mine on more than just stuff on the bus. I knew the thing wouldn't last forever cause it would get hot after a few minutes of use and I tend to not stop until I finish my cut. Maybe you will have more luck with your cheapy.

busone · 10-05-2006, 10:21 PM

I have had excellent luck with Harbor Freight tools. I made the mistake of buying a "factory refurbished" Dewalt sawzall. It made about 10 cuts and took a dump.

I bought a rotary hammer drill at Harbor Freight years ago to do a seismic retrofit on our old house. I have used that thing far more than I ever thought. It just loves to eat concrete.

I had a cheap sabre saw that I got at Home Depot. I used it a few times and it started smoking and sparking inside.

Sometimes the cheap stuff is junk and others it will surprise you.

GoneCamping · 10-06-2006, 09:37 PM

I buy a lot of stuff from harbor frieght lately, haven't had any of it long enough to find out how long they last....except maybe that 4" angle grinder that I bought on sale for $19.99....it has done nearly 85% of the metal cutting on my bus so far. And keep in mind that this bus the screw heads are just like the rivets, they gotta be cut off too!

i also have an air cut-off tool (also from harbor frieght) but gotta keep the bus running to use it... so it doesn't quite see the amount of use the electric one does!!

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