Over window cupboards for Skippy

Realistic isn't it?
They're actually real bricks but it does make the van rather heavy. Also they are a pain to open in the mornings.

 

I'd go for 2 strip lights 1 over 2 cupboards

 

are you using silent gliss ? coz surely the head of the curtain has to go somewhere n track would have to face down no ?

 

Yes the track will be facing down and I had a play with the curtain track and the runners will work fine in that orientation......I didn't think about the top bit of the curtain itself though......damn!

Cheers Barney for pointing it out, I'll have a little think about it but I may need to get the curtains altered in some way.

I'm not on cupboards today, today I need to get my windowless, roofless van out of the garage to make room to put all the units and seats and floor and fridge and worktop and cooker etc of the van so it is completely empty for roof welding beginning tomorrow.
Pray for no rain in Cambridgeshire today.

 

I've got a bit more organised about laminating the cupboards. With the cupboard face down and the ply curved over the top and strapped down with ratchets its impossible to see if everything is is tight and in the correct place.
I had to do a bit of remedial glueing on areas of ply that hadn't clamped properly.
This is how I did the first two laminations.



I pulled that stand apart and made this one instead. It clamps all the way round and the cupboard goes in upside down so I can see inside to make sure everything is set correctly.
Each cupboard has a total of three laminations including veneer so I still have 10 to do so this will hopefully make it easier and more accurate.

 

Here's how the frame fits into the Mk II patented clamping facility ( tm).



Here it is with the first ply lamination in and the frame clamped down onto it. You can see that clamping it this way I can see inside the cupboard to make sure the door is correctly centred and clean up any glue that has squeezed out.



This is cupboard No 2 straight out of the clamps and the door sawn through. It still needs some sanding yet before I veneer it.



If you look at the wood at the bottom, nearest the camera you'll notice that I've used two extra pieces of wood. The reason for the strip in the first place is that the distance around the cabinet is 13" and the very thin ply comes in 12" or 24" widths. Using 24" wide wood would have been very wasteful and I'm far too tight for that.
I've had to use two pieces because the waste left after cutting the main pieces is not long enough to span the 16" length.

I've also just got the formica veneer which unfortunately only comes in 5' by 10' pieces so I've now got enough Burled Amberwood to make about 100 cupboards. I may use some of it to redesign one of my current cabinets.

 

You look like you know what you're doing, I'm well impressed. Respect.
Are you a joiner by trade?

 

No, just taught woodwork by my Dad.

 

Moving on....

I've chosen the handles, keeping with the smooth curves.





I'll be painting them black eventually.

I've also started working on the catches. I wanted something easy to use just by pulling on the handle so went for magnets.

I bought a standard magnetic catch which I decided was ugly and intrusive so I got some molybdemimum thingies in a couple of different sizes. The plan is to embed them into the frame so only the flat surface shows.

I experimented to see how tough each size was to pull apart, the big magnets take too much power to unclip and the tiny 5mm ones are not quite strong enough so I'm going for two of the 5mm ones out towards the edge of the door. By having the magnets towards the ends it will also help keep the doors flush with the frames when closed.



Soon be onto paint and laminate.

 

How's the project going?

 

I'm looking at led strip light to decide which ones will suit best. I also need some black paint for the supports and handles.

 

Almost finished these now. Got the lights sorted, I've rebated led strips into the bottoms, four lights in all, I just need to decide on switching and switches.
I couldn't resist trying them in the van. They're just loosely fitted in this pic, no screws into the van yet, they'll go in tomorrow.

This is with the Poptop up



And this is with it folded.



I had a bit of trouble working out which catch to use. The ones weak enough to pull open without undue force I could pop open just by shaking the cupboard so I think they would have popped open while I was driving.
Then I tried much more secure catches which wouldn't pop open when the van was moving but needed both hands and possibly a bracing foot to get open normally.
I decide that simple locks were the way to go, easy to open but secure while driving, and also openable with one hand leaving the other hand free to put stuff in or out.

 

Well impressive @sANDYbAY

 

i love it dude. looks so good. cant wait to get stuck into mine when i get some time away from these bloody paid jobs that are using up all my time.

 

Excellent work

 

We'll be prepared for a pain in the proverbial. I wouldn't want to make any more, these have proved to be a right pain. Several times I'd thought "I wonder what these bloody cupboards would burn like?".

 

Mrs-MK-Bay's just said "ooooohhh... me likely"... Guess what my next project's going to be!

Looks fab, Bob; can't wait to see Skippy in all his glory at SpringCamp.

 

is there one missing? or is that intentional?

 

No, only four because you'd have to lean back over the seat to access the fifth one and the strap for the back of the Poptop is right next to the end of locker four so it seemed neater to stop at four.