Primer, Cookies, Kidneys, & A Nose

I just got back from a camping trip for a week.  While I was gone, Sr. Management & one of our neighbors continued priming the jPod (see Body:External).  While I was gone, I tested out the Camp Chef Camp Oven.

Nathan and I made Tea on the stove top while baking cinnamon rolls & gluten free cookies.  It was about 33 degrees outside and I think the cold air affected the draw on the Oven.  It is supposed to max out at 400 degrees but we only managed to get it to 325 in our cold weather.  That wasn’t a problem.  We simply extended our baking time.  It was nice to also note that the oven temp. didn’t change when we used the stove top at the same time we were baking. (photos below)

I was hoping to get more done on the jPod this week but I’ve been in bed with an E. coli infection in my kidneys & a broken nose.  The camping trip was THAT good!

Nathan Makes Tea

Nice Even Heat from the Burners

Orange Sticky Buns!

COOKIES!

Tear Drop Design Ideas

I have had to develop many of my methods for construction.  I have also had lots of input from other tear builders.  However, I think the most innovative craftsman out there is a guy named Joe Harmon.  He is building a car out of wood that will go 240mph.

The jPod is not a car but it is made of wood and uses many of the same materials.  Joe also has a great tutorial on making vacuum bags for various parts.  You can see it on the Wood Magazine website here.

Joe Harmon's Splinter Car

This wooden car is featured in Wood Magazine (October 2008 Issue 186). It is called the splinter. I found its finish interesting…fiberglass epoxy. Just like some TD builders use (myself included).

Joe Harmon is a grad student who is building the splinter sports car for his senior project. He has some pretty original designs and ideas for making bodies out of wood.

Read more at:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/community/a-240-mph-car-made-of-wood/
or
http://www.joeharmondesign.com/
or read his blog
http://joeharmon.blogspot.com/

The Discovery Channel featured the Splinter this week and tested his wooden wheels.  The spokes can withhold 6000# before failing.  That is impressive.  Joe hopes to get a job designing cars someday.  I think he is well on his way to accomplishing that goal.

I wonder what could be done for a TD with lightweight materials and epoxy like Joe Harmon is doing?  No matter what, his project is worth checking out.

As for our jPod project, it has received a first coat of primer and is now a white trailer.  It is a weird transition from the natural wood look to a shocking primer white.  Senior Management sanded, stripped the walls, and primed the jPod while I was at work.  She is putting in lots of time on it and it is looking nice.  I even have neighbors calling me to work on it while I am away.  They are people I trust so the project continues while I work.  It is nice to have such people.

Senior Management Gets Blue Collar

It has been a while since my last post & update.  Senior Management & I have been focused on the jPod more than the jPod website.  But for all of those people who have been keeping up, here is what has been going on.

I started teaching again so my life came to a complete stop.  However, Senior Management has been putting in the hours on the jPod getting it ready to be primed & painted (see Body:External).  She has spent hours of mind numbing time sanding the roof skin of the jPod, filling in holes with Bondo, and sanding the roof skin of the jPod.

I have put some time into the progress.  Mostly in helping to apply layers of epoxy, a bit of sanding, and coordinating people.  Friends and my parents have been volunteering to help with this project.  It is quite fun to do something like this as a way to hang out.

Lunch is cooking on the Camp Chef

Nathan (who comments on this site) and I calculated the required voltage for a convection toaster oven and realized that the battery on board wouldn’t stand a chance against a pizza in that toaster.  So I searched & found a solution to the power problem.  We purchased a Camp Chef Outdoor Oven (Pictured in The Galley).  It has two burners on top and an oven that can hold a 9×13″ pan.  So Back-country Lasagna sounds like my kind of roughing it.  I need to move the galley counter up 1.5 inches but I built some height flexibility into the wall framework and that should be no problem.  My mom tested the oven by making lunch on it one day while dad, Senior Management, and I worked on the jPod.  Excellent food from a great Camp Chef product.

Our goal is to have the jPod sealed up and weather worthy by the end of September.  We’ll keep pluggin’ away and see if that is actually possible.  I am gone all of next week for work so time is getting short.