Stitch and glue Lightweight platform update
- Thread starter Oyster9
- Start date
Thank you ab
fluffyprinceton
Adventurer
Nice work! You've done a great job illustrating the "stitch & glue" (or my favorite description "Liquid Joinery") building technique. I hope you don't mind my thoughts on why you've done something really intelligent here...
This is how you escape the heavy & structurally inefficient 3/4 plywood trap - by bonding with fillets you don't need the 3/4 thickness to hold your fasteners. Also a continuous structural fillet is much stronger than any number of mechanical fasteners in plywood = lighter & stronger
In your application 1/4 ply is plenty in the vertical box sides - as long as the loads on the sides remain vertical all you have is compressive loading - with a system of bonded dividers you could go even lighter...
Your HDPE slides are an excellent solution - they do need something besides ply to screw to (the stuff doesn't glue at all...) like your solid framing - although they can be through bolted (small bolts...) to sheet ply - but there isn't enough ply thickness to countersink the bolts so that might be a negative... My point is this can be done almost frame-less for lighter weight if desired. I often run a 1/4 round router bit around the outer box edges and epoxy a 2" 6oz fiberglass tape around the joints for abrasion and/or more strength.
One way to push this building technique is to use modified hollow core door sections or home made skin/foam or other core/skin structural panels for the sleeping surface - allowing you to omit the "joists" needed for that 1/4 ply panel. With the hollow core doors you do need to fit solid edging in where you've cut them down but it's the fastest & cheapest way to utilize structural panels. It's pretty straight forward to glue up your own panels - even 1/8 door skins/1" insulating blueboard/1/8 door skins might make a light duty panel OK for sleeping. I'm afraid to go that light but others report good results. The great thing about making your own structural panels is the basic technique is the same for making very strong panels out of more expensive materials.
On the craftsmanship/ease of building issue I think it's the easiest by far for the modestly experienced...The wood cutting can all be done with a jigsaw if necessary. The thing to remember is the structural epoxy/filler mix is essentially synthetic wood so a wavy jigsaw line is fine - the gaps are filled with material stronger than the wood...Gets expensive of course filling giant holes but it's structurally sound. Really it's more like welding than traditional wood joining. So - much less tool intensive & quicker to learn = easier
For what it's worth - in a box structure where the pieces go together without bending stresses I just use a glue gun to "spot weld" the box pieces together & just fillet over the little glue dabs - much faster than the wire stitching...For that matter I've gone to making light duty odd ball boxes (bbq storing box, under sink-around-the-pipes boxs) using 1/8 masonite bonded with glue gun fillets - sometimes adding a fiberglass tape wrap to a weak area. One hint - under cut the joints a bit so the glue gets in there... A hot melt glue gun fillet isn't real pretty - at least by my hand...but it works. I keep waiting for 3M to make an affordable higher strength, tool-able fillet bonding system to replace the epoxy/mix dance.
It's the best quick & dirty building method ever devised...AND, as in your example, beautiful if you want to go that way...Thanks!Moe
only
This is how you escape the heavy & structurally inefficient 3/4 plywood trap - by bonding with fillets you don't need the 3/4 thickness to hold your fasteners. Also a continuous structural fillet is much stronger than any number of mechanical fasteners in plywood = lighter & stronger
In your application 1/4 ply is plenty in the vertical box sides - as long as the loads on the sides remain vertical all you have is compressive loading - with a system of bonded dividers you could go even lighter...
Your HDPE slides are an excellent solution - they do need something besides ply to screw to (the stuff doesn't glue at all...) like your solid framing - although they can be through bolted (small bolts...) to sheet ply - but there isn't enough ply thickness to countersink the bolts so that might be a negative... My point is this can be done almost frame-less for lighter weight if desired. I often run a 1/4 round router bit around the outer box edges and epoxy a 2" 6oz fiberglass tape around the joints for abrasion and/or more strength.
One way to push this building technique is to use modified hollow core door sections or home made skin/foam or other core/skin structural panels for the sleeping surface - allowing you to omit the "joists" needed for that 1/4 ply panel. With the hollow core doors you do need to fit solid edging in where you've cut them down but it's the fastest & cheapest way to utilize structural panels. It's pretty straight forward to glue up your own panels - even 1/8 door skins/1" insulating blueboard/1/8 door skins might make a light duty panel OK for sleeping. I'm afraid to go that light but others report good results. The great thing about making your own structural panels is the basic technique is the same for making very strong panels out of more expensive materials.
On the craftsmanship/ease of building issue I think it's the easiest by far for the modestly experienced...The wood cutting can all be done with a jigsaw if necessary. The thing to remember is the structural epoxy/filler mix is essentially synthetic wood so a wavy jigsaw line is fine - the gaps are filled with material stronger than the wood...Gets expensive of course filling giant holes but it's structurally sound. Really it's more like welding than traditional wood joining. So - much less tool intensive & quicker to learn = easier
For what it's worth - in a box structure where the pieces go together without bending stresses I just use a glue gun to "spot weld" the box pieces together & just fillet over the little glue dabs - much faster than the wire stitching...For that matter I've gone to making light duty odd ball boxes (bbq storing box, under sink-around-the-pipes boxs) using 1/8 masonite bonded with glue gun fillets - sometimes adding a fiberglass tape wrap to a weak area. One hint - under cut the joints a bit so the glue gets in there... A hot melt glue gun fillet isn't real pretty - at least by my hand...but it works. I keep waiting for 3M to make an affordable higher strength, tool-able fillet bonding system to replace the epoxy/mix dance.
It's the best quick & dirty building method ever devised...AND, as in your example, beautiful if you want to go that way...Thanks!Moe
only
Great post Moe,
I used #10-24 countersunk machine screws to fasten the slides.
I put a tap in the drill motor and ran it thru the 3/8 " thick slides and then countersunk the drawer.
I feel that the load on these is all shear and should hold up, time will tell.
I like your door idea and would like to use it for sawhorse table tops.
My garage is small so every thing needs to fold up or be mobile.
Lots of good thoughts in your post
Thank you
I used #10-24 countersunk machine screws to fasten the slides.
I put a tap in the drill motor and ran it thru the 3/8 " thick slides and then countersunk the drawer.
I feel that the load on these is all shear and should hold up, time will tell.
I like your door idea and would like to use it for sawhorse table tops.
My garage is small so every thing needs to fold up or be mobile.
Lots of good thoughts in your post
Thank you
fluffyprinceton
Adventurer
Bedliner? where does that go? Pretty ugly stuff...tough though...
Also do you have a link to that slick drawer latch?Thanks! Moe
Here is a freighter canoe I built and used a product called monstaliner on the floor.
It goes on easy and looks good I think.
I will coat pretty much all of the platform with it in a light grey color.
The latch is called a vector t, made by allegis.
You should be able to google it.
It is a 1/4 turn latch with a adjustable pawl.
It hooks behind the first joist, so I did not have to mortise anything.
Simple install.
Thank you
AeroNautiCal
Explorer
That's a beautiful canoe, and your platform system is progressing impressively.
Nice to see the development stages.
Nice to see the development stages.
fluffyprinceton
Adventurer
At the risk of the dreaded thread drift...Nice Canoe! I'm wondering if you built it for outboard power - straight run aft to a "conventional" transom as many freighter canoes do or something in between - those oar locks got me wondering...How does she go? Feel free to tell us about that canoe if you have the time.
In any case great use of monstaliner! You struck a nice balance between "this is a really pretty boat" & "yah,,,I jus hose er out".
Really intrigued with your alu drawer face...I love the mix of materials.
In any case great use of monstaliner! You struck a nice balance between "this is a really pretty boat" & "yah,,,I jus hose er out".
Really intrigued with your alu drawer face...I love the mix of materials.
This sort of detail shows real thinking...very cool. Moe