'71 Starcraft Wanderstar- "The Hilton"
Thought I should post this up because the "Search" feature doesn't return any results and there might be some useful info for older Starcraft owners or those that are mad enough to embark on a complet...
Forum Discussion
I finally completed the vent hood cabinet. I got snagged on varnishing the face frame, somewhat. My HEAT technique didn't work out too well with the tropical hardwood. After 4 hours of elevated heat, the varnish was still very tacky so I pulled the pieces away from the wood stove and let the varnish dry overnight. I could see the oils from the wood trying to percolate out the pores so ....lesson learned. I think this wood is Ipe. I tried to track down some online reference and The Hobbit house shows the different samples and how they can differ. The face frame wood's tone and grain is different than the countertop banding (not that it is a problem, they both look great). Anybody that has some info on these kinds of wood could set me straight, I don't use them much.
Sink side view:
Dinette side view:
The next project on the Hilton is to tackle the dinette seats and table. I'd like anyone to give me some tips or advice on this because I'm in new territory with this part. The original layout had a seat and partitioned space vertically, above the water tank on the driver's side. The passenger's side was just a bench. Both of the seats had a hinged piece of plywood to access the spaces underneath. The table has one steel folding leg and, when in use as a table, clips to the wall with steel hangers. Pictures of this area are on the first page of this thread.
IME, the table has to go, it's too big, it doesn't fit my style, it's heavy as all get out, and it's Avacado green HPL (High Pressure Laminate), *rulph*.
The space behind the drivers side seat was just wasted. I think Starcraft thought that no one could use that since the water tank was underneath so they blocked it off and that also allowed a smaller table, in width, to be used. As it is, the table is 54" x 36", anything wider would have been unwieldly.
What I have in mind is to make this area into a three sided alcove, rather than a dinette. I can install another bench going across the front, joining the two side benches. I will put the drivers side bench against the wall (this will cost me the loss of 54"L x 10"W x 13"H but I will also gain 41"L x 20 1/2"W x 13"H with the new front bench), the passenger's side will stay the same size and location.
If I do this I can shrink the table size to 34"L x 41" W or even smaller if I add in a drop leaf. The table can swivel or it can be held by a single or double uprights. The utmost obssesive solution for the table supports would be to incorporate linear actuators or hydraulic dampeners to raise and lower the table but I think I can be a bit more practical with this. My current plan is to use a threaded steel floor plate and use 2" pipe on the bottom and a length of 1 1/2" pipe attached to the table that slides into the bigger pipe. I can drill a through hole into the pipes and add a pin to set the table to dining height, remove it to lower it to bed height.
Some more advantages to the alcove arrangement is that the length of the bed increases by 10", from 77" to 87" and I can use some of the original cushions in this area.
One thing that is still up in the air is what material am I going to use for the table? I could use more of the Pine panels but it isn't that hard of a wood and I don't know how it would stand up over time. I could use Plywood, either finished with varnish or covered with some other material. Please, give me some opinions on this. I can't seem to decide. Does leather make a good table top?
Sink side view:
Dinette side view:
The next project on the Hilton is to tackle the dinette seats and table. I'd like anyone to give me some tips or advice on this because I'm in new territory with this part. The original layout had a seat and partitioned space vertically, above the water tank on the driver's side. The passenger's side was just a bench. Both of the seats had a hinged piece of plywood to access the spaces underneath. The table has one steel folding leg and, when in use as a table, clips to the wall with steel hangers. Pictures of this area are on the first page of this thread.
IME, the table has to go, it's too big, it doesn't fit my style, it's heavy as all get out, and it's Avacado green HPL (High Pressure Laminate), *rulph*.
The space behind the drivers side seat was just wasted. I think Starcraft thought that no one could use that since the water tank was underneath so they blocked it off and that also allowed a smaller table, in width, to be used. As it is, the table is 54" x 36", anything wider would have been unwieldly.
What I have in mind is to make this area into a three sided alcove, rather than a dinette. I can install another bench going across the front, joining the two side benches. I will put the drivers side bench against the wall (this will cost me the loss of 54"L x 10"W x 13"H but I will also gain 41"L x 20 1/2"W x 13"H with the new front bench), the passenger's side will stay the same size and location.
If I do this I can shrink the table size to 34"L x 41" W or even smaller if I add in a drop leaf. The table can swivel or it can be held by a single or double uprights. The utmost obssesive solution for the table supports would be to incorporate linear actuators or hydraulic dampeners to raise and lower the table but I think I can be a bit more practical with this. My current plan is to use a threaded steel floor plate and use 2" pipe on the bottom and a length of 1 1/2" pipe attached to the table that slides into the bigger pipe. I can drill a through hole into the pipes and add a pin to set the table to dining height, remove it to lower it to bed height.
Some more advantages to the alcove arrangement is that the length of the bed increases by 10", from 77" to 87" and I can use some of the original cushions in this area.
One thing that is still up in the air is what material am I going to use for the table? I could use more of the Pine panels but it isn't that hard of a wood and I don't know how it would stand up over time. I could use Plywood, either finished with varnish or covered with some other material. Please, give me some opinions on this. I can't seem to decide. Does leather make a good table top?
