![\"caravel-closet-doors-stacked.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/tour.airstreamlife.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/caravel-closet-doors-stacked.jpg\" "\\"caravel-closet-doors-stacked.jpg\\"")
<\/a>We managed to complete the other closet door, most of the gaucho, most of the major plywood pieces, and we rough cut most of the doors and drawer fronts. \u00a0 As we finish parts, they get stacked up in the Armada with the old parts for reference. \u00a0 (At right, old and new closet door frames.)<\/p>\nIt’s encouraging that much progress has been made, but discouraging to see how much there is left to do. \u00a0 The entire morning was spent building the gaucho. \u00a0 This turned out to be the most challenging piece so far, because the gaucho has been hacked up by at least three previous owners. \u00a0 Only about half of its structure was original; the rest was a mish-mash of do-it-yourself “repairs”.<\/p>\n
A fun part of this project has been studying how the furniture was built by the unnamed craftsmen in Jackson Center, Ohio, back in 1968. \u00a0 It’s not complicated, but it is mildly impressive by virtue of its simplicity, functionality, and light weight. \u00a0 The entire gaucho frame is about ten pounds. \u00a0 The frame was trimmed to a bare skeleton, but despite its parsimony it has managed to last for forty years in regular use.<\/p>\n
At the time that our Caravel was built, Airstream had been making trailers for about 33 years (minus a hiatus caused by World War II). \u00a0 I suppose it’s not very surprising that they had figured out how to do it well by 1968. \u00a0 Even in the 1950s, when Wally Byam was still alive, he would harp on the furniture makers to trim ounces (“Ounces make pounds”) and make use of every inch of space.<\/p>\n
With the gaucho in our trailer, however, a bevy of hacked modifications layered upon previous repairs resulted in a very confusing mix of construction styles. \u00a0 Each of three structural legs of the gaucho was constructed differently. \u00a0 One appeared to be original but had a giant L-bracket screwed onto it. \u00a0 Another seemed to have been stripped down and pieces were missing. \u00a0 The third was augmented by a horrible heavy subframe made of 3\/4″ plywood.<\/p>\n
We also added some challenges to the project, as a result of our joinery choices. \u00a0 The original design relied heavily on staples, which we don’t want to use if we can help it. \u00a0 No staples or glue can be used because we need to disassemble many of the parts for shipment. \u00a0 We’re using screws, which means some design modifications to the internal frames. \u00a0 So far we’ve used over 100 screws, each one hidden from view. \u00a0 We’re also taking the time to countersink every screw.<\/p>\n
With the challenge of forensic study added to the task of building the thing, it ended up taking several hours of the day. We built about 90% of it, then set it aside to start cutting plywood. \u00a0 Tomorrow we’ll complete it, and then break it down to a set of four flat pieces plus connecting boards. \u00a0 Even unfinished, I have to say that it is a huge improvement over what was there. \u00a0 I’m fairly pleased at the results.<\/p>\n
The budget has continued to rise. \u00a0 We’re up to about $900 so far, including everything. \u00a0 The “general purpose” blade in my table saw was not up to the task of making clean cuts in 1\/4″ veneer plywood, so Eleanor and I went to the hardware store last night to get a better one. We also got some specialized blades for the jigsaw, a couple of additional pieces of pine, and some stain. \u00a0 We’ve decided that the look of the ash is a bit too “raw”, and are looking for some way to even out the appearance of it. \u00a0 We’ll do some stain tests shortly, to see if we can find one that gives it a nice mellow tone without getting too red or yellow.<\/p>\n