Week 35 - Rear Door Panels 1

I decided it was time to cover the inside of the rear doors so I measured up and cut some panels from 4mm plywood. Once they were sized to a good fit, and avoiding the lock and door handle, they were stained and varnished to match. I made a panel for one of the doors in order to gain access to the number plate lights if a bulb goes.

I bought an old mirror from a car boot sale and painted it ready to be fitted to the rear doors. I also fixed a hanger for my guitar on one side and a little storage net on the other. These were fixed into wooden batons on the rear and mounted in places where they will not clash with the door panel when fitted.

Week 34 - Nets & Hooks

Now that the shelves are up and fitted, I decided to fit some screw-in hooks as a way of hanging other items. I have fitted them to each end of the shelving units as well as some above the storage bench. I have also fitted storage nets in this area (making sure not to infringe on the lids of the storage bench). It’s been a bit of a quiet week!

Week 33 - Map 2

It was time to return to the map for the side door which I started in week 21. The map and Perspex cover were both already cut to shape and they could now be mounted in place.

I removed the grey panel which was already there and measured where the map would fit and where it could be fixed to the door (making sure to steer clear of the door handle and lock).

I then drilled 5mm holes through the inner door, map and Perspex before removing the map to clear out any swarf which may get caught behind the Perspex cover. Once happy, I riveted the map and cover into place using 5mm aluminium rivets. The benefit of using thin 2mm Perspex is that there is more than enough flex in it to ensure it doesn’t crack when the rivets go in.

I later added a few more rivets after the plastic bowed slightly (due to the temperature?) and this helped keep it flat.

I then cut and glued a border around the map and used the white sealant to seal the gap between the frame and van to prevent water getting behind the cover.

I am really happy with the result and it’s something which makes the van personal to me and my planned trip.

Week 32 - Shelving 2

The week was mostly taken up with the laborious task of applying stain and varnish layers to the shelf units built last week. Each unit took 3 layers of mahogany wood stain and 2 layers of clear gloss varnish. This took a while due to the intricate corners and the fact that each layer took twice as long (the shelves had to dry and be turned over to complete a layer). Luckily, we had plenty of dry sunny days to speed the process up.

When finished, the shelves looked great, and felt solid too. They could then be screwed in to their positions without any additional drilling (it was all done during construction) and they both fitted like a glove. Job done.

Week 31 - Shelving 1

This week I started work on the construction of the rest of the shelving for Vanny. The shelves will go above the kitchen unit and above the storage bench towards the rear of the van.

Before I started cutting the material, I made a simple template from some cardboard to match the contoured sides of the van and the radiused corner where the wall meets the ceiling. I also drew on horizontal and vertical markers to ensure that the shelves would be straight when fitted. 

I started by cutting the sides and the bases of each shelf from ply. I then fixed them in place with 15x15mm wooden batons which were glued down. The shelves were still pretty unsteady at the point but that was ideal.

I screwed through the batons to fix the shelves in position in the van. This way I was able to get them fixed tightly to the wall while they still had some movement in them and it also allowed me to get in with the drill before the ledges were fitted in place.

When I was happy and all the holes were drilled, the ledges could be added to stiffen up the structure of the shelves while they are located in the correct position. I didn’t want any screws showing on the outside of the shelves, so these were set in place with plenty of wood glue and some clamps. This really added rigidity to the construction and they could then be removed for staining and varnishing.