"Progress is intoxicating"

Well, thanks to all who are following this blog and have been patient with my postings or lack thereof.  I walked out today, pushed the trailer into the daylight, raised the hatch which now has hydraulic lift assists, took a deep breath and started cutting the siding. GULP!

After several hours of "measuring twice and cutting once" and even measuring thrice and cutting twice, I am pretty pleased with how the exterior turned out.  The exterior light by the door can be turned on from the inside or the outside but the inside is the master switch. The window looks better with the interior bezel in place and from this angle one can see the two speakers in the galley door. I have yet to install the light in the overhead. Here you can see the 60 lb. lift assist shocks. Next step is the other side and varnishing.

 Above is the same shot as the last but with the door closed .  

 Since is was getting dark as I finished for the afternoon I took a couple of shots with the lights "on".  Enjoy...

I have purchased the aluminum trim so my next post should have some shots that will start to look almost finished (from some angles) Lots of sanding to do!!!

Figuring it out as I go...

 So after a brief hiatus for surgery,  I'm back and making some progress on a few light-weight jobs. This picture shows  the doors set in place with the hinges I found on line at a sight for truck "refer" hardware. Because the plywood is relatively soft not to mention the redwood lining the inside and outside, I decided not to trust screws to hold the weight of the doors.

 

 This is a shot of the hinge from obviously the outside before the siding is applied. They look like screws but they are actually flat-head bolts attached to T-nuts set into the plywood from the inside ( shown below).

 You can see in the shot above, the T-nuts imbedded in the plywood. If you've never seen a T-nut, here's one (below) that shows the teeth that hold it in the wood and keep it from turning freely. Now that they are set I can cover them up with the interior paneling. The flat head bolts will be replaced with stainless steel security screws that can't be removed without a special tool.

A T-nut at the end of a bolt.

 Here is a shot of the interior paneling and the window temporarily set for a fitting.

So far, so good! Almost time to start sanding and varnishing.

As evening approached, I was able to get the other interior side paneled and with only a little light left sneak a shot of the right side from the paneled left side.