Popping my top

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by 1der

Sewing machines? Wife has three Juki's. all industrial, crazy fast, powerful units. These things are just this side of scary for me!!

....Juli just informed me that the upholsterer has a Juki.......must be the "makita" of the upholstery world.....

[boywonder]

Progress from this past weekend...

Modified the cabinet for the sink, microwave and fridge. Readers with a keen eye will note the stepped front edge to maximize utilization of the space behind the driver's seat. There was no other way everything was going to fit otherwise. The cabinet is glued and screwed using PVA glue.

I ran out of contact cement when covering the first cabinet side....both sides will have green bumpy covering, as well as the two left inside compartments. The lower left compartment is for supply water jugs, and the upper left houses the rear-facing microwave.

The Fridge is the smallest Truckfridge; the TF49. I was hoping to fit the next larger sized unit in the cabinet design, but it wasn't to be........

I also installed a (project leftover) 24V fan above the fridge condenser area to assist in cooling, and as of now, I'm also planning on leaving the upper rear section of the cabinet open. Running a 24V fan at 12V provides very close to silent operation (with less starting torque and less airflow)

Finally I used some scrap cherry to construct a face frame for the cabinet. I used #0 biscuits which was a PITA, size FF would have worked better, since they are smaller. I used end nips to "downsize" the #0 biscuits.

This cabinet with any luck will also house the water pump, sink, propane/CO detector and faucet. I'm also planning on insulating the fridge with leftover denim insulation from the walls.

[86Scotty]

Nice fridge cabinet! Looks a bit familiar, though yours may actually come out square.

[boywonder]

More cabinet progress......

Got the face frame installed on the cabinet and the first coat of varnish applied. Installed leftover denim insulation in the fridge hole.

[Bbasso]

some very excellent work and progress you have achieved. impressive.

I do have one/half, maybe silly question...
Why did you leave the factory interior side panels in and did you insulate behind them?
I ask because without them you might have another inch or more width interior room and ford didn't put very good or a lot of insulation in there.

[boywonder]

Bbasso..... I left the panels in because I prefer the factory look and don't really need the extra few inches of width. I suppose that if I was short enough to sleep sideways it would have been a different decision; I'm 6'1"

I insulated behind the factory plastic with denim insulation.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by boywonder

I insulated behind the factory plastic with denim insulation.

The denim insulation--is that similar to the factory-type padding used?

I ask only because if its in contact with the body's sheet metal it absorbs moisture and never seems to evaporate out leaving a very wet "sponge" laying against the metal pretty much forever.

Anyone who has seen or experienced floor rust under the factory rubber mat/padding coverings realize this is a potential trouble spot.

Of course if the van lives in a relatively humidity-free area all this is of little concern--I'm speaking from the midwest or a 4 season climate.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by JWA

The denim insulation--is that similar to the factory-type padding used?

I ask only because if its in contact with the body's sheet metal it absorbs moisture and never seems to evaporate out leaving a very wet "sponge" laying against the metal pretty much forever.

Anyone who has seen or experienced floor rust under the factory rubber mat/padding coverings realize this is a potential trouble spot.

Of course if the van lives in a relatively humidity-free area all this is of little concern--I'm speaking from the midwest or a 4 season climate.

JWA: The denim insulation (Ultratouch-available from home depot) is similar to the factory recycled rag stuff; it's not resting against any outer sheet metal, although I live in So Cal, so I'm not too worried about condensation.

The ultratouch denim stuff comes in various thicknesses faced with either unfaced or faced with reflective foil depending on the thickness. I have 3/4", 2" and 4" thicknesses. The 4" is unfaced, the other two are foil faced.

It's shown in the pictures above lining my fridge opening in the cabinet that I am presently working on.

[JWA]

Apologies BoyWonder---missed that in your photos.

My only concern was whether the denim fibers would be in direct contact with the sheet metal so it seems you have that covered, no pun intended.

For a sound deadening material in thicker pieces it might be a good use. Lining your fridge cabinet seems like the perfect use too.

Those of us where humidity is a concern envy those of you in the dryer climates.

[boywonder]

....well I had big intentions of getting lots of van stuff done today, but I ended up rebuilding my TV antenna (a Mclapp 4 bay) and fixing my buddies motorcycle transmission (KTM 300).

I did mange to snap a few of shots of sink candidates.

The present plan is to go with a vessel sink, so that I can keep the cabinet height low and still have a reasonable sink height.

Both of these sinks were purchased online from Home Depot for around $100 each;they are both 14" in diameter, which is a bit smaller than a typical bar or bathroom sink (usually around 16" for a vessel sink).

Note: As of the other day when I ordered these, there were exactly 2 sinks less than 16" in diameter which are these units.

The first one is a cool smoked glass unit that is thick, heavy and tempered. I like this sink, but it's heavy and in an accident, there is a possibility of glass shrapnel right behind the driver's seat since it's tempered and will only be supported at it's base.

The second sink is a hammered brass sink that is nickel plated. This is one is way lighter than the smoked glass sink and it does not have the safety concern, so the odds are good that I'll go with this one.

The faucet is also shown in the images, satin nickel with one lever for hot only. The cold water will be in the fridge......