An Inspirational Journey
Van Post #11 – Wall Framing
Was able to get a good amount of the wall framing done but still have more to do (have to get back to non-van work now).
The hardest part for sure was trying to use rivet plus/cross nuts. I used them as I want to cut the minimal amount of holes in the van. About 95% of the rivets were in existing holes in the van. I had to cut about 3-4 holes whenever I had issues.
If you use plus nuts, I learned you have to find the happy spot when you’re using the rivet tool. It can’t be too hard or too soft or you’ll have issues. I had both and doing it too soft is definitely the better option. Also make sure the bolts screw in before you install the wood as the thread can get screwed up.
On some of the existing holes, I needed to make them a little bit bigger so I used a step drill bit. That helped a lot for making holes bigger. Used Rust-Oleum to prevent rust after any holes were created or made bigger.
To find out where to cut holes into the wood framework, I used PlayDoh to find out where to drill the screw holes in at. I also counter sinked most of the screw holes where needed. Using PlayDoh helped a lot but you have to make sure the hole drilled stays in the right spot as you increase your drill bit size to make cleaner cuts. If not, your screws might not align up straight and you can mess up the thread of the rivet when you’re trying to screw the framework to the van.
All the plus nuts are done so the hard part is done. Now I just need to install the vertical pieces of the wood frame, which I’ll be screwing in using pocket holes.
