Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Sofa-bed continued:
To join the different pieces of the sofa-bed together I'm making a bunch of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" sized blocks. I'll call these corner blocks. Why that size? You can make two from a single 2x4 and I have a bunch of scrap 2x4's laying around.
A quick note on my build strategy. I know professional van converters will build the furniture into the van but they know what they are doing. Since I'm making it up as I go I think the best plan is to build each item in the garage and make all corrections/additions there. Disassemble all the pieces, move the pieces into the van then reassemble. Use bolts when possible to make the the pieces easier to disassemble. That also makes sense since I'm the only one here who will be moving the furniture pieces around.
Tiger and Bob could help but whenever I ask, Tiger never fails to remind me that this is a Union Shop. Since He and Bob are classified as management, they may only provide supervision. If they were to engage in any direct help that could result in a grievance being filed by the Shop Stewart. Since I'm the Shop Stewart, I can't very well argue the point with him.
Next make a 8" x 74" board for the front of the sofa-bed.
Woodworking tip. If you're using a circular saw on a not-to-wide board you can use a speed square to help make a straight cut. Place the square on the opposite side of the board so you're pulling it towards you. Hold the square tight and use it's edge to guide the circular saw as you push it across.
Cut corner blocks for the ends of the 8" x 74" board.
Before I glue the blocks to the board a quick posting about glue brushes. I use these low cost brushes for gluing. They are marked as "Acid Brushes" but I've seen them called other things. They are cheaply made, just a hollow stamped metal tube with some brushes at the end, but do the job and no big deal if you forget to wash them out. Just toss them.
Glue and screw the blocks to each end of the board. I'm using a countersink bit to pre-drill a hole in the front of the board so the screw heads will sit flush. I'll later be drilling three holes through the block for bolts so space the four screws so they won't be in the way.
Clamp the board to the two end pieces. Be sure everything lines up.
With the clamps holding the boards in place drill three holes through the end pieces and the corner blocks. Then bolt together using 5/16" bolts.
Use the angled metal bolted to the end pieces to hold the seat frame for a test fit. Notice the board I've placed under the middle of the seat frame to provide support. I made a mistake when cutting it so it is destined for the bone pile but it works OK at the moment.
Do the same for the back frame. I'm using clamps on the side to keep the back up. This is my first look at what the sofa-bed might look like. Too early in the build for a Frankenstein moment.
Add a "corner" block to support the board at the middle of the sofa. The plan is to place the battery box under the right side of the sofa so the box had to be built first so I could get it's true measurements. I use the length of the battery box to set the location of the middle support board. Then glue and screw the corner block to align with this placement. THIS IS A MISTAKE. I should have just used a couple of screws to hold the corner block into place IN CASE I HAD TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS LATER.
Plowing straight ahead, screw and glue the middle corner block into place. Then drill the holes for the 5/16" bolts. Bolt the middle support board to the front board.
continued -
To join the different pieces of the sofa-bed together I'm making a bunch of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" sized blocks. I'll call these corner blocks. Why that size? You can make two from a single 2x4 and I have a bunch of scrap 2x4's laying around.
A quick note on my build strategy. I know professional van converters will build the furniture into the van but they know what they are doing. Since I'm making it up as I go I think the best plan is to build each item in the garage and make all corrections/additions there. Disassemble all the pieces, move the pieces into the van then reassemble. Use bolts when possible to make the the pieces easier to disassemble. That also makes sense since I'm the only one here who will be moving the furniture pieces around.
Tiger and Bob could help but whenever I ask, Tiger never fails to remind me that this is a Union Shop. Since He and Bob are classified as management, they may only provide supervision. If they were to engage in any direct help that could result in a grievance being filed by the Shop Stewart. Since I'm the Shop Stewart, I can't very well argue the point with him.
Next make a 8" x 74" board for the front of the sofa-bed.
Woodworking tip. If you're using a circular saw on a not-to-wide board you can use a speed square to help make a straight cut. Place the square on the opposite side of the board so you're pulling it towards you. Hold the square tight and use it's edge to guide the circular saw as you push it across.
Cut corner blocks for the ends of the 8" x 74" board.
Before I glue the blocks to the board a quick posting about glue brushes. I use these low cost brushes for gluing. They are marked as "Acid Brushes" but I've seen them called other things. They are cheaply made, just a hollow stamped metal tube with some brushes at the end, but do the job and no big deal if you forget to wash them out. Just toss them.
Glue and screw the blocks to each end of the board. I'm using a countersink bit to pre-drill a hole in the front of the board so the screw heads will sit flush. I'll later be drilling three holes through the block for bolts so space the four screws so they won't be in the way.
Clamp the board to the two end pieces. Be sure everything lines up.
With the clamps holding the boards in place drill three holes through the end pieces and the corner blocks. Then bolt together using 5/16" bolts.
Use the angled metal bolted to the end pieces to hold the seat frame for a test fit. Notice the board I've placed under the middle of the seat frame to provide support. I made a mistake when cutting it so it is destined for the bone pile but it works OK at the moment.
Do the same for the back frame. I'm using clamps on the side to keep the back up. This is my first look at what the sofa-bed might look like. Too early in the build for a Frankenstein moment.
Add a "corner" block to support the board at the middle of the sofa. The plan is to place the battery box under the right side of the sofa so the box had to be built first so I could get it's true measurements. I use the length of the battery box to set the location of the middle support board. Then glue and screw the corner block to align with this placement. THIS IS A MISTAKE. I should have just used a couple of screws to hold the corner block into place IN CASE I HAD TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS LATER.
Plowing straight ahead, screw and glue the middle corner block into place. Then drill the holes for the 5/16" bolts. Bolt the middle support board to the front board.
continued -
