I know its a little off topic but wondered if someone could shed some light on my current project of building out a campervan with ply and pine framing. I've been to various campervan web sites but can't find the exact information I'm looking for.
I'm a novice when it comes to building things in timber, I need some guidance ;) I was going to build a front and rear frame from pine and join together and then screw structural/marine ply to it.

I'm starting with a the bench seat which will double as a childs bed. Questions;

- are the timber sizes for the framing as per the diagram appropriate?
- are there the right number of members in the frame?
- are the ply thicknesses appropriate?
- how do I keep things square when building the frames, what type of jig?
- is the design ok?

Thanks!

Ramona said..
Weight will quickly add up with this sort of project. Stick to standard easy to acquire pine framing sizes. 3mm ply when glued to the frame work will be strong enough. 7mm ply on the top will be enough but I would use at least 4 3mm ply supports inside. I would cut the ply and lay on a flat floor and glue the pine frame work to it with Bondcrete glue.

Maybe have the lid on hinges and use the interior as storage spaces.

Thanks Ramona, note the reduction in ply size. Yeah, planning to use for storage.
Do you happen to know any good jigs to help keep framing square when building.

Ramona said..
I usually cut out the plywood to size, front and back in this case. Lay it on flat concrete and cut out the pine framing and glue it in place with the Bondcrete. Ordinary set square will do though a large one is obviously better. Do the same for the interior panels. After all the bits are dry, glue and screw the lot together on a flat floor. Use self tappers and when the glue has gone off remove the screws and fill the holes. If you have made all the bits square it should end up square.

An alternate method of construction is to use pine wall paneling and go frameless. I'm about to make a similar sized "Centre console" for my new tender and it will be strip planked and the outside epoxy and cloth coated.

Great, thanks. That sounds like the way to go.

Ramona has it right , measure diagonally when complete to make sure it is square.

Cheers Bear

keensailor said..
Thanks all
Thinking more about it I thought I needed a table saw for my project to cut sheets of 500mm x 1750mm from a standard 2400 x 1200 as square and straight as possible. I looked at the ones at Bunnings and even the $450 one would only cut a 400mm sheet. I spoke to my brother who recently made a large outdoor table and he suggested to use flat metal bar as a guide for the circular saw. Would require some test cuts to determine the distance between the actual cut and the edge of the foot plate but is my best option at moment.
What would others do in this case.

Buy the ply from a timber merchant and get him to cut the ply to size. It will be cheaper and the cuts will be exactly what you specify.

Hi All

You can also make a saw guide with two strips of ply.

One needs a factory edge and wide enough to stay straight, maybe 100mm.

Screw or nail it securely onto another piece of ply, now cut along this straight edge as your saw guide, I prefer to cut with the wide part of the saw base towards the straight edge. You may need to adjust the depth of cut so the motor clears the straight edge.

You now have a straight edge on top of another piece that will be exactly the width the saw will cut at, nail or clamp this edge onto your work for easy accurate cuts. It will work for that saw and blade, but will need to cut a new edge if a different saw is used.

Not worth making if you are only doing a few cuts but as soon as you are doing lots of cuts the time savings pays off.

I spent years building formwork in a rainy climate, chalk lines were not a viable option. One saw guide 2400 long and another for cross cuts was standard practice, they are fast to make and faster to use once you get them worked out.

For what you are building a tablesaw is a nice luxury but a good blade on a decent circular saw will be fine. Is there a men's Shed near you? Likely a good table saw and freindly advice for a reasonable membership fee.

Best of luck.

Thanks all, great advice.