Everything comes together at the same timen

As I finished the last details on Lu Lu, I also am finishing the final details on Client #0001's interior. All the parts are made and it is all ready to be installed into his trailer. I kind of have to laugh, because he was so worried about me getting his job done and now he still has floor to be put in. For some reason he wants to use winter as an excuse as to why it is not done. I think a little too much ice fishing and snow machines might be to blame, but hey. Who am I to judge how my clients spend their time away from work. (Please take note that #0001 and I are good friends and this is a friendly jab at him. He would hopefully do the same for me if I were loosing focus of getting my project done)

The curb side run of cabinets with the new reefer cabinet are trimmed out with aluminum corners to keep the kids from tearing up the corners. I like the straight grain of the quartered cherry. I hear narrow vertical stripes makes things look taller.

Scalloped aluminum edge on the counter tops looks very classic. This same edge was used in the bathroom previously. I love the nostalgic feel it creates.

A little before...

... and after.

And to round things out with some detail. I was fortunate to have trained in a formal apprenticeship situation. Unfortunately now a days very few cabinet shops use apprenticeships for their employees. My Master was a very difficult man. If something was 1/32" off, it was wrong and it was trash. Mr. Fitzgerald alway told me that the detail was everything and it was also where the money was made. He was a stickler for many things, but the final details were always key with him. One of the details a 1961 Ambassador had was mini shelves. Often these are missing. I was lucky to have most of the parts to copy how it was made. I think they look very sweet made out of cherry. The fine punched screen looks perfect in there too.

My next job is here at the Works. My posts are a little behind schedule and I am playing catch up. I will post about that job next.

Task tie ups and tool talk

I am always amazed at how many tools it takes to do even the most minor of tasks. Very quickly the tools are scattered about the area in which I am working. All the best attempts to keep them in order usually fall short of my intended goal. I will tell you kneeling down on a bucking bar will get your attention real quickly. A stray rivet will get your attention even quicker.

Speaking of rivets.... There are a lot of different types not to even mention sizes. None of the rivets in the picture above are available at your run of the mill box store. They all need to be purchased at a store specializing in rivets. At the bottom you have the solid rivets that are used as often as I can. Once set, they are a permanent connection and look exactly like the original ones used. Unfortunately, getting a bucking bar behind the rivet is not always possible. That gold color is a coating applied to keep the rivet from oxidizing, they are aluminum under it. The three rivets to the upper right are kind of special. When the tool pulls them, the center pulls in and there is no hole in the center. This keeps water from getting in through the center. The four serious looking rivets in the center are called structural rivets. They are extremely stout rivets. Like the closed end rivets, they do not allow water in and the mandrel in the center breaks off to leave the rivet filled in the center. I love rivets. I find them very interesting things. My wife however, is tired of finding then in the washing machine.

I might love rivets, but they are worthless without a good tool to pull them. This is where the "tool talk" comes into play. (just a warning, I am about to step onto my soap box... you may want to tune out or look away....) Now there are many tool options. You can go to the blue or orange box and buy something that will last a few jobs, maybe even a bunch of jobs if you get lucky. Another option is to go to Harbor Freight. I can clearly picture the factory workers in China laughing as they box up the worthless things they call Harbor Freight tools. I needed to pull some 1/4" rivets. These are some honking rivets requiring a tool with a fairly large nose piece. I thought why not buy the cheap tool, how often would I actually be pulling 1/4" rivets, it is only about 30 I need to pull. Well, on the second rivet the tool broke. For $20 what was I expecting right? Well, I was expecting to finish the job and not having to go buy a real rivet gun. The upper one from Fastenal cost as much as eight Harbor Freight riveters. I have made the claim before that I would not waste my money at Harbor Freight and I once again broke my pact. This time I intend to keep my word. Even the acid brushes I bought fell apart right away. Nothing like throwing away money in order to save a few dollars.

Now back to trailer talk

Originally I had intended to use all the gas lines over. When taking all the lines off I numbered everything so that I knew how it all went back together. I had put tape over the ends of all the sections so no spiders would crawl in and cause an issue. I kept them all safe and sound on a shelf in the shop. Unfortunately when I started to put them all back together I got this stuff coming out of the pipes. Lu Lu now has all new lines and fittings. The black goo combined with a cracked fitting found earlier just had me wanting to take no chances at all. Better to be sure about the system than have issues later. This is another clear example of how these restorations ALWAY escalate.

An aspect of the job that really took a lot of time was wrapping the wheel wells in new edging. I ruined many sections trying to get this right. I had just about given up when I called my buddy Uwe at Area 63. Uwe has talked me off the ledge a few times now. Maybe it is because he is from Germany and my Mother is German and he understands my mentality. Maybe it is because he is very sharp and just knows the right thing to say, not sure. What I am sure of is EVERY time he says the same thing to me... (paraphrased for the sake of kids ears) "stop being such a little girl about it, and get it done" Those are not really the words he uses, but you get the jest of it.

With his advice, I grew a set and made it happen. Not only made it happen, but it happened well. Thank you Uwe. I owe you a whole keg of Heife Weissen now...

When Lu Lu came to me she was all torn up around that wheel well. Having a rim fail caused a lot of serious damage to the surrounding area.

Now she is looking very sweet. I like the extra row of rivets. She looks like a jewel studded lady now. I will be giving her a bath and then tow her to a nice location for photos of her. Hope you all enjoyed the preview.

I'll let my Client tell you what has been happening

Sometimes it is nice to let someone else do the talking. For a peek at what is going on at FTW, please look at someone else's blog. Take a peek at Client #0001's...

Momma didn't raise no cry baby

In my last post I cried "UNCLE" and gave up. I actually only shut down for two days, I was forced to switched gears and do indoor work. I will get to all that in my next post. I am not going to lie, the weather has been crushing.

We usually get 18" on average here where I live. Last year I think we might have gotten 8" total. The winter I did my trailer, I do not think it snowed at all.

This winter we surpassed the record for as long as they have been keeping count by our annual average.

winter is not even close to over. End of February beginning of March is our snowiest time of the winter. The farmers Almanac says next winter will make this one seem tame.

I did spend a good portion of yesterday getting Lu Lu dug out.

Time to get her wrapped up and complete.

Uncle!!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite movie lines ever is from Jurassic Park. Jeff Goldbblum has just been shown how the dinosaurs are created using DNA trapped in amber. He is assured that the dinosaurs cannot reproduce because they are sterile and he says... "Nature always finds a way to overcome" Well Mother Nature has and I am proclaiming UNCLE.

Frank's Trailer Works has officially closed due to inclement weather. That fence you see there is a three rail split rail fence.

When I woke up it was due to thunder. Very loud thunder and lightening. I looked out the window and could not even see the gate.

Somewhere under all that snow is a driveway.

Working outdoors will be out of the question for a number of days. I think you will be seeing some cabinet work in my next post. Indoor work is going to have to be the order of the day.

Persevering....

I have a friend that loves to quote Friedrich Nietzsche a lot. He actually annoys me by fitting the phrase "that that does not kill us makes us stronger" into just about any situation. For some reason I was hearing him say that quote today, yesterday, and a few days previously. The weather here is really testing my perseverance. Another close friend has told me the cold wintery weather is rejuvenating. I am still trying to figure that one out.

Today was a balmy day. At 2pm we pegged the thermometer on the shop at a strong 26 degrees. Even with temperatures well below freezing, the snow from yesterday was melting off of LuLu and running down the sides. It promptly froze upon hitting the ground. Much of it ended up on my coveralls and on one of many pairs of gloves I went through. I did mention the snow right?

Yesterday night we got 6" of the white stuff. I cannot help but love it. It really makes everything look so clean and tidy.

I thought it really beautiful the way it collected on the clecos. This weekend there is a Nor Easter forecast for Maryland. 18" is the expected amount of snow fall. I will preserver. I have been getting a great deal done none the less. I wanted to share a couple of observations I have made about Airstream construction while working on this project.

If you see Made in America with John Ratzenberger (always known as Cliff Clavin to me) or How it's Made on Discovery Channel they show Airstreams being made. The rivet holes are punched by a big long line punch. The holes are perfectly and evenly spaced. However in 1960, when LuLu was built, it was done pretty much by eye. I wanted to make sure that the new row of rivets I was installing mirrored the existing row. I first started out by using a tape measure, but quickly realized there was a serious issue. The spacing between rivets is all over the place. They run 2 1/4" on center to as close as 1 5/8" on center. They also are as close to the edge as 3/8" of an inch and as far away as 5/8"in other locations. I had to make a story board to transfer the same spacing as the boys in the plant used back when she was built.

Another odd thing I noticed is the line of where the shell meets the belly skin. On this side of the trailer the line of clecos is 1/4" below the plywood floor. On the other side of the trailer I used the same distance from the shell down on the belly, however, it was 5/8" below the plywood floor. This can only lead me to believe that the shell is actually not centered on the central axis. I personally enjoy seeing these hand made traits in these old trailers. I am wondering which year the line punch comes into use. There is something special about seeing how it was made by hand.

Working in a Winter Wonderland

Working in the fresh air has certain holistic qualities. A good dose of fresh crisp air cleanses the soul I hear. I have come to find it has some inherit disadvantages also. Mother Nature is trying to slow me down. I am not allowing her.