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'Lil Diners One and Two
Cutting the profile and building wall panels...

Intro

Wall Panels

Insulation, Wiring, Floor

Diner #2 Final Touches

On the first project I built up the walls so that I could lay the headliner on top of a ledge, then build the roof on top of that.
I developed a method to cut that ledge, as well as, make the fill-in sections for the roof/wall joint.

Took the pattern made up first, and marked out the line that would place the headliner ledge in position. I made an offset in that line so that, when cut out, the pattern would place the router bit in the correct position.The offset is required because I used a guide bushing.

This is the pattern with the offset shown on the framing. That dimension is the total of, the roof spar thickness, the headliner thickness, and the offset of the guide bushing, in this case, 1/8". 1-3/4" Total.

I used a 1/8" bit and a 3/8" guide bushing. The bit is the thickness of the headliner plywood.

When assembled, the headliner will rest on a ledge. The interior panel will finish at this line also.

I marked out the off cuts for use in the roof system.

I made a series of cuts. The first pass with a 1/8" spiral bit, cutting 5/8" deep. I made three more passes with this Roto-Zip setup in the router.
Each pass was about 1/8" deep.

I ended up with a ledge, and the roof spar filler blocks..Shown rough cut and bundled for the appropriate panel.

Here's the pattern again! This time I'm using it to lay out the doors. I have the panels stacked so that the doors can all be cut at once. My curb side door, Mikes curbside door and my street side door are stacked to place the finished sides away from the saw to prevent damage. My camper will have two doors, Mikes only one.

After marking the doors on the top of the stack, I removed the pattern and made some more marks to place a guide so that I could make the straight cuts with the cordless circular saw.

I finished the corners with a sabre saw.
The door corners are a three-inch radius..just the size of my router base (pattern) The doors have a 1/16" gap all around. They will be mounted flush with the hinges in the gap.

This is Mike and Michelle's curb side panel with the door cutout removed. The cutouts will be used as the doors. The pattern of the side panel will carry through the doors.

Gluing-up The Side Panels

After placing the frame on the wall panel, I marked the framing locations on the panel. I removed the framing to apply glue to the panel. I used jugs filled with sand as "clamps" to hold down the framing in the center of the panel. I used spring clamps where I could.

To clamp around the edges, I used scraps of 3/4" ply, screwed to the bench.
For the door panels, I added these clamps to the door opening.
Waxed paper under the door opening will prevent accidentally gluing the panel to the jig.

Building The Doors

I cut out the window openings for three doors, One for Mike, Two for me. I cut them in a stack. I used my cordless circular saw, and the sabersaw.

These are my two doors. I mark the doors so that the hinge and strike sides would be obvious. I used maple on the hinge side so that the screws would have a good "bite". I used the same select pine used on the walls, for the rest of the frame.

I want a good, strong, hold for the door handles, so I will add blocking where the handles go.

I used the same clamping method to glue-up the frames. This will ensure a flat door panel.

Another shot of the clamps and the layout for the blocking.

This is a preview of how the door and window will look.

Contents and images, Copyright, 2002-2006, Steve Frederick
Design ans photo-realistics renderings, Copyright, Mike Schneider
No image or text may be reproduced for any commercial use without permission. Updated July 14,2006

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