Lance construction video

WoodGlue wrote:

westend wrote:
A couple of things I noticed: When they are laying up the composite walls, there are only four or five upright aluminum studs in the whole wall, the floor looks like a composite, also. They must be getting a lot of stiffness in the wall structure from the Azdel, the fiberglass, and foam. They interlock the walls to floor and walls to roof with an aluminum channel, it looked like those were fastened with self-tapping screws. That's probably a pretty good way of attachment.
They really tout the "Lite-ply" like it's some sort of advanced material. Really, it's the use of Alder instead of Fir that makes the weight difference. As for CNC machining, I know some home hobbyists that have three axis machines, now. Nothing special there.
Overall, IMO, they're building a product that is about mainstream or maybe a touch better in some respects. The glowing endorsements from the crew was a bit much but to be expected.

Yep, Azdel is 2 sheets plus the block foam plus the aluminum studs, it's strong stuff. And Lance also uses Lamilux which is a very thick fiberglass.

LitePly is Poplar, and the great thing about it is that it's basically a "white" wood and can be stained evenly and matched years later should you need to. It can also be rounded, to curve over surfaces, which is great!

When you can build a Travel Trailer with zero tolerance, that's saying something, that being why I'm such a fan of the CNC Router.

WoodGlue

We would all be better served if they didn't pinch pennies and used a better foam insulation, barrier reflective coated would even be better. Expanded polystyrene is the cheapest foam available.

I dunno' about the Lite-ply. For the application it certainly saves weight but isn't as strong or durable as other species like Fir. White wood has no intrinsic value. In fact, most woodworkers wouldn't choose it for cabinet construction. I doubt very much that the finished surface of those Lance cabinets is Poplar, probably photo-engraved vinyl.

I don't mean to dump on your parade about Lance products. I have no horse in the race. I guess I comment in opposition to a lot of your posts because it is an implicit recommendation of all materials and processes Lance uses. Some of it is good, some of it is just OK, and some of it can be improved, There are no absolutes in construction, as you seem to believe.