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Chris D. · 03-23-2008, 07:45 PM

I started building it yesterday..

heres what I did..

Heres my start..

Heres what the sheet of 1/8" panel I'm using..

mockup to get the spacing just right..

One half of the top cut and trial fitted just to see how it'll work..

I got my measurments and got the 2x1's cut... Today all I did was get the frame cut, predrilled and screwed together. I'll glue these together later..
I pre drilled everything and used fine threaded drywall screws (what I had)

the two frames are built, just sat in place.

Now the hinge part...

If I do them like this, I can swing it open and it'll stay open at an angle..

heres how the open position would look

But I'm concerned about stregnth and if the wind hits it and messes it up..

But if I flip the hinge so its sandwhiched between the 2x1's,
it'll flip completly over onto itself and lay flat when opened..

now picture that right frame attached to the right side of the hinge, now open it.. this shows it far more open than it would be if it was attached tho..

I like the hinge on top and it would be easy to make it look flush and clean.
but at the same time I dont like that cover being able to just hang like that..

And the other way with the hinge sandwhiched between the panels being able to swing open and touch the other panel flat the hinge spine sticks out a little.

blah..

I'll figure it out, shoot some ideas if ya got em, im sure theres some sort of hinge out that would would work killer for this, just haven't seen it or know about it yet..

Todays progress...

Screwed and glued..

I added 1 additional center brace per panel for a little extra stregnth..

I sat it into position and taped it in place so that the adhesive would dry and the frames stay true..

Once I add the upper panels and glue those in place and get em with finish nails,
I'll fiberglass it with about 3-4 layers on top, then let that setup..

Then I'll flip it over and route down those underframes to shed weight and lay a few layers of glass over that and we should be solid..

About the only thing I need to figure out is how to seal
up the crack in the hinge section to keep water/dirt out..

03-23-2008, 07:45 PM	#15 (permalink)
Chris D. EcoModding Minded Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Eagan, MN Posts: 667 Lunar Mist - '02 Toyota Tacoma SR5 90 day: 25.31 mpg (US) Silver Streak - '08 Toyota Corolla S 90 day: 38.25 mpg (US) Thanks: 67 Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts	I started building it yesterday.. heres what I did.. Heres my start.. Heres what the sheet of 1/8" panel I'm using.. mockup to get the spacing just right.. One half of the top cut and trial fitted just to see how it'll work.. I got my measurments and got the 2x1's cut... Today all I did was get the frame cut, predrilled and screwed together. I'll glue these together later.. I pre drilled everything and used fine threaded drywall screws (what I had) the two frames are built, just sat in place. Now the hinge part... If I do them like this, I can swing it open and it'll stay open at an angle.. heres how the open position would look But I'm concerned about stregnth and if the wind hits it and messes it up.. But if I flip the hinge so its sandwhiched between the 2x1's, it'll flip completly over onto itself and lay flat when opened.. now picture that right frame attached to the right side of the hinge, now open it.. this shows it far more open than it would be if it was attached tho.. I like the hinge on top and it would be easy to make it look flush and clean. but at the same time I dont like that cover being able to just hang like that.. And the other way with the hinge sandwhiched between the panels being able to swing open and touch the other panel flat the hinge spine sticks out a little. blah.. I'll figure it out, shoot some ideas if ya got em, im sure theres some sort of hinge out that would would work killer for this, just haven't seen it or know about it yet.. Todays progress... Screwed and glued.. I added 1 additional center brace per panel for a little extra stregnth.. I sat it into position and taped it in place so that the adhesive would dry and the frames stay true.. Once I add the upper panels and glue those in place and get em with finish nails, I'll fiberglass it with about 3-4 layers on top, then let that setup.. Then I'll flip it over and route down those underframes to shed weight and lay a few layers of glass over that and we should be solid.. About the only thing I need to figure out is how to seal up the crack in the hinge section to keep water/dirt out.. __________________