1 Bored Clerk's Garage Built Camper

What grit are you going with? Is this just to "roughen" up the surface?

 

I'm using 60 grit because I have like 40 discs and that's what's on my belt sander. The panels are gelcoated...poorly, so I'm getting through that. Gotta take all the shine off and leave a rough surface.

 

I've sanded all of the roof panels.


This is time consuming! Even using a belt sander, it takes time and effort.

I'm considering building the raised portion of the roof first. I think it may be easier to fit it all together while it's on the table. Then I can set it aside and build the camper and then just drop the raised portion on top. I think it may be a hassle to build the raised portion after the camper walls are up. It'll be up high, near the ceiling and hard to reach everywhere.

 

Could you hang the raised portion from the ceiling once it is done to allow more working space for the walls?

 

Oh yeah, I could store it several places that would be out of the way. I think I'll focus on getting that roof done this week. Get it done and out of the way.

 

How nasty is this stuff to sand? Are you wetting the floor so the particles stick to the water?

 

I'm wearing a tyvek suit, respirator, goggles, gloves. What you see on the floor is post sanding mopping to clean up the dust. It makes a lot of dust (like wood) so you shouldn't breathe it in.

 

Not sure what the temp is there but I would die from overheating in that getup down here!

 

I'd rather get wicked hot then die of some cancer or suffer with a respiratory condition. It gets hot for sure but I've been lucking out with sub 80 degree weather lately. Joking aside, you'd have to be very accustomed to the gear in hot weather to not have heat stroke. The suit is mostly to keep all the dust and itchy away. The respirator and goggles are non-negotiable.

 

My dad used to tell me about the horrors of him working in a fiberglass factory in the '60s, pre health and safety regulations, of course. He said he'd itch for days. Ick. As a result, I've always tried to avoid that kind of stuff

 

Yeah, it's no fun and can be dangerous. I've avoided all itchiness so far with my current setup. I also wear a baseball hat backward and full over-ear hearing protection whether I'm making a ton of noise or not. I want to keep that dust out of every place I can!

 

Did some good work tonight!


Crafted up a real hillbilly compound miter setup and went to work on getting the raised portion of the roof done.


Made some sweet cuts. Everything fits together nice...but...


All four panels are exactly 2.125" too long. I'm checking my CAD right now to see what happened. It's quite odd but at least they're too long and not too short! I got a lot of practice in so now I'll be ready to do it correctly! Later. Because that was enough disappointment for one night. Haha.

 

Hillbilly or whatever you want to call it doesn't matter 'cause it worked!

 

Worked really well actually. I found out what the problem was. One miter was supposed to be just short of 35 degrees and I cut it at 30. I won't have a chance to correct it again until Friday but at least I know! And it wasn't a tragic error. Change the angle, trim, should be good to go.

 

It's coming along nicely, and looking good!

 

Knocked out the raised portion of the roof this morning!


After I trimmed the corners to the correct angles, it fit together really well. I used tape to do all of the work holding. I didn't get full photos of that but I can explain further or demonstrate with scraps if anyone is curious.


Here's one of the corners taped up to cure. It went together really well, I think. I put two toolboxes in the middle of the main panel to assist in keeping it flat. Then I just made sure the edges lined up. I'm sure it'll be flat enough!

Next up once this cures is to put epoxy fillets on the inside corners and radius/fill the outside corners. Then it'll be ready to be put on the camper when that box is ready.

 

I'm not going to lie, it felt good to put something together! I've been spending my time lately cutting things apart.

 

This is awesome, all caught up now. Great thread man.

 

Always better to assemble than dismantle