wiartonwillie
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1953 McGuinness Silver Duke
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Post by wiartonwillie on Dec 19, 2013 17:14:25 GMT -8
What does everyone use for the roof and side edging boards. Mine looks like it was 1/4 strips of plywood that were nailed together, but I think there must be something better. All I have left of mine are the nails sticking out.
Let me know what everyone has used.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Dec 19, 2013 17:17:23 GMT -8
Scrap paneling, or 1/4" plywood cut into strips and glued/stapled together was original on most trailers.
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wiartonwillie
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Post by wiartonwillie on Dec 19, 2013 18:57:12 GMT -8
I know it was original but I need to replace mine and I would like to use something better.
My curves are not that sharp so I was wondering about using 1/2 plywood cut to the radius and glued together?
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Dec 19, 2013 19:17:30 GMT -8
I know it was original but I need to replace mine and I would like to use something better. My curves are not that sharp so I was wondering about using 1/2 plywood cut to the radius and glued together?
It's still "plywood" just thicker.
The thing you need to focus on.....is "keeping the water out", which is why the plywood delaminates.
Just my opinion.
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Dec 19, 2013 21:54:48 GMT -8
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Post by vikx on Dec 19, 2013 22:56:27 GMT -8
I've tried quite a few things: 1. White board (used for house window trim) about 1 1/8 thick, deeply kerfed. Did not like the way it cracked when we installed the edge trim. I seemed almost brittle. This is the stuff that is primed, sold at lumber yards. We needed 1 1/8 for an Aladdin. 2. 1/4" plywood. We steamed for HOURS and it worked. No kerfs. Lots of Gorilla Glue, clamps and brads.    3. Cheap lathe; rough surface. Kerfed at severe curves. I like this stuff, if you can get it about 1/4" and green. It snaps pretty easily if too dry. Sometimes, you can pick it up for free as it goes between bundles of stacked wood. More Gorilla Glue and brads.  4. Hickory: I haven't tried it but have read it is really bendy if wet. It's a good wood, be worth trying. 5. 3/4 inch one bys: deeply kerfed. These boards work great for mild curves and straight runs.  |
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Dec 20, 2013 8:21:12 GMT -8
It was the Deville that I used kerfed solid 3/4 inch ply with. But using single thickness is not stronger. It's actually weaker because of the kerfing.
I have used two layers of 3/8 and I have used 3 layers of 1/4 inch. Either way you want to buy plywood that has little to no knots in it because the knots are where your plywood will break when bending around the radius.
In my very humble opinion, the two layers of 3/8 using sanded plywood due to the lack of knots is the best way to go. It's the strongest and it's also pretty dang easy. 1/4 inch means more staples so that equates to more places the plywood is weakened.
John is right when he says the most important thing you can do to your trailer for strength is to keep the water out. Proper sealing techniques will keep the skeletal frame and paneling dry and free from rot.
With the Deville I used much wider (1 3/4) plywood because of the kerfing. Also my walls were 1 1/2 framing. You can see where I started the "edge board" or curbing as I like to call it in part 12a... I just looked at that video and I know it's not the best quality but I filmed that a long time ago before You Tube quality and my camera capabilities improved.
I no longer use the kerfing technique because I believe that layers of thinner plywood is much better. And if you glue the layers together like Vikx showed it should be all the strength one could ever want.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Dec 20, 2013 10:40:44 GMT -8
Yes, agree with both Vikx and Larry. Thanks Vikx for the photos, they remind me of one more IMPORTANT point.
I recently repaired a trailer that had previously been (and I quote) "rebuilt" by the owner.
The owner cut out some of the bad edge wood in sections with straight cuts and just replaced the section that was cut out and toe nailed it back together. It is very IMPORTANT that the edge wood repair be layered (like bricks are laid) so that the seam is spread over six or eight inch span. The strength comes from the shape of the curve (like a glue lam beam) and the many layers connected together with glue/nails/staples/screws/etc into a single beam. The section has to be built back "into the original beam (or in this case edge wood).
Sorry, I'm not able to post the photos, because it was a "truly substandard repair".
If you look closely at Vikx's photo's you will see the edge wood is correctly sandwiched back together.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Dec 20, 2013 11:07:52 GMT -8
Yes, agree with both Vikx and Larry. Thanks Vikx for the photos, they remind me of one more IMPORTANT point. I recently repaired a trailer that had previously been (and I quote) "rebuilt" by the owner. The owner cut out some of the bad edge wood in sections with straight cuts and just replaced the section that was cut out and toe nailed it back together. It is very IMPORTANT that the edge wood repair be layered (like bricks are laid) so that the seam is spread over six or eight inch span. The strength comes from the shape of the curve (like a glue lam beam) and the many layers connected together with glue/nails/staples/screws/etc into a single beam. The section has to be built back "into the original beam (or in this case edge wood). Sorry, I'm not able to post the photos, because it was a "truly substandard repair". If you look closely at Vikx's photo's you will see the edge wood is correctly sandwiched back together. Yep that is a very important point. And I show it in my Colorado Trip on the Forester.... In that case I used two layers of 3/8 inch plywood. Again you don't want anything with a lot of knots in it. I had more knots than I wanted with the Forester but I could not find sanded plywood in the town I was in. |
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Post by vikx on Dec 20, 2013 21:48:22 GMT -8
I looked for better pictures and couldn't find any. Here' one showing the sandwich edges:  Also remember to stagger the kerfs:  |
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kwaggs
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Post by kwaggs on Dec 27, 2013 14:35:23 GMT -8
I am planning on using 3/4 x 1" PVC that I purchased at Home Depot. They had 16 foot lengths and it bends with the radius with no problem. I wish I had a picture of it for you but I have not yet gotten to that stage of the build.
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wiartonwillie
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Post by wiartonwillie on Dec 27, 2013 15:45:54 GMT -8
Do you think that will be strong enough to nail to, to hold the sides and the J rail on?
Is that stuff similar to trim for houses?
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Post by vikx on Dec 27, 2013 20:25:49 GMT -8
I question PVC as well. Remember, the J rail must be very securely attached to the edge boards. The putty must squeeze out and seal tightly against the trailer skin. Even a few loose screws can cause a lot of leaking...
Also not sure PVC will take jouncing down the road as well as real wood.
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Post by bigbill on Dec 27, 2013 21:18:43 GMT -8
i would think that PVC would be very sensitive to excess torque of any type.
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Drake
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Post by Drake on Dec 28, 2013 9:13:23 GMT -8
Going back 25 years or so to when I worked in a couple different cabinet shops we used a plywood bender board to make radius cabinet doors or face frames and then put veneer over the top of it. I looked it up on the web and it is still manufactured and can be bought at lumber companies that carry hardwood plywood. The stuff would sound as if it were going to break and fall apart while you were bending it but once the glue was dry between the layers it was solid. We would nail/staple down the first layer usually 3/8" thick to a jig then lay a thin layer of wood glue on the entire surface and put the next layer on top, again nailing, stapling or clamping it to the first layer. After it was dry the jig was removed the excess glue cleaned up and the veneer applied using contact adhesive. The bender board smelled different than any other plywood when being cut, not real pleasant. I don't know how much it costs these days but I'm sure it probably isn't worth buying a whole sheet of it just to replace some damaged curbing on a trailer when 2 or 3 layers of regular 1/4" or 3/8" plywood following the same process will have the same end result and can be bought at your local HD or Lowes in smaller pieces/sheets. I thought I'd lend my knowledge of the bender board to the masses anyway.
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