Dead as a door nail

 The weekend was here and I was going to enjoy the spring air. OK perhaps I was being stubborn, but one of my favourite things to do on the weekend is to get up early and enjoy some the  peace and quiet, the only sounds at that time in the morning is the hush of a breeze blowing down the eastern side of the foothills and the birds singing in the morning. Periodically interrupted by the sounds of a bundled up  middle aged human sitting outside  on his lawn chair slurping his morning coffee.

In the last post I showed you the installation of the cook top, I believe my closing remark was " once the final hook ups are done I can place a high temp silicone to seal the floor, and we should be off to the races!" Well...it seems I spoke too soon. I continued on and did do the final hook ups. And nothin'...notta...dead as a door nail.

 




















Immediately I started to stew about where the failure occurred? In the cooktop unit?(bad,bad news) in the wiring (not great but better) or at the power source(maybe a faulty fuse!?)

First order of business was to test voltage along the feed...but first I had to find my electrical supply tub. I searched high and low, in the shop, on top of the shop, in the garage, in the old shop. I couldn't find it anywhere. As I stood in the doorway to the shop frustrated at the fact that prime working time was slipping away I decided that I will,very soon, have to organise my shop. I have never really taken the time to set it up in any organised way. I have stuff all over the place put in piles awaiting my efforts to organise and categorise....like the bin of " plumbing 'stuff' right there at my feet.....

Which looks a lot like the bin for the electrical supplies...........And so there it was.The electrical supply bin with a healthy layer of plumbing crap scattered on top.

This is what I was on the hunt for. A shout out to my buddy Chris Kruse who told me "everyone needs one of these" And he was right. It has saved hours of frustration trying to sort out electrical issues.

I started testing the power supply starting at the cooktop and working backwards. Nothing at the supply line coming into the cook top, nothing at the junction where we spliced into the coach harness, nothing back at the fuse box.

After some digging I found the problem. We tied in the loom to the fuse station, but we forgot to bring power to the fuse location! So, simple fix. I spliced power from a direct feed to a spare circuit. Now we have power to the cook top. I'll have to prime the fuel line and see if we truley are cooking with diesel.

In the meantime I put the couch back in place.........and removed the drivers side for it's flooring attention!

Cookin' with Diesel!

Pieces are coming together, so much so that I sit and stare at things thinking that I am missing a step. But no, the time has come to install some of the long awaited components that I have had squirrelled away in various parts of the house,garage, shop, gym, furnace room, under my bed, well you get the idea. The idiom is "now we're cooking with gas", but in this instance we will not be using gas but rather diesel fuel!
I love the look on peoples faces when I tell them the cook top in the bus runs off diesel. The look is a combination of confusion and distaste. All they can think of is the smell of grandpa's farm truck and that doesn't bode well for the interior of a bus.

Space is tight, and we have planned for every nook and cranny of space. With some help from Michelle(she is much more willing to come out and help in Fillmore now that it doesn't "stink like bus") I was able to pretend I was a contortionist and crawl under the counter to mount the cook top ventilation box.

Once that was in place and all the hoses and wires were hooked up, it was time to run the exhaust pipe and cooling duct out through the floor......yep thru the floor. Now there's a non reversible step that strikes fear in the heart of a guy trying to do everything to not have holes in the project.

But, progress requires commitment and sacrifice....so on wards and upwards for progress.

Of course, because nothing is black and white, cut and dry, I need a hole that is 65mm in diameter for the cooling duct. Now if I HAD a metric hole saw kit this likely wouldn't be an issue....but I have imperial. So the closest I could get was a 2 1/2" hole which is 63.5mm diameter. Thankfully  at some point in the past I decided that I needed a sanding drum for my drill....thank be to the hardware store gods.

Everything fits nicely, once the final hook ups are done I can place a high temp silicone to seal the floor, and we should be off to the races!

A little Bling

Once I had the passenger side galley counter in place, it was time to remove it again (of course) for some finishing work in the warmth of the shop.

I really don't want sharp 90 degree corners on the counters...it would seem counter productive (sorry) given the trouble we've gone through to maintain rounded surfaces inside and out. As well I have to create a finished surface for the exposed edge of the counter top.At this point I was wishing my younger brother (with metal forming experience) was here

But after a GF beer to contemplate, I was able to create a profile I was happy with.

I tried on a few mounting screw styles...I bet you can guess which one was the winner

Once in place, and I made sure the drawers could open and close, I was happy...sort of. It was looking kind of dull if you asked me.

So a little time with polishing wheels and paste..And, as Emeral used to say, BAM!
This not only gives me a finished surface but also a raised edge on the counter by ~ 1/4" so that things don't roll off the counter top while en route or otherwise.

What am I missing...?

Have you ever walked around with a feeling like you're forgetting something? You know the little cloud that folows you around and puts doubt in your mind that there is something you haven't done. I am at that point. While I wait for paint to dry on the drivers side cabinet drawer fronts...

Which is both a satisfying and frustrating venture (I hate waiting for paint to dry....)

While I wait...I realised it was time. Time to reassemble, time to enlist the help of an otherwise bored teenager.

Anna and I re installed the mounts for the couch, then the cabinetry for the passenger side part of the split galley.

There is still work to do, but things are chugging along,due to the super efficient use of space, we spent a fair bit of time figuring out a mounting solution for the rear of the counter top. It should give us just enough room for the under counter housing for the cook top.
Yet,.....I still feel like I'm missing something because I didn't see me hitting this progress stage quite yet......

On the edge of my seat....or floor.

 Another day of the sweet smells of wood chips and diesel. These two things make odd bedfellows, but yet...it was a perfect blend of sweet acrid pine and the comforting smell of raw power(as my good friend Chris likes to say). The day started with sunshine and  hot coffee, after feeding the troupes I meandered out to the bus shelter to continue on my quest. Today was more of the same, cabinets. The components had been made, now it is time to make the drawer fronts and fine tune the positions.

After a few dry fits, it was time to mount the hardware. Being that nothing is perfectly square and nothings is totally repeatable...every drawer requires it's own personal touch.

After a trim here and a sanding there, I wanted to place some veneer banding on the edges. It just makes the painting and sanding go that much easier. Once all the drawer front edge banding was completed, I give the drawers a healthy coat of filler. Most of the filler I end up sanding off, but it gives the surface a smoother starting point which again makes the painting go a little smoother.

 The beauty of keeping so many irons in the fire with Fillmore is that when we need to let one job cool (or dry as it were). There is plenty of others that need to be finished.

 In February, when Ron was here, we laid down some flooring on the passenger side. Now that we are posed to re-install the couch and newly constructed split galley, it was time to finish the job of the flooring. First I had to flush trim the laminate.......a little messier that I had anticipated.

 But Nothing ventured...nothing gained.
 Once all the mess was cleaned up I was able to install the aluminum edge banding(T molding).

Within seconds, or more aptly put: "inches", of starting to cut the rebate for the edge banding I hit two screws and totally ruined my slot cutter. But I was not only stubbornly optimistic, but perhaps in a little bit of denial as to how bad the blade really was. I'm not so sure I cut the slot in the flooring as much as perhaps I burned the slot into the flooring......

But after all was said and done....and I have to order a new blade for the drivers side.. the molding was in place  and now we are ready for the next step!

Hola!

There has been a whirl wind of activity around the Sinclair household as of late. Anna and I have been to Guatemala with Dentistry For All, working with the less fortunate and under serviced people of northern Guatemala. In the days just proceeding our departure Michelle and I managed to squeeze out a hike up ranger and Anna was busy giving pre trip interviews

All the while I try to squeeze out a moment here and a minute there...

The kitchen cabinetry continues to develop. As I try to use every nook and cranny under the sink area, I have to get creative. The picture above is a cabinet that will fit in right under the sink. The bottom section is a regular drawer, the top is at first glance, unusable space. But I thought if instead of a drawer we made a hinged container...

So I found some low profile blind cabinet hinges. Gave them a test fit on some scrap wood, and it should work!

Once together in the shop, things are looking great

However, as our good man Robbie burns once said "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry". I swera I measured and measured, but something was lost in translation, and the drawer and "bucket" wont close properly.

The culprit for the bucket is the drain trap, the culprit for the drawer is the draoin piupe into the grey water tank. Both will be fixable....just have to get a little creative!

Done........next!

Finally I was able to put all the pieces back together after 3 or 4 (I lost track) coats of paint. Michelle finally has the long awaited window seat/storage cupboard.

Still some little details(like drawer pulls) that need to be decided on by 'someone' but I won't point fingers at who is holding up progress when I took so long to deliver in the first place.

So, back into the cold I wander to get things fired up for the next stage of the Fillmore kitchen cabinets.

The shop lights are on, the bus is warm inside

And the wood shop is once again empty and ready for action...

Trying to use every nook and cranny of space means some of the cabinetry is a little odd in design....or as I like to call it...."custom made"

In the oh so deep and inspirational words of a man who was constantly faced with challenges in life...Shrek:  "That'll do donkey....that'll do."

Hunker Down

 For some a "snow day" means you get to stay home from work or school and have the day off...sit on the coach in front of the fire and read a good book. For me it means I brave the elements and venture out to the warm confines of the shop!

 With about18 cm of snow fall it made everything look like big pillows.











With a hot pot of coffee and a warm space, it was time to continue on with kitchen cabinets.

Again in the modular (removable) format there will be 3 small banks of drawers. This is the first and the biggest. The bones are done, after the two smaller side ones are fabricated then I can go on to finishing drawer fronts and painting.