Part Sixteen: "Cosmic Vistas"

Sometime in the Summer of 2017...

Here we are at part Sixteen of the Astroliner build! Welcome back!



This segment of our build has to be one of my favorites because it really spoke to my inner Artist and got the creative juices flowing! Ever since we began the design process of the build, we have contemplated and agonized over what countertops we would use. We looked at the box stores, where we really only found the typical, normal style of countertops. I mean, we have Formica, Tile, Laminate, Solid surface such as Corian and Granite... but we just couldn't find the material that reflected the Spacey, Vintage theme of the Astroliner. Everything just seemed like something that would look nice in a house, not in a modern/vintage camper.  

With all that said, we finally made the decision to start from scratch and make our own countertops and dinette table so they can be exactly what we want.  We started with Marine Grade, 3/4" Mahogany plywood.  I drew out the shapes I wanted and Carrie made them digital and then on to full-size patterns.  Those were then transferred onto the Mahogany plywood.

This is the Dinette Table:



Once the shapes were cut out, we made a lip to form the edge and spent several hours sanding and shaping it into the form we wanted. 



The shape of the table seems whimsical, and it is. But the reason for the odd shape is because the Dinette will sit in the coach at an angle, because again, no rectilinear lines! 

Next, the surface of the wood was coated with layers of filler to seal the grain and fill any imperfections in the wood. It takes a rediculous amount of time to sand the surface, fill, sand, and fill again to get it flat, straight and perfect.



The table and the countertops will be subjected to damaging elements such as moisture, so I wrapped the wood in fiberglass cloth and epoxy. 



Galley Countertop with Fold Down Leaf



After hours of sanding and perfecting, the tops were all coated in layer upon layer of 2K Urethane Primer.







Ok, so now that all the nasty work is out of the way, it's time to start measuring and fitting the appliances.  First we measured everything out to get a placement that worked, then drew it all out in order to cut the holes.



Feeling pretty good about the layout, the holes are cut and the appliances are dry fit.



The Astroliner needs something really different for the countertops and not just any 'ol thing will do... So I sketched out some ideas and Carrie brought them to life on the computer.  After we decided on the final product, paint masks, which are a high-tech version of a stencil, were made for the graphics.



Finally, I laid down some DuPont Black Base coat, then Clear, then sanding, then more Clear, then sanding, then some more of that old school flake, then sanding, then more clear, then graphics, then more clear, then more sanding and FINALLY the very last step was to use Bar Top Epoxy to coat and protect the final finish from whatever we decide to put it through. 

Here is the finished product.  It's very difficult to get a good picture with all the flake going on so if you ever want to come see it in person, say the word!










And then Carrie found a single-lever faucet that was a carbon copy of the jet stream from the rocketship. Match made in Heaven!






So far only the Galley countertop is finished.  I'll be working on the dinette table next and will post some pictures of it with it's done. We can't wait to get our cabinets completed and get our countertop installed!

Hope you've enjoyed the latest post!  We thank you for stopping by. Please take a moment to leave us a message in the box at the left so we know you were here! We would love your input!

Happy Creations!

Michael & Carrie







Part Fifteen: "Scent of a Cedar"

Mid-Summer, 

We are very lucky to have talented friends and family!  Even though I'm not able to work on the Astroliner like I used to be able to, there are those who are kind enough to carry on our work along side us. It's humbling and difficult at times to accept the help. We are learning and appreciate every minute of it. Not just for the skills offered, but the quality time together that we enjoy very much. 

For example, on this day I was in between Chemo treatments and got to enjoy a little "Camper Time."  



 


I didn't get to do much that day and it was hard to watch others do my work. But I think I supervised well between rests on the bed in the camper. In the background is my Brother and my Dad working on getting some birch pieces to fit.  It's great to have their help...





As we continue to build walls for the bathroom and the closet, one of the things we've been designing and engineering is an area that will contain the water heater. We're pretty excited about having hot water in the coach, but not only that, we're using some awesome technology in the form of a tankless, on-demand water heater.  There may be some trial and error involved with the unit, because they say it's intended for outdoor use only. For our application we are going to use it indoor but under very well-planned circumstances.  


AquaKing Outdoorsman Tankless On-Demand Water Heater

We are excited about this item because it only uses energy when you need it.  There's no pilot light burning and no water in a tank that needs continuously heated. Just hot water when you need it and as much as you want.

We built an enclosure for the water heater in the back of the closet with an access panel. One of the reasons these units aren't recommended for indoor use is because they burn up oxygen any time they are in use.  The last thing you want is a threat of low oxygen or carbon monoxide in the cabin. Therefore, this one will be in it's own, fire-resistant enclosure. Air is drawn in from the outside to the unit, then the exhaust is vented out through the wall to the exterior of the coach. The compartment is completely lined with a dense, fiber material that is fire-resistant.

This is it as we begin to build in the enclosure for it.



The white board is the fire-resistant fiber material that will line the entire compartment including the ceiling. 








At this point we are installing the Cedar in the closet so our camping adventures can be spider free! Or at least in the closet anyway. I love the Cedar aroma... It's so pleasant and almost therapeutic the way it fills the cabin with it's woodsy fragrance!











The door is made and it now has it's own private living quarters. Plumbing for the hot/cold and the LPG will come at a later time.

Here is the area completely finished out in Cedar and ready to be plumbed.












This is the closet area completely finished out in Cedar with the water heater compartment almost entirely incognito!
















I almost wish I could do the whole cabin in Cedar because it smells so wonderful! And it's very beautiful too!  It's nice to bring some of the outdoors into our little camper! 



So now, the water heater has it's own space, the closet is lined with Cedar and the fridge is securely mounted in it's own compartment. Eventually this area will have it's own door to finish everything off. One of the little touches that I like is we used the same Bamboo on the fridge that we used on the ceiling to make it match. It's the little things, ya know?


Speaking of...








Under the fridge there was enough room for a nice sized drawer. The only catch is, the wall is an angled wall.  If the drawer would come out straight from the wall, it would hit the base of the bed. Another dilemma. The solution? An angled drawer that pulls out straight! It's kind of crazy if you think about it too long!








One last thing before we finish up this little blog for the day... We got our Blinds/Screens in from Pleasant Valley.  Actually, we only have the side window right now because we wanted to make sure they were what we wanted.  And the result? They are even better than we expected!  They are a very nice fit, the way they function is beyond amazing and they look fabulous! 


Full Blind




Half Blind Half Screen



Full Screen

Now for those of you wondering about the wall colors side by side... Never fear! Eventually the two colors i.e. "areas" will be completely separated by tile, cabinets and such.  The Copper Tangerine will designate the main cabin and the Razzberry will be in the bedroom area. 

That's it for now! We're really looking forward to next time because we will be reaching into the depths of our artistic skillsets as we design and build countertops! Stay tuned!  

One more thing... We have had thousands of views on our blog and at least 12 different countries represented now! That's amazing to us! But we want to hear from you!!! We just want to know who these people are that take the time to read our blog or look at our pictures! So... Please! Use the form on the side to drop us a line and say hi! Or tell us about yourself and why you found this blog interesting! Even if you didn't, post a comment and let us know you were just passing through! It really would make our day!  Thank you!

As always... Stay positive! Be thankful! Dream!

Happy Creations!

Michael & Carrie








Part Fourteen: "Internal Dilemma's"

As promised in the last post, we've got progress to share!  We're way behind so let's get straight to it!

Awhile back, we had mapped out the walls on the floor with green tape so we knew exactly where they would go according to the plan. Now it's time to start getting some very crucial measurements and start building walls! We are building them out of the best looking Birch we can find. There will be no stain on any of the Birch. Clear and natural just like God made it. (Well, except for about 10 coats of hand rubbed Lacquer!)

This is one of the wall panels, cut and dry fit, now sporting that beautiful clear Lacquer.  The Lacquer gives the Birch a warm amber color that will continue to mellow with age. 






We cut a lot of 1"x1" strips and attached them to the walls, ceiling and floors to make "cleats" that the walls will be attached to. They look like this:



The "cleats" give us attachment points in all the right places. Keep in mind, behind all of the cleats are mounting points that were planned out and built-in during construction of the roof and walls.





Here are the walls being cut, fit and mounted onto the cleats:







There are no rectilinear lines in this coach! All walls sit at angles

Once the walls are cut and fit, we begin to work on door placement for the bathroom door and closet door. We really like the look of the archtop exterior door and decided to carry that theme on into the cabin:



































Here's a look at the closet, being framed in along with the cabinet that will hold the 3-way refrigerator. (Here's a tip from a Preachers Kid... Don't Google 3-way.)









Another look at the closet as we dry fit the 3-way fridge:











Things are really starting to come together as we build walls and try to make sense of the space as we go. It is very important, considering the small size of the coach that we utilize every bit of space that we can. Something that we are constantly thinking about is, where are we going to put gear, food, utensils? Therefore, we have to utilize every bit of area that we have. So here comes one of my favorite built-in's of the project so far... The hidden slide out pantry!

I really have to give tons of credit to Brother Matt for coming up with this great idea!  This is a shot of the basic framing for the slide out pantry:



We assembled the entire piece with professional wood glue, (if you're doing something like this don't skimp on materials) and used a Kreig Jig and pocket screws to fasten it all together.



Once the entire piece was assembled, it was time to start working on the mechanics of the thing. Once it is installed into the wall it will look like it is magically floating in and out on Pixy Wings and Fairy Dust. But as sweet as that would be, we had no Pixies or Fairies, so we had to devise a genius plan to make it slide out on three strategically hidden, full-ball bearing slides with soft close capability.  What that actually means is, you won't see the slides or hardware and it will look like it just floats magically in and out of the wall! 

If any of the slides are even a tiny bit off, it won't work. Therefore we built a table-top jig to align all the pieces perfectly, thus eliminating many of the problems that might cause it to not work as designed. This is a picture of it being carefully assembled in the jig on the work bench:



Someone on one of my forums once told me, "I built it according to my original plan, then I took it apart and re-built it correctly." At the time I thought it was funny but unfortunately this pull-out pantry was one of those very things that worked great in theory and on the test bench, but not in the practical application. Once it was installed into the coach, it literally took hours and hours of trial and error, test and fit, tweek and adjust until we finally got it to work! But once we got it, it was all Fairy Wings and Pixy Dust just like we planned! It slides in and out of the wall like butter and when you close it, it magically pulls itself back into the wall the last three inches with a soft close. This feature certainly tested our skills as well as our patience but in the end we know it will be very well worth the work to gain all that storage space!

Here it is slid out of the wall:



And here it is slid back:



Whew!

After all that, I was able to spray some Lacquer on all the dry-fit parts.  Then we were able to install the walls for the bathroom. While we were at it, we ran the wiring for the lighting as well.  We found some retro-looking fixtures and converted them to 12V LED. I think they're fabulous! Now to end this segment with a couple shots of the interior lighting! 









Warm Amber Birch meets Glitzy Copper Tangerine 

A few people gave me some raised eyebrows when I said I was doing Old School Flake on the walls.  "Trust my vision" I said! I knew one day the Warm Amber Birch and the Glitzy Copper Tangerine would fall in love and get married.  Well... there they are in all their marvelous marital bliss!

And with that, it's time to bring this segment to a close!  We hope you have enjoyed our progress up to this point! Sadly, things are moving slow on the build but in light of our current situation we make progress when we can!

So tonight, as you lay your head on your pillow and begin to drift off to sleep, think of all the things in your life that are a wonderful blessing!  And while you're at it, if you don't mind, say a little prayer for me, for my treatments and a cure. We sure could use the support!

Until next time, keep praying, keep building and keep dreaming!

Happy Creations!

Michael and Carrie

Part Thirteen: "Monkey Wrenches"

July,  2017

I just cannot believe that half of a year has gone by since our last blog post! That's just crazy! So much has gone on in our lives this past six months that it's difficult to even wrap our minds around it! We were making great progress on the Astroliner project when we were hit with the most devastating news ever; Michael was diagnosed with cancer. Since then our lives have been turned upside down and inside out! Twenty-Six days in the hospital. Fifteen days of continuous bladder irrigation. A team of four doctors. Surgery. Chemotherapy. Radiation. As you can imagine, it has taken its toll on all of us. But... We believe God is greater than any illness or disease! We know He is in control! Therefore, being confident in that, all is well for us! Michael continues to improve daily with treatment. And the build continues on! So here you go friends... The latest in this epic journey!


When we left off, waaaay back in December, we were working on building in the bed and mapping out the walls. Very little was accomplished through the Holidays and into the New Year.  We got the bad news about Michael's health in February, so things on the camper build came to a grinding halt! But like the old Alabama country song goes... "You can't keep a good man down!" Little by little he has made his way back into the shop, tinkering, creating and building alongside his faithful brother, Matt, who helps him keep the project moving forward and his spirits moving upward, bit by bit!  He will work for a while, then has to lay down to rest his weak and tired body. Like a robot, he needs to recharge every 15 minutes or so.  But he's determined! We are thankful for the project because it gives him a creative outlet and something to focus on that is positive and takes his mind off the darker part of his challenging life. 

That's Michael above, before the diagnosis...

Here he is, in the hospital this past April/May:


This was at his lowest point this year... But, "Camper Time" is always a healing time and the build is something that he looks forward to and keeps his mind occupied. He is planning and building almost constantly. In his mind, in his hospital bed, or during chemo. He is always coming up with new ideas and designs for the project. He says some of his best ideas come to him at night in his dreams! 


Here he is in the Astroliner, taking a break during Saturday "Camper Time" with his Brother:


Chemo killed the Viking Beard, but he continues to improve physically and mentally every day.

Because he has been unable to work since February 2017, people continue to ask us how they can help us in some way.  Michael's daughter has set up a "GoFundMe" account to make it easy for those so inclined to help in big and small ways. If you are one of those people who would like to help, here is the link: 

Miracle for Michael

As you would expect, we're not where we hoped to be progress-wise. But we're taking life on life's terms right now. It's one day at a time for us; one moment at at a time even. But we know who we are, we know Who holds tomorrow and we see life with a clearer vision and perspective these days. You never know how strong you really are until being strong is all you got. Be thankful for every sunrise and every sunset. Take time today to stop and look someone boldly in the eyes and tell them how much you love them. Believe in something greater than yourself... and never stop dreaming!

Check back in again for the next chapter when we promise you will see new progress on the Astroliner!

Until then, Happy Creations!

Michael and Carrie
           xoxo