It was beautiful weather today and I was able to spend some more time on the van. I am very low on fasteners for the aluminum extrusions, so I was focused today on tasks that didn’t require any of these fasteners. I began by working on the last two wall panels. I cut out the holes for the outlets, and drilled holes for the wire pass throughs. I had to trim the big middle one a little, so it would fit correctly. Then I mounted both of them in the van. It was a great accomplishment to finally have all the wall panels up, which also means all the behind the wall wiring work is done as well. Here is a picture of the final two wall panels behind the frame for the galley.
With this wiring done, I am now able to run the fan that is above the galley. So, I can get more airflow inside the van. I also took a few minutes to drill holes into the galley frame for the bolts that will secure the galley to the lower unistrut on the passenger side.
Then I worked to create what I call the “folding table”. This is a table that will fold down on a hinge when the sliding door behind the passenger seat is open. It will allow me to cook outside the van if I’m at a campsite, which is its primary purpose. I cut the two, 1/2″ plywood, pieces and secured them together usine a 12″ piano hinge. Then I coated them with Minwax paste to finish the boards. There’s still more work to do on the folding table, but this was a good start. I’ll need aluminum extrusion fasteners to continue work on this item, so I set it aside for now.
I did some work on the counter for the galley. The first thing I did in the morning was to apply the last coat of finishing oil into the hole I cut yesterday for the sink. Then in the afternoon, I glued down one of the two sections of backsplash using wood glue. I’ll see how that holds after being clamped overnight. I plan to add a bracket to hold these two pieces together as well, but that will be a task for tomorrow.
I also added some knobs to the two pieces of 1/4″ plywood that cover the electronics cabinet. I may need to remove these two boards occasionally to get at the electronics. And having some knobs to hang on to will help to make it easier to remove and insert these panels.
Finally, I did some experimentation on how to add European hinges to aluminum extrusion for a cabinet door. I had purchased a couple of different hinge designs and I tried them out on a scrap piece of wood and the existing galley frame. I learned a lot and believe that I have a good idea of how to put the cabinet door in for under the sink. This is the only door that I plan to have in the van.
It looks like the fasteners that I am waiting for will still be a few days away. So, I’ll continue to work on other things to try to take advantage of my time and keep making progress.